I wanted to share this email sent to our rescue founder regarding a lovely longhaired buff and white cat named Nigel who was surrendered to us in terrible condition! I love a happy ending!
This is a pic of Nigel in his foster home. He was so badly matted we had to give him a lion cut.
Good morning!
Just wanted to send you a thank you note from Nigel and myself. Nigel is the best cat I have had to date! I love him so much and I believe he feels the same. He is always under me. I know this adoption was God ordained because I would not allow myself to entertain the thought of adopting another cat until the day I saw Peetie and then Nigel. Peetie was the lure to get me to Nigel.
So let let me share with you how his first and second day at his new home went.
Day 1 - Saturday, February 21st
If you remember, it was snowing pretty hard when I picked him up from Pet Smart. We made it home with not too much vocalization from Nigel... which surprised me! So we made it in the house and I took him immediately downstairs to the basement where his litter box is and opened the door to the carrier to let him out.
Don't be alarmed... my basement is finished with the Dow Corning Basement system. The floor is carpeted with burlap carpeting and I have an Amish fireplace. So I opened Nigel's cage and he ran around the basement looking and sniffing! I was cracking up! I never saw he move that fast before. I had a couple of rubber balls and cellophane mice laying around. He batted at those once or twice and continued exploring. Then he went to his litter box, used it, jumped out and continued exploring.
Now I thought he would basically stay downstairs for a couple of days. Nope! Nigel discovered the stairs and ran up the stairs, through the kitchen, into the den where my husband was and leaped on the couch. He jumped down and proceed through the rest of the house. When he got to our bedroom, he leaped on the bed, started sniffing, laid down and started meowing loudly! I went over to him and started kissing him and talking to him and he started purring. We did this for about 10 minutes.
I then took Nigel to his food so that he would know where it is. He sniffed at his food, consumed quite a bit of water and back downstairs we went to play with our toys. He acts as though he's lived here before. He slept with me and my husband the very first night! It took us a while to fall asleep because he purrs so very loud! Nigel also snores... can you believe it?
Day 2 - Sunday, February 22nd
Nigel was up first. When I didn't get up right away, he leaped back in the bed, got in my face to see if I was awake. I feigned sleep to see what he would do. He got right in my face and then MEOW! - "Time to Get Up Mommy!" So I got up, bathroom stop, put on coffee and proceeded to feed Nigel. Of course he is under me hand and foot; steadily talking to me. I had no idea he was so vocal! So I gave him fresh water, shook his crunch food down more in his dish and gave him a couple of teaspoons of stewed Chicken & Brown Rice in gravy by Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics. I have also been introducing the Nutro dry food into his diet by mixing it with what you were giving him and decreasing her old food daily. After he eats, we go downstairs to play! He loves his rubber balls and he bats them all around the basement. The he drags himself around the basement by sinking his claws into the burlap carpet. He really cracked me up when he jumped up on the pool table and leaped from the pool table to the pole, near the couch, so that he could slide down the pole. I laughed so hard. He plays hard and he sleeps hard. He always takes a nap after playing. He sleeps anywhere near me... almost like "Mommy I'm going to sleep now so protect me while I sleep".
I cannot stress enough how intelligent Nigel is. I am very, very glad I had the experience of having cats before because it has helped me deal psychologically with Nigel. This is what I mean by this. Nigel explored the house again. This time, however, we established our roles. He would follow me into a room and lay down. Then, he would go to another room, sit at the doorway like a dog, and wait for me to follow. When I follwed, he went all the way into the room laid down, let me pet and kiss him and then go to the next room. The last room, my office, I followed him, but did not stay. I went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed and waited for him to come to me. After about 6 minutes, he came, jumped up on the bed and fell into my lap. We've been inseprable since. By the way, Nigel sleeps on his back with his complete underside exposed. I am just fascinated how quickly he trust me and I will never betray his trust!
We'll send you an update after our first vet visit in about a week.
Nigel and Mommie
This is a pic of Nigel in his foster home. He was so badly matted we had to give him a lion cut.
Good morning!
Just wanted to send you a thank you note from Nigel and myself. Nigel is the best cat I have had to date! I love him so much and I believe he feels the same. He is always under me. I know this adoption was God ordained because I would not allow myself to entertain the thought of adopting another cat until the day I saw Peetie and then Nigel. Peetie was the lure to get me to Nigel.
So let let me share with you how his first and second day at his new home went.
Day 1 - Saturday, February 21st
If you remember, it was snowing pretty hard when I picked him up from Pet Smart. We made it home with not too much vocalization from Nigel... which surprised me! So we made it in the house and I took him immediately downstairs to the basement where his litter box is and opened the door to the carrier to let him out.
Don't be alarmed... my basement is finished with the Dow Corning Basement system. The floor is carpeted with burlap carpeting and I have an Amish fireplace. So I opened Nigel's cage and he ran around the basement looking and sniffing! I was cracking up! I never saw he move that fast before. I had a couple of rubber balls and cellophane mice laying around. He batted at those once or twice and continued exploring. Then he went to his litter box, used it, jumped out and continued exploring.
Now I thought he would basically stay downstairs for a couple of days. Nope! Nigel discovered the stairs and ran up the stairs, through the kitchen, into the den where my husband was and leaped on the couch. He jumped down and proceed through the rest of the house. When he got to our bedroom, he leaped on the bed, started sniffing, laid down and started meowing loudly! I went over to him and started kissing him and talking to him and he started purring. We did this for about 10 minutes.
I then took Nigel to his food so that he would know where it is. He sniffed at his food, consumed quite a bit of water and back downstairs we went to play with our toys. He acts as though he's lived here before. He slept with me and my husband the very first night! It took us a while to fall asleep because he purrs so very loud! Nigel also snores... can you believe it?
Day 2 - Sunday, February 22nd
Nigel was up first. When I didn't get up right away, he leaped back in the bed, got in my face to see if I was awake. I feigned sleep to see what he would do. He got right in my face and then MEOW! - "Time to Get Up Mommy!" So I got up, bathroom stop, put on coffee and proceeded to feed Nigel. Of course he is under me hand and foot; steadily talking to me. I had no idea he was so vocal! So I gave him fresh water, shook his crunch food down more in his dish and gave him a couple of teaspoons of stewed Chicken & Brown Rice in gravy by Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics. I have also been introducing the Nutro dry food into his diet by mixing it with what you were giving him and decreasing her old food daily. After he eats, we go downstairs to play! He loves his rubber balls and he bats them all around the basement. The he drags himself around the basement by sinking his claws into the burlap carpet. He really cracked me up when he jumped up on the pool table and leaped from the pool table to the pole, near the couch, so that he could slide down the pole. I laughed so hard. He plays hard and he sleeps hard. He always takes a nap after playing. He sleeps anywhere near me... almost like "Mommy I'm going to sleep now so protect me while I sleep".
I cannot stress enough how intelligent Nigel is. I am very, very glad I had the experience of having cats before because it has helped me deal psychologically with Nigel. This is what I mean by this. Nigel explored the house again. This time, however, we established our roles. He would follow me into a room and lay down. Then, he would go to another room, sit at the doorway like a dog, and wait for me to follow. When I follwed, he went all the way into the room laid down, let me pet and kiss him and then go to the next room. The last room, my office, I followed him, but did not stay. I went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed and waited for him to come to me. After about 6 minutes, he came, jumped up on the bed and fell into my lap. We've been inseprable since. By the way, Nigel sleeps on his back with his complete underside exposed. I am just fascinated how quickly he trust me and I will never betray his trust!
We'll send you an update after our first vet visit in about a week.
Nigel and Mommie
