A stray cat spotted at a Caribbean resort made such an impression on one visitor that she spent months making sure he found the home he deserved.
Nicole Pensiero
A woman traveling to Puerto Rico in early December had one thing in mind: warm weather and a few days of rest. What she found instead was an orange tabby with a white mustache, fancy paws, and a personality she could not stop thinking about long after she boarded her flight home.
She noticed him on the very first night, wandering the resort walkways in Rio Grande, always alone. While the other strays on the property kept their distance, this one walked right over, claimed a spot on their cabana, and settled in as if he had been expecting them. Each morning of the trip, she found ways to bring him something to eat. He was small and hungry, but his spirit was enormous.
Nicole Pensiero
On the last morning of the vacation, he joined them one final time by the pool. As she gathered her bags to leave, she snapped a photo of him and felt a pull she could not quite shake. That feeling followed her the entire trip home.
Back in New Jersey, she tracked down a small nonprofit called Furiend Flight, run by a woman named Margarita Potts. When she learned that Margarita not only helped cats in Puerto Rico but also conveniently had a condo right next to the resort, it felt like fate. The two women made a plan.
Nicole Pensiero
Margarita returned to the island in January and began searching right away. For six weeks, she looked. She posted photos online asking if anyone had spotted him. A few guests remembered him fondly, but one recent photo gave them pause. The bold, friendly cat they knew looked smaller somehow and frightened. Something had changed.
Margarita kept looking. In late February, she found him.
Nicole Pensiero
She set out a trap with a tin of food. "Although I use the word 'trapped' lightly because he walked right into the cage. He was so happy to see a tin of food!" The vet who saw him shortly after told them the rest of the story. He had been in a serious fight, with injuries to his paw, his back, and his legs. He was treated, neutered, vaccinated, and given a name worthy of his journey: Sir Diego de la Resort. Miraculously, despite his time on the streets, he came back with a clean bill of health.
Nicole Pensiero
Margarita fostered him in her condo while the coordination efforts came together. Diego, it turned out, was an extraordinarily easy houseguest. He settled in from day one, calm and affectionate, moving through her home as though he had always lived indoors. A flight angel was found, a traveler willing to bring him aboard a flight to the United States, with Pittsburgh as the only option.
Nicole Pensiero
Diego traveled for 13 hours and never made a sound. He won over the flight attendants completely, and by the time the plane landed, even the pilots had taken a liking to him. He was picked up at the airport and had claimed a spot on the bed within the hour, purring like he had not a worry in the world.
Nicole Pensiero
What followed was a relay of kindness across several states. One leg became two, two became three, each person passing Diego along with the same care they would give their own. By the time he reached southern New Jersey, he had collected a long list of people who adored him.
Nicole Pensiero
The next morning, a friend came to visit and meet the cat everyone had been talking about. She had lost her own beloved cat just months before, and was not sure she was ready. Then Diego walked into the room. She offered to adopt him before the visit was over. Everyone who meets Diego loves him. As her rescuer, Nicole put it, "That's how I got in this predicament!"
Nicole Pensiero
From a resort cabana in Puerto Rico to a warm home in New Jersey, Sir Diego de la Resort had finally arrived. It took a nonprofit founder, a flight angel, a chain of devoted drivers, and more than a little faith to get him there. Every single one of them would do it all over again.
Nicole Pensiero
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