Lance is a handsome young man who led his foster on quite the merry chase. Lance was abandoned at a veterinary hospital and decided he DID. NOT. LIKE. his fosters one single bit. It's taken about a year, but Lance has finally found his place as King of the Rock in the Lifer House. Now he enjoys head scratches and regular meal times... on his own terms of course. 

Silas is a wonderful senior who came to us by way of a compassionate volunteer who was volunteering for another rescue at the time. Silas is a gentle soul who enjoys being brushed and greeting folks who visit the Lifer house. Silas has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. He has been living successfully with Triaditis successfully for over a year the time of writing this page. He is truly a fluffy, good natured warrior.

Nick has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and takes daily medication. Nick came to us off the street after being rescued by a kind community member in a rough neighborhood. He is a young man who loves the community of the Lifer program! 

Oscar was adopted by a volunteer of ours. Years later, when our paths had diverged, this volunteer decided to start a family and returned Oscar for "urinating inappropriately." On reexamination, we learned he has a grade 2-3 heart murmur and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He has one medication he takes daily and has annual cardiac ultrasounds to maintain his equilibrium for now.

Adam is a young senior, a distinguished gentleman who we took on as a favor to a rescue. Upon receipt, our Founder went pale and drove him as quickly as legal to our doctor who diagnosed him as diabetic with hepatic lipadosis, both serious, life threatening problems that individually could have killed him. It took MONTHS of round the clock nursing to get him back up to snuff- but look at him now! Adam is living his best life as an HHR Lifer as we have our struggles now and again with his diabetes. We love him so much! 

Cooper Garcia came to HHR as kittens back in 2014. They were adopted quickly but returned because a child in the house was allergic. They were quickly adopted again and spent seven years in their home. Their dad passed away and mom couldn’t handle their daily care, including daily heart meds. Cooper has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He takes daily medications and has cardiac work ups twice yearly. He’s a big dude with lots of spunk and brings some serious personality to the HHR Lifer House.  

If sweet and sassy warhead candy came in cat form... it would be the size and shape of Rusti! Rusti's owner died and she ended up back at a municipal shelter. Where she got the eartip before that.. we don't know. But we do know that she's a fantastic floof! This little cupcake is our resident clown. Rusti does not have an opening in her throat that would allow mucus and air to flow properly. Because of this, she gets frequent buildup and needs to have nasal flushes twice yearly under anesthesia. Rusti also has a permanent head tilt because of fluid buildup in her eustachian tube that caused a horrible ear infection and ruptured eardrum. Thankfully, Rusti has a team of good doctors to keep her healthy as possible.

HHR was asked to take Simone from a municipal pound because she was “mean.” We love spicy kitties here at HHR so it was an obvious yes. What they didn’t tell us was that Simone had a history of abdominal discomfort and bloody stools. We’re guessing THAT is the reason for her unwillingness to have her belly touched and “being mean.” Simone is a spicy, rude senior and she fits in nicely at the HHR ranch. 

Dallas came from a local hoarding case. He was one of a double handful of cats who were very, very sick for weeks with Calicivirus. At one point we didn't know if he would pull through! Dallas has HCM like so many of the other cardiac kitties. Dallas is only a young cat, so we hope to have as much time as possible with him. He is very much everyone in the Lifer's house's "Papa." 

Onyx! This super sweet boy came to our rescue by way of our friends at a local TNR organization. Onyx is a young man with a loving, gentle personality. On his first visit to our vet, we learned that Onyx had a grade 3 heart murmur. Last week, following a cardiac ultrasound, Onyx was diagnosed with Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. His heart disease is considered moderate and he will require a combination of daily medications and routine ultrasounds (2-3x year) for the rest of his life.

This little girl (a whopping 6.5 lbs) came to our shelter over a decade ago after being attacked by a dog. In all fairness, the dog was in its fenced area and Kitty repeatedly jumped the fence. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.....The owner of the house begged for help and so we trapped Kitty with plans to spay her and relocate to a barn home. Then winter came and it delayed finding a barn home for Kitt. She was so happy here with Lifer pals Mr Chow and Milo, that we just decided to let her stay. A decade later, Little Black Kitty is still pretty feral (and kept strictly indoors). We’re lucky enough to be able to get her to annual vet visits, but that is a challenge that takes 2-3 experienced volunteers. She may not be too fond of humans, but Kitt loves her feline friends here at HHR. She’s a happy girl. Please consider a donation to our HHR Lifers so that we can continue to provide these special seniors with the home they deserve.

Waffles is a wonderful senior who has HCM like so many of our cardiac kitties. This sweet guy came to HHR from an overcrowded shelter. He was diagnosed with a severe heart murmur and needed more diagnostics than the shelter could provide. Waffles is the sweetest boy. He loves to snuggle and he makes the silliest chirping sounds. Waffles is very vocal about how he wants his food and who he will share it with...which more often than not is no one at all. His antics makes his hospice mom laugh! 

Cutie Pie, now knows as Carl, came to HHR by way of a Siamese rescue, when his dad went to the hospital. He caught the eye of a volunteer who knew she had to make him part of the family. Carl joins his sister Cherry, running the household in his fospice home with one of our volunteers. He is his foster mom’s constant shadow and she can’t move an inch without him needing to know where she’s going. He loves lounging in the sun and getting the zoomies. He is perfect, regardless of the severe heart disease he has.

Clara came from a high kill municipal shelter in the South. She was unhappy and overweight. Once we got her cleaned up... she ended up having an eye enucleation and our old nemesis, HCM, like so many of our other cardiac cats. Her case is quite severe, and she doesn't make it easy to medicate, but we have finally gotten into a good routine that's satisfactory for all of us. Clara is beyond sassy and quite feisty. We are glad she's with us!

Zeus is a spunky senior who has raging diabetes that are proving to be a challenge to maintain. Zeus came to us by way of the sidewalks of Hartford. He showed up in a feral colony and while he's not feral, he will take your face off if you get between him and his food. We love him so much! 

Fred was owner surrendered at the ripe old age of 16 years old after spending his entire life with his family. The crime? He'd be urinating outside of his litterbox. The issue? Lymphoma that was not diagnosed two years prior to surrender because his owners declined any testing. Poor Fred is now living out the rest of his time with us in his golden years in our Lifer cottages. Of course we love him. He's wonderful.

Max is a friendly boy who was returned after being adopted as a kitten ten year previously. His adopter had given him to an older relative who then passed... so back he came to us upon her passing. Max is now diabetic and senior, so we have introduced him to our colony. He may be a senior, but he's sassy and has no lack of spunky personality. He's quite the character.

Beats is a fresh boy who came to us from the streets of New Britain. He has Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and while it is a less severe case, it has to be managed by meds that most people fine overwhelming. So this sweet boy has been introduced to our Lifer cottage and he's taken his place in the pecking order as the class clown. Whether it's tearing a cat tree to ribbons or telling his mom exactly what he thinks of current affairs, Beats has no shortage of personality or opinions. 

PICKLES! That's how his name is usually said around here. We love the "bad boys" and that's a good thing. Oh Pickles, Mr Pickles, Picky Pants - you are one sassy boy!! This fresh boy is supposed to be working on his manners. As you can see from his photo, he’s not trying very hard. Pickles was almost euthanized at the pound for being an ass. Here at HHR, we love the bad kitties and we’re determined to turn him into a gentleman. Pickles will be here a while as we work through some time in the HHR charm school. Keep him in your thoughts- he’s about to find out that biting and scratching humans is not the best way to communicate