LuckyNumber7
01-04-2008, 08:14 PM
After losing our cat Maximus, our house felt very empty (even though we have a mini menagerie!) Our dogs, Lucy and Molly, were distraught. As ridiculous as that sounds, it's true - they were searching the house for Max, looking in all of his secret little spots, and whining like crazy. This continued for about 12 hours. I decided to submit a few applications to adopt a cat from a local rescue groups. I figured someone would get back to me in a few days, since processing them can take time. I felt super guilty emailing people the day after we had to euthanize him, but I also felt that having a new pet to concentrate on would help us heal.
Surprisingly, a woman emailed me back in a matter of hours, and told me I was approved! She said that they were having an adoption event the next day at a local pet store where they keep many of their cats for adoption. I said that I would go, but just to sort of browse (yeah, right!) I told myself that if I didn't meet the "perfect" cat for our family, I would leave empty handed, and come home and continue to wallow in self pity.
We must have looked through their "adoptable cat list" on petfinder about 100 times that night and the next morning, waiting for the adoption event to come around. We were pretty set on adopting a kitten, because we figured it would be easier for a kitten to acclimate to our busy household, specifically our dogs. But, I saw a special girl on their site named Magic that I couldn't take my eyes off of, she was beautiful. Despite what someone had done to her, she was perfect. Magic was found outside with her litter of kittens, in the cold. When they first took her in, they thought she had lost the tips of her ears to frostbite. Then, a vet examined them and commented on how symmetrical they looked...and discovered that they had actually been cut with a blade to look like that. Her ears are perfectly rounded, and I can't imagine the pain that this poor girl went through when they did it.
So, I went the next day with Magic in mind, and when I got there, she was the first one that I saw. To my horror, I also saw a woman in front of her cage with it open, petting and talking to her. I swallowed the lump in my throat and told myself that it would be GREAT if she got adopted, as long as she went to a good home....there were other cats, after all! They asked me if I was there to see any specific cat, and I said "Magic, but it looks like she has a visitor". They laughed and told me that was just her former foster Mom! Yay! I met her, held her, and she fell asleep in my arms. She was a tubby girl from sitting in a cage for so long with little activity, and wasn't a "kitten" (though young, at about 1 year old), but I thought she would be perfect for us. I decided to take her, and they were thrilled - Magic had been waiting for 4 months for a home!
As I walked toward the adoption desk to fill out the paperwork and pay her adoption fee, I saw a cage with 3 kittens in it. Two oo them were curled up together, and the other was running around the cage wildly, chasing her tail. Every time she got too close to the other 2, they would growl and hiss at her. I asked what the deal was - the 2 kissing kittens were still partly feral, and the single kitten was the last of her litter. They asked if I wanted to meet her (you can see where this is going...) I picked her up, she started purring and licked my nose. Yeah...."I'll take her too". I figured that little Maya would have a blast playing with my other 2 cats.
So, I brought them both home. My fiance hadn't come with me - he woke up feeling sick. He said that he trusted my judgment and sent me on my way. Looking back on it, maybe I sensed that I would get 2....I brought 2 cat carriers, lol.
Maya is exactly what I expected - she's the friendliest kitten I've ever met. She actually purrs the entire time while she sleeps. She kisses people every time they pick her up, and seeks out attention where ever she can get it. When we have friends over, she goes from lap to lap and curls up, purring like a motor boat. It took her less than a day to like the dogs, and she's starting to play with the other cats now. There is still the occasional hiss, but they're doing great.
Magic is so special - she likes to give head bumpies for affection and is really mellow. At first she was freaked out by the dogs and didn't like the other cats much, but she has been here for 6 days now and is doing awesome. She's still not actively playing with the other cats, but isn't hiding from them and sniffs their butts when they're not paying attention. She doesn't seem to mind the dogs any more either - they both got the picture REAL quick, with a nice swat to the nose.
Without further adieu, here are Maya and Magic. I hope Maximus would approve of my choices.
