Stars align for senior cat
Orion was rescued by Davis County Animal Care and Control, but no one knows how the beautiful tuxedo cat wound up alone, without a loving family to call her own. To help the 10-year-old, sweet feline find her forever home, she was admitted to the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Sugar House. Although a few months went by before she found her perfect fit, the wait was more than worth it.
New beginnings
Daniel and Cait Fahrenkamp had been visiting the center regularly to get their fix of cat cuddles. “We always left sad that we weren't able to bring anyone home with us,” says Cait. “Every time we visited, until the time when we actually adopted, the staff was welcoming and didn't pressure us at all. They were happy to let us just hang out with the animals.”
On one fateful day, Orion hopped up on Dan’s lap and demanded attention. While keeping the other cats at bay, she soaked up the love and in the process left a lasting impression. They kept tabs on her with each visit and were surprised that she hadn’t been adopted. Then they learned that, as an incentive to help her find a home, Orion’s adoption fee was waived. Cait says, “We decided to meet with her in the meeting room, and realized we were ready to take her home with us. We then quickly ran to get everything we would need to start spoiling her.”
Oh Buyo!
Orion settled quickly into the Fahrenkamp home. “We started her out in our guest bedroom, but she was taking ownership of the place within an hour,” says Cait. As they watched their new family member running about bursting with energy, they found it hard to believe she’s an older cat. They also realized Orion reminded them of one of the characters in an anime show they watch, and gave her the fitting name of Buyo.
“Buyo loves to play and hunt, and if she wants to play, she will not tolerate being petted, but will try to attack the hand of whoever is petting her,” says Cait. “She is a very cute little explorer. She likes to go for walks in our hallway every morning. We live on the 10th floor of an apartment building and she’s so curious about everything.”
Insta-hit
Buyo is usually on the move looking to smell, lick, rub or pounce on anything in her path. One day, the Fahrenkamps found her in the bathtub, licking the soap. It was so funny they started taking photos of the zany things she does. Buyo makes them laugh at and provides plenty of material for posting to her Instagram account, @buyo_kitty. Buyo loves playing with anything with feathers or her little mouse toy. Her antics make for hilarious photographs. “If she sees reflected light, she makes a quacking noise, which we find humorous,” says Cait.
“Daniel and I have always been believers in adopting our pets,” says Cait. “There are a lot of problems with homelessness in the world, and this was a small, selfless thing we could do to help at least one victim of circumstance. We are especially glad that Utah is moving towards universal no-kill, because we know we never could have met Buyo otherwise. No one would have given her six months to find a home.”
Get involved
Learn more about adopting your next companion from Best Friends-Utah.