While many senior living communities are happy to welcome pets, St. James Place in Baton Rouge has a reputation for being enthusiastically pet friendly. We understand that pets enhance emotional wellness for the vibrant seniors who reside in our 52-acre playground, and our four-legged friends are just as much a part of our community as their two-legged counterparts. Resident dogs even participate in fire drills!
John’s golden-haired alley cat KC is particularly at home in our retirement community—so much so that the intrepid feline recently found his way back to John’s apartment after being rehomed for adoption. While KC couldn’t be reached for comment, we caught up with John and asked him for a full account of this amazing cat story.
A Pet-Friendly and People-Friendly Retirement Community
When John, a retired U.S. Navy Aviator, left the service after 26 years, he settled in the tiny town of Alpine, Texas. There, he worked as a systems manager for more than two decades with his wife Christie, who recognized a few health-related changes. Soon after, the couple decided to search for a senior living community with a more comprehensive continuum of care.
“There was only one real hospital near Alpine,” John explains, “and it wasn’t enough to provide the extra help we’d need along the way. So I started looking into Continuing Care Retirement Communities, but the ones in Texas either had long waiting lists or were run by the military.”
It was John’s sister, who lives in Baton Rouge, who first called John’s attention to St. James Place. “It looked like a lovely community and the pricing was very reasonable,” he says. “Plus Judy, Elise and the entire sales team were all so eager to help our big interstate move run smoothly.”
St. James Place also checked one final item off the couple’s list of retirement community must-haves: a pet-friendly culture. “Christie and I have no children, so our pets have been our ‘babies’ for as long as we’ve been together,” John says.
Realizing that St. James Place senior living community could accommodate all their needs, John and Christie made their big move in 2017 with KC the cat and rescue dog Chuck in tow. They were settling in to their renovated apartment, complete with new tile and granite countertops, when KC decided he had other ideas.
Homeward Bound: One Amazing Cat Story
Like many alley cats, KC liked to roam, which wasn’t a concern when John and Christie owned an acre of land in Texas. Once the couple moved to St. James Place, however, KC’s wanderlust had to be curtailed.
“For a time, we kept KC indoors, but he was not a happy camper,” John explains. “We also tried letting him out once per week, but were never comfortable with that, because we wanted to follow the rules and be considerate neighbors. So, with heavy hearts, we decided to take him to the animal shelter in August of 2021.”
For the next 11 months, John lived with a cat-shaped hole in his heart. “We had KC for six years and I felt guilty letting him go,” he says. “I missed him so much, I even pretended to ‘talk’ to him from time to time.”
Then one morning the following July—nearly a year to the day of KC’s rehoming—John noticed a cat sitting on his porch. He initially thought it was a stray, but a closer inspection revealed that it was, in fact, his beloved KC.
“He was thin and dirty, so I didn’t recognize him at first,” John explains, but then I noticed he had the same notch in his ear that KC had received after a ‘disagreement’ with another cat. After he gave me a friendly ‘meow,’ I realized that KC really had come home.”
After giving KC some food, a hot bath and a good night’s sleep, John took him back to the shelter, where his identity was confirmed through a microchip in his shoulder. The shelter told John that KC had been adopted, but it was clear to everyone that the cat preferred the good life at St. James Place. So John and Christie brought their golden-haired friend home, and he’s been with them ever since.
Cultivating Emotional Wellness Alongside Their Pet Pals
Now that KC’s big adventure is over, the entire family (both two- and four-legged) are enjoying their best, most active lives in our vibrant Baton Rouge retirement community.
One of John’s favorite pastimes is taking Chuck the dog for long walks all over the community, especially our fully stocked koi pond. These brisk pet walks boost emotional wellness for John—and for other outgoing seniors who reside here. “Everybody knows their neighbors and the neighbors’ pets,” John laughs. “And the entire St. James Place staff loves Chuck. It makes us feel so welcome here.”
For his part, KC now seems content with life as a house cat. “He’s much more loving now,” John says. “Every morning I find him stretching out next to my computer and he even snuggles in my lap, which he never did before. He’ll still go to our patio door and purr, but he’s not restless like he used to be. I guess he’s seen enough of the world.”
And while Chuck and KC are having a ball in Baton Rouge (when they’re not fighting for space on the bed), John can also rest easy knowing that the most important person in his life—his wife Christie—is also living life more fully, supported by our continuum of care.
“It’s so convenient to have doctors right here on campus and it’s nice to have a choice of engaging senior activities to participate in,” John says. “Christie and I also look forward to special events, like the monthly Dine to the Nines dinner. It’s a lovely evening out for us.”
There’s No Better Place for Your Pet to Hang Their Leash
If you’re searching for a retirement community that’s packed with gracious amenities, engaging neighbors and endless opportunities for enrichment, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better fit than St. James Place. And if your name happens to be Fido or Fluffy, you’ll fit right in too.
For more information or to schedule your tour of our pet-friendly senior living community in Baton Rouge, call (225) 215-4510.