By FMT’s Lifestyle Desk
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Wesley T. Monkey isn’t just any cat. He is THE cat – and you can depend on him to be there for his friends when they need him most. The 2-year-old feline is ‘mayor’ and cool kid of the Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, USA.
Founded by Indra Lahiri, the sanctuary acts as a ‘forever home’ for former farm animals that have nowhere else to go. Indraloka also houses nearly 100 cats – but Wesley, by far, is the one with the biggest personality. He’s best known for sleeping, riding, cuddling or otherwise simply sitting on top of his bigger friends.
Unlike other cats, who jump off quickly and scurry away when an animal they are resting on moves, Wesley loves to stick around for the entire ride.
“All the other animals love him,” said Lahiri. “He’s really just very popular. I don’t know how to put it any other way.”
A pregnant stray came to the sanctuary two years ago in the spring, during kitten season. “That happens quite frequently,” Lahiri explained. “Stray mothers find the barn and, you know, there’s food, shelter, everything else. So they decide they’re going to come here to have their babies. But we track them, we get them fixed.” That stray was Wesley’s mother. The rest is history.
Since Wesley grew up at the sanctuary and around various animals, he’s never noticed a difference between species. “He just interacts the same way with another cat the way he would a human, a cow or a pig,” Lahiri said.
As the only cat who is fearless and friendly enough to get along with all of the animals at the sanctuary, he’s managed to crack the barrier of one particularly difficult clique. “Even the geese that nobody else gets along with, because they’re a little intense, allow Wesley T. Monkey to hang out with them,” Lahiri said.
Another prime example of his “I don’t give a damn” attitude: Lahiri said that it isn’t odd to check on four 1,000-pound pigs eating a stack of hay with Wesley resting right on top of the hay, not at all concerned that he might be accidentally eaten. That said, the animals respect one another and are careful with each other.
Wesley is a cat who isn’t just a mischievous, fun friend to have around. He’s also a friend who remains loyal to the very end. Such was the case with Penny, a cow at the sanctuary who passed away recently. Wesley climbed on top of her and remained with her, purring and comforting until her very last breath.
A feline with many quirks, no two days are the same for Wesley. He has an entire sanctuary filled with besties to attend to and is always in motion.
“He has to have adventures,” Lahiri said. “He’s just not a sit-around kind of cat.”
* From an article first published in www.PetFinder.my