One feral kitten rescued from Gladding McBean in 2004 was tiny Deke. Weighing only about 1 pound, Deke was sickly and frail, and FieldHaven staff feared he had little hope of survival.

The morning crew was sad, but not surprised, when they found little Deke apparently lifeless in his bed. But when they picked up the tiny body he had just enough energy for one tiny little "squeak".

Joy Smith took the tiny kitten to Critter Creek Veterinary hospital to see if there was any hope or if they should end his suffering. But Critter Creek could not find anything wrong with Deke and resolved to give the tiny tiger a shot at life.

They gave him a transfusion from another cat and soon had the satisfaction of knowing they were right! That was just the boost he needed to pull through.

When he was old enough to be adopted, Deke screened all the FieldHaven visitors carefully. He choose his perfect parents from among the many prospects by climbing up on Bob's shoulder to say "I'm going home with you!"

Dekey, as his parents call him, is now 4 years old and a very happy king of his household.