Fort Worth Cat Rescuers Helps Save Patchin from Losing His Last Life

It wasn’t their cat — but their efforts helped save the cat and returned him to his owners, several states away

Fort Worth residents, Mark Tovsen and his wife, Naomi took their cat rescue efforts up a notch last week. It was a rescue effort that caught them by surprise. At first, they thought they were going to claim their own sweet boy, Lion, who had been missing for two months.

In May, Mark posted on his Facebook page that their big boy, Lion, hadn’t come in the night before. He shared a picture of Lion. And the couple waited, and worried, and hoped for the best.

Two months later, July 23, 2023, Mark shared that someone had contacted them and thought he had their cat. The man sent them a photo and it appeared to be their cat. When he and Naomi went to pick up Lion, it was dark. Lion appeared to be smaller, but it made sense. Being missing for two months, he probably hadn’t been eating very regularly and had most likely lost weight.

Then they got home and discovered that it wasn’t Lion. Upon looking closer, they thought that the cat was a female. After getting a bath, they discovered that no, the cat was indeed a boy, but it was not their Lion.

Mark wrote in his Facebook post — “Now I have to figure out what to do with this cat. My wife wants to keep it of course. I don’t think so.”

Three days later, after taking the cat to a vet, Mark reported that the cat did have a chip, and an owner. But unfortunately, the cat was also very ill, and it was recommended that the cat needed to be put down.

With no owner coming forth, the vet said that Mark could make the choice. But Mark wasn’t comfortable with that. He knew if the situation was reversed, he wouldn’t want someone else making that decision for his cat. Even though it wasn’t their cat, Mark and Naomi were paying for the vet services and the medications necessary to help keep him comfortable. Mark said that Naomi already loved the new cat, He said she has a very big heart for animals and never even questioned paying the medical charges to try and get the cat well.

Mark and his wife had two days to try to wait to hear from the owners before a fatal decision needed to be made.

Two days later, the cat had an appointment to be euthanized.

But before Mark left for work that day, the cat owner’s family contacted him. The cat was named Patchin, and they’d been looking for him for over a year. Naturally they’d been looking around their home, in Kansas City. Apparently, a neighbor in Kansas City who was moving to Texas stole the cat, and Patchin ended up here, loose, in Texas.

When the owners found out that Patchin was ill and was scheduled to be euthanized that afternoon, they were upset and sad. They asked Mark if he could send them some of Patchin’s hair and his ashes. Mark agreed that he’d do that for them.

But when Mark got home, ready to take ailing Patchin back to the vet’s office for what needed to be done, Patchin surprised everyone. He was drinking, eating, and using the litter box.

Mark took Patchin to the vet’s office, but asked if they could double-check to make sure they were doing the right thing.

Between Patchin taking a turn for the better, and with his owner now located, the vet said that they would not be going through with Patchin’s scheduled procedure.

Mark shared, “So, I guess I’m going to pretend I’m Mick Jagger and jump on a plane and just fly to Kansas City to drop off a cat tomorrow. Her family is so nice that we don’t mind doing anything for the cat and them.”

Not everyone has the ability to just hop on an airplane the next day to fly a cat back home several states away. Mark said that he’s thankful his wife works for American Airlines. The employee flight benefits are terrific, and he shares that American Airlines is wonderful at helping transport sick pets’ home. They’ve shown their heart on many occasions when sick animals needed to get somewhere. He applauds them for that.

So, with hardly a blink of an eye, the next day, Mark and Patchin were checked in at DFW Airport and the two were on their way to Kansas City.

There sure was one happy family waiting for Mark and Patchin once their flight landed.

Mark later reported: Patchin is back with his family. “They are such nice people, and we all had a good cry saying goodbye. We’ll miss him. He was so well behaved, and he did especially well on the flight.”

Tears were shed. But hearts were also filled with love, not only the hearts of the two families involved in this rescue, but also the hearts of his friends who were able to watch this story unfold from afar. Mark and his wife have been friends of mine for many years, but they have no idea how many notches they just climbed in my book.

Thank you Mark and Naomi for being such a friend to cats and for the part you both played in getting Patchin back home. With this kindness they shared in this extraordinary cat rescue, Mark and Naomi got a pair of angel wings added to their earthly resumes.

Story originally posted on Newsbreak

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