Julia the cat has been homeless for more than 600 days.
That’s close to 10 years in human time – far too long for any animal to spend at the Delta Community Animal Shelter.
A short-haired tabby, Julia has been at the shelter longer than any other cat. Her 600th day in care was May 18.
“We’re not sure why Julia hasn’t found her forever home,” said shelter manager Ryan Voutilainen. “She’s 13 years old, which is senior for a cat, but she’s playful and affectionate once she gets to know you, and she’s perfectly healthy and polite.”
Voutilainen notes that while shelter care is excellent, and Julia gets lots of attention from staff and volunteers, it’s still no replacement for a loving forever family to dote on Julia and give her the life she deserves.
“Our shelter was never intended to replace the comfort and stability of a real home,” added Voutilainen. “Julia just needs someone to give her a chance.”
Staff and volunteers have been trying hard to find Julia her forever home. In a stroke of public relations genius, they have developed a publicity campaign around her unfortunate milestone, including proclaiming every Thursday as Julia Day.
The campaign has even featured a special Q&A with Julia for “Catelaine” magazine, in which Julia describes, among other things, her biggest pet peeve (when her breakfast is a few minutes late), her relationship status (she’s lived with dogs and cats but prefers sole human companionship) and her favourite luxury item (her heated bed).
“She’s becoming famous like her other namesakes – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Child, Julia Stiles, Julia Roberts – so her new family, whoever they are, should know they have a star on their hands,” said Voutilainen, who credits DCAS staff for their creativity in raising Julia’s profile.
Anyone interested in Julia can visit the shelter online at delta.ca/services/animal-shelter/animals-for-adoptionor on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DeltaAnimalShelter/.
Voutilainen asks that even if you can’t adopt Julia, consider sharing the Facebook posts about her on your own social media channels.
“Somewhere, there is a family out there who is incomplete without Julia, and we need to find them,” he said.
