When the Cleveland Animal Protective League posted a single picture of an odd-looking adoptable cat named, of all issues, “Duckphone,” the organization didn’t have extremely excessive hopes. The animal, discovered as a stray in North Olmsted, was FIV-positive, with a swollen face and a chipped ear — and the Facebook photo didn’t appear to do him any favors.
“I looked at that picture when it first went out and I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s the one that’s gonna do it for people,’” says Ayse Dunlap, the Cleveland APL’s vice chairman of operations, “and boy, was I wrong.”
Quickly, thousands of social media users commented, shared and liked the image. A day later, people showed up to adopt Duckphone, and in the span of one day, the 2-year-old cat found his new home, with April Walsh, a Brook Park teenager.
In Walsh’s home, Duckphone has been adjusting to his new life with a few other resident animals: two other cats, a dog and a hedgehog.
But first, Walsh saw the photo of Duckphone and was drawn to his unique appearance. “I loved his name,” she says.
(Dunlap says she is not certain how Duckphone bought his identify; “Our team has to name literally thousands of animals every year,” she says, with fun. “They get really creative. The team is a fun group of people, and they’re trying to not have as many ‘Midnights’ or ‘Lucky’s’ and create some uniqueness to the names of the animals as they’re coming in.”
RELATED: A Random Sample of the Best-Named Animals at Cleveland APL
April and her mother, Brandi Walsh, arrived on the APL on March 15, in the future after Duckphone’s publish went viral. “When I got there, there were, I think, four other people coming in to see him at that time,” April says. “I got scared.”
“I think it was probably stressful for her because she was so afraid that he wouldn’t be there, because of all the interest in him,” Brandi says. “Honestly, I was just surprised that he was still available. I know that when she was looking at him, they had to pull the card because other people were coming in to see him.”
April began an Instagram web page, @duckphone.the.cat, for her new feline buddy, the place she’s been posting scenes of Duckphone round the home. The web page already has greater than 2,700 followers.
“He has a lot of fans,” April says. “The fans call themselves ‘Ducklings.’”
April and Brandi at the moment are contemplating creating Duckphone merchandise sooner or later, utilizing earnings to boost money for the APL.
The cat bought so widespread that he even drew the eye of local pet photographer Greg Murray, who invited the Walshes and Duckphone into his studio for a session.
Beyond his Instagram web page, Duckphone has additionally earned a little bit of fame via the “Duckphone’s FIV Cat of the Week” social media function on the APL’s Facebook web page — his native reputation serving to to deliver consciousness to adoptables with medical points like FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus. (FIV is the rationale for Duckphone’s puffy cheeks.)
Dunlap explains that FIV was as soon as thought to shorten a cat’s life span, and the best way it unfold (primarily via chew wounds) wasn’t solely understood. That led to a decrease total fee of adoption.
“As we’ve worked with more FIV cats, we’ve found that [a lowered lifespan] is not nearly as true as we thought,” she says. “A cat with FIV can live with other cats that don’t have FIV, and not transmit it, and they can live long, happy, healthy lives.”
The Walshes hope that Duckphone’s story can result in extra FIV-positive cat adoptions from the APL.
“Don’t be afraid of the cats that are FIV-positive,” Brandi says. “They deserve love and a happy life, just like all the other cats. As long as they get along with everyone, that’s fine. I think people need to be aware that it’s not a big deal and to give the cats a chance.”
For extra updates about Cleveland, join our Cleveland Magazine Daily e-newsletter, delivered to your inbox six occasions per week.
Cleveland Magazine can also be available in print, publishing 12 occasions a 12 months with immersive options, useful guides and exquisite pictures and design.
