My kids managed to talk my husband and me into adopting another cat. We had several local shelters bookmarked. I finally decided on Second Chance Animal Shelter in East Brookfield, Mass. I liked what I saw on their website. I'd also heard good things about them from coworkers. We spent weeks looking at the adoptable cats on their website. Just last week they had a batch of kittens listed and we'd hoped to adopt one. Then two days before our planned visit they deleted the kitten listing along with some of the other faces we'd come to 'know.'
Saturday, March 13 was Adopt a New Kitty Day in our house. We marked it on the calendar and waited anxiously for the day to arrive. My kids and I drove out to the shelter. It took almost an hour because I was unfamiliar with the area, we hit some heavy traffic and then got stuck behind a slow driver for several miles. After much frustration on my part, we reached our destination.
There were no more kittens.
I asked if they had any young cats. She said they had a few. In reality, they had about 10 adoptable cats, several that were older than we wanted. She pointed out a cat in a corner cage and said he was 7 months old. He came in as a stray just two days before, which is why he wasn't on their website yet. They didn't have any history on him other than where he was picked up. He was white and his name was Boomer. I told her we really don't want a white cat. Our 18 year old Morton, who was put down in December, was pure white and it would be a painful reminder. Boomer didn't care. He came right over and introduced himself by rubbing his face on the bars of his cage and letting us pet him. He purred very loudly. I walked away to look at the other cats. We checked out the cats we'd seen on the website. Stanley, who's five years old and big and fluffy. Coco and Chubs, who have been friends since day one and would prefer to find a home together. Tasha, a sweet, quiet tiger kitty who stared at us with big eyes. I looked back at Boomer. He was still trying his hardest to get our attention. The shelter volunteer said she'd take him out so we could hold him. Boomer didn't squirm or scratch. He was content and purred happily. When I held him he settled right in as if we'd known each other forever. My kids said he's the one. He chose us.
It turns out Boomer isn't pure white like Morton was. He's a Siamese mix - creamy white with light orange markings and blue eyes. He's also big. I don't know if he's got more growing to do, but if he does he's going to be a large cat. We've renamed him Oliver, or Ollie for short. We'll see which name sticks.
He's currently living in my son Adam's room until Flower, the four year old kitty we've had since 2007, gets used to him. She doesn't like having another cat in her house. Oliver escaped from Adam's room and went exploring on Saturday afternoon. Flower freaked when she saw him. She didn't appreciate him trying to play with her. They tussled in the hallway. Fur flew. Flower screeched. Oliver hid under the bed. It wasn't a pretty scene. We put him back in his safe room as soon as he came out of hiding.
Today Flower has been better. We've caught her with her face up to the baby gate peeking at Oliver. He stares back at her but won't come near the door, probably because she beat him up yesterday (the big meanie). I know they'll warm up to each other soon enough.
Oliver is very sociable. He's also very affectionate and loves to be held. This morning as I cleaned his litter box he was in my face checking out everything I was doing. I can't believe he was a stray cat just a few days ago. Someone out there took good care of him.
I took these photos as soon as we got him home. Isn't he a cutie? He loves the fleece blanket I made Adam for Christmas.
If you're thinking about adopting a pet, please check out your local animal shelter. There are so many cats and dogs that need forever homes. Flower and Oliver were adopted from no kill animal shelters. They were already neutered and up to date on shots when we took them home. Their adoption fees were very reasonable. Click on the Petfinder.com link on my sidebar to find the shelters in your area.
Don't shop...adopt.
No comments:
Post a Comment