Magic's Petfinder Photo
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicPetfinder.jpg
at our house...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Magic.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Magic2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicCatbed1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicOutsideBathroom.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/CheddarMagicRefrigerator.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/CheddarMagic.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicHallway.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicCatbed.jpg
I'll post Maya's in the next one....
Surprisingly, a woman emailed me back in a matter of hours, and told me I was approved! She said that they were having an adoption event the next day at a local pet store where they keep many of their cats for adoption. I said that I would go, but just to sort of browse (yeah, right!) I told myself that if I didn't meet the "perfect" cat for our family, I would leave empty handed, and come home and continue to wallow in self pity.
We must have looked through their "adoptable cat list" on petfinder about 100 times that night and the next morning, waiting for the adoption event to come around. We were pretty set on adopting a kitten, because we figured it would be easier for a kitten to acclimate to our busy household, specifically our dogs. But, I saw a special girl on their site named Magic that I couldn't take my eyes off of, she was beautiful. Despite what someone had done to her, she was perfect. Magic was found outside with her litter of kittens, in the cold. When they first took her in, they thought she had lost the tips of her ears to frostbite. Then, a vet examined them and commented on how symmetrical they looked...and discovered that they had actually been cut with a blade to look like that. Her ears are perfectly rounded, and I can't imagine the pain that this poor girl went through when they did it.
So, I went the next day with Magic in mind, and when I got there, she was the first one that I saw. To my horror, I also saw a woman in front of her cage with it open, petting and talking to her. I swallowed the lump in my throat and told myself that it would be GREAT if she got adopted, as long as she went to a good home....there were other cats, after all! They asked me if I was there to see any specific cat, and I said "Magic, but it looks like she has a visitor". They laughed and told me that was just her former foster Mom! Yay! I met her, held her, and she fell asleep in my arms. She was a tubby girl from sitting in a cage for so long with little activity, and wasn't a "kitten" (though young, at about 1 year old), but I thought she would be perfect for us. I decided to take her, and they were thrilled - Magic had been waiting for 4 months for a home!
As I walked toward the adoption desk to fill out the paperwork and pay her adoption fee, I saw a cage with 3 kittens in it. Two oo them were curled up together, and the other was running around the cage wildly, chasing her tail. Every time she got too close to the other 2, they would growl and hiss at her. I asked what the deal was - the 2 kissing kittens were still partly feral, and the single kitten was the last of her litter. They asked if I wanted to meet her (you can see where this is going...) I picked her up, she started purring and licked my nose. Yeah...."I'll take her too". I figured that little Maya would have a blast playing with my other 2 cats.
So, I brought them both home. My fiance hadn't come with me - he woke up feeling sick. He said that he trusted my judgment and sent me on my way. Looking back on it, maybe I sensed that I would get 2....I brought 2 cat carriers, lol.
Maya is exactly what I expected - she's the friendliest kitten I've ever met. She actually purrs the entire time while she sleeps. She kisses people every time they pick her up, and seeks out attention where ever she can get it. When we have friends over, she goes from lap to lap and curls up, purring like a motor boat. It took her less than a day to like the dogs, and she's starting to play with the other cats now. There is still the occasional hiss, but they're doing great.
Magic is so special - she likes to give head bumpies for affection and is really mellow. At first she was freaked out by the dogs and didn't like the other cats much, but she has been here for 6 days now and is doing awesome. She's still not actively playing with the other cats, but isn't hiding from them and sniffs their butts when they're not paying attention. She doesn't seem to mind the dogs any more either - they both got the picture REAL quick, with a nice swat to the nose.
Without further adieu, here are Maya and Magic. I hope Maximus would approve of my choices.
Magic's Petfinder Photo
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicPetfinder.jpg
at our house...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Magic.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Magic2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicCatbed1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicOutsideBathroom.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/CheddarMagicRefrigerator.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/CheddarMagic.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicHallway.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/MagicCatbed.jpg
I'll post Maya's in the next one....