In Memory of Vance 04/26/2022 – 09/23/2026
Vance came to Shadow Cats from Dallas at only a year old. Initially part of a big TNR project, Vance and his siblings were friendly enough to be put up for adoption instead of returning to their colony. Unfortunately, both Vance and his brother tested positive for Feline Leukemia, making it harder to find a home. His brother was adopted, thankfully, finding his forever home with another FeLV+ friend in the home, but his new mom only had room for 1 cat. Vance then went into a foster home for a while, but had to stay in a bathroom, since there were other cats in the home. After exhausting all their resources in the Dallas area, the rescue reached out to Shadow Cats, and he made his way here in May of 2023.
Vance was a very shy, nervous little guy when he first arrived. He would hide under his bed and was just scared of his new surroundings. He moved into Cookie’s Place, quickly made friends with another cat, and they would hide under the beds together. Eventually, Vance did start to come out of his shell, making friends with the whole crew of younger boys we had at the time. He became quite the confident cat, being rowdy with his friends but very affectionate with people. He loved to give hugs, and would wind between your legs to tell you when he wanted pets.
Unfortunately, as time went on, Vance lost many of his friends, and he refused to make new ones, forever holding a place for them in his heart. He started to act out with the others, and though we tried other room options for him, none ever fit. When we moved the rooms around last fall, we had a space open up in our workroom, where he would be able to live by himself and not have to worry about other cats getting into his space.
He absolutely loved living in the workroom, and we would still give him catio time in the mornings before the rest of the room went outside. He had access to our ramp for the rest of the day and loved to just lounge there, waiting for people to walk by so he could soak up all of their attention. In the afternoons, the cat care assistants spend a lot of time in the workroom, and Vance became their best helper! He always wanted to be involved in whatever the staff was doing, having learned that if he sat by the sink at the right times, his collection of forehead kisses would be bountiful. The dry food that accidentally got spilled onto the floor never went to waste because, to him, it was just having a snack on hard mode. When he had done his part in helping, he would use the towel they put down to try dishes as his personal meditation mat.
Vance touched so many hearts while with us, especially bonding with our staff member Abby. He definitely had more spirit about him on the days that she worked, and we could always tell that he was sad any time she went on vacation and was gone for more than a couple of days. When she came back, he would be back to his normal self and as happy as can be! Here is what she had to say about Vance:
“Vance brought an indescribable kind of joy to my life. I only knew him for a short while, but it didn’t take long to fall in love. He was the goofiest boy who knew exactly how to grab life by the reins and make what he wanted out of the day. My favorite thing about Vance was how much love he had to offer in his little body. You’d pick him up, and immediately he was melting into an embrace. He’d actually put his arms on either side of your neck and bring his face as close as humanly possible to yours in a way that made you feel special. On days where the hours seemed to fly by and the rush of everyday life felt like it was piling up, he would always remind me to slow down and take a moment. I have so much gratitude for the ways in which he enriched my life, and so much pride in the way he lived his. He was resilient, loving, and so intentional with everything he did. The profound love I have for him does not go away with his physical body, but slowly, the love finds memories of him to cling to, and I can only hope he finds me in every lifetime.”
As we all know with FeLV+ cats, their life is often cut short due to illness. Vance was healthy until the day he wasn’t, and he started to have some abnormal symptoms earlier this year, likely stemming from his Feline leukemia. Thankfully, with the right combination of medication, we were able to give him a few more fantastic months. We thought we would have more time with him, but eventually the treatments stopped working, and we knew it was his time to go, so we let him pass peacefully, surrounded by the whole staff who loved and cared for him so much.
Vance has so many friends to greet him on the other side of the rainbow bridge, reunited at last with the whole gang of boys he had loved so much.
Thank you to Vance’s sponsors, Monica W and Kevin H. Thank you to the amazing volunteers and staff who loved and cared for him. Thank you to Vista Vet for the wonderful care he received. Thank you to everyone who loved Vance in person and afar.
You can play to your heart’s content, with all your best buds, and soak up all the sunshine forever. We love you, Vance, and we always will.
Vance had 2 Sponsors
Monica Waxman
Kevin Hollembeak