Lilith and Sophie

Hi all! I am a first time cat mom. I just adopted 2 black Persians from the Humane Society. They were in a group of 20 that had been rescued from an abandoned house. Allegedly, they were dumped by a breeder. I have loved cats my whole life and have wanted one since I can remember wanting anything. My mother does not like cats so I was never allowed to have one as a kid. She refers to cats as "sneaky". As luck would have it, my husband turned out to be highly allergic to cats, so, no cat for me. The funny part of that is that he was a cat magnet. All cats loved him and he would have happily had some if he could. He passed away 2 years ago. My daughter (our only human child) went away to college recently so it was now down to me and my going on 12 year old Border Collie, Bailey. I got her from the same Humane Society 10 years ago. I check their website often to see what's there pretty often and last week I saw Lilith. My daughter is a cat lover like me and when I showed her Lilith's picture she told me to go meet her so I did. She was in a meet & greet room with 2 other Persians. One that was a mix of orange, tan and white and one that could almost be Lilith's twin. This little one was hiding in a corner under a chair. The employee walked me into the room, handed me a bag of Temptations treats and told me to have fun. Lilith was all over me immediately, as was the little tri color guy who had been adopted already waiting on pick up from his new family. The girl pointed to the little one in the corner, said her name was Midge and that she won't come out and "bother" me because she wasn't very friendly. THAT bothered me. As I am playing with the other two, I notice that Midge is slowly inching her way out of the corner (probably because of the bag of kitty crack in my hand!) The other 2 are playing and begging for treats. soon, Midge is slightly more than arms length from me, so I offer her some treats. she clearly wants them but is cautious. I can understand that so I wait. she finally takes some from me and then all 3 are playing and begging. So after a while of this I go back to the reception desk and the girl asks if I want to take Lilith. I hear myself saying, "I'll take BOTH of them." where did THAT come from? LOL. She looked shocked and said that since Midge had been there, no one has really been able to interact much with her because she hides in the corner and hisses at them. This surprised me because she let me pet her while she was eating and purrs loudly as soon as I touch her, I just could not leave her behind. So. Midge became Sophie and they have been here a little over a week now with no problems. My daughter is coming home for spring break on Friday and is so excited to meet her new sisters. Bailey is a very sweet, gentle dog and loves all other animals (except for puppies as of late. too much unrestrained energy for the old girl!) The HS said that they thought Lilith is about 4 and Sophie 2 but the paperwork I got for both says between 1 and 2 YO. Aside from a swat on the nose from Sophie after Bailey got a little too invasive in her southern hemisphere, all interaction between the three has been peaceful.

   
Lilith                                                        Sophie                                                    Bailey

That's a beautiful black trio you have!

Great story!  And beautiful kitties.  What a great trio--one big happy family.  

Yay!! What a happy story!  And after much loss too.  Am glad for all 4 of you (5 when your daughter visits!)

Aww, welcome!!  They are all so beautiful. I am glad you got both of them they look like a great pair..and you will never be bored or lonely 

Thanks everyone!  I am glad I took both of them. It bothered me that the girl at the shelter was so dismissive of Midge (Sophie) because she was probably overwhelmed and scared. Her personality has come out in a big way and she is very vocal, playful and loves to be petted. Being held doesn't thrill either of them but they will let me pick them up for brief hugs. Lilith loves to sit by my feet and purr. They have had an impact on Bailey, too. She was hit very hard when her dad died, She was a daddy's girl. Having these 2 around gave her some of her spark back. L&S play tag at night and when L is done, Bailey gets tagged in by Sophie. The old girl had a big grin on her face after they were done playing last night.

Hello and welcome to the wonderful ranks of cat servitude! Sounds like L & S are the sunshine and happiness you all needed.

You're wonderful for taking them both and giving Sophie a chance.  I'll bet your daughter is so anxious to get home to meet them.

Bless you for having such a big heart! I think Sophie was just so scared out of her mind, and I'm so glad you could see through it! They are a truly beautiful family, and I pray you'll have many, many happy years together.

Thanks. This site has been a huge help in learning about cat care! they are both doing very well. The humane society had them on Science Diet dry and advised me to stick to that but reading here about the benefits of wet food, I am slowly cutting back the dry and increasing the wet food and they are eating better and their coats seem shinier. my daughter has been home since Friday night and while they were a little hesitant at first, they warmed up to her and she wakes up every morning with a purr monster on each side meowing that it's play time.

Hello, You are my hero for giving these beautiful kitties a loving home. It sounds like you are a proud kitty mom, me too. It's just Tiki and me and he is so very spoiled.

What a touching story. I wouldn't have been able to leave Sophie all alone either.Sophie and Lilth are beautiful. My daughter and I love persions.  

My Mother was and still is very afraid of cats. She has always had an irrational fear of cats. So I was raised with dogs and have had dogs all my life. I have never not had at least one dog.

30 years a go I took care of a friends cat for her. The cat stayed in my walk in closet the whole week I had her she wouldn't come out. So several times a day I would join her in the closet and needless to say I fell in love. This is when I learned  that cats were not  scary or sneaky.  My Mom thought they were sneaky too . I rescued 2 kittens and became so allergic in one year that I ended up in the hosp. 2 times with allergy induced asthma. Sadly I had to re home my kitties. So fast forward 30 years and my 9 y/o daughter who when she was born was not at all scared of the dogs she had heard barking at her in my tummy for 9 months but never really became attached to the dogs oddly enough. The 2 dogs we had when she was born both had to be put down one just last year and the other about 4 years a go.  We were down to one dog so she begged me for a cat and I gave in despite always saying I will never go through that heart break again. I always told her Anna Mommy is allergic to cats we can't have a cat. We have rescued 3 cats in the past year and amazingly I am not allergic to them. My Daughter is definatley a cat person and although I have had dogs since the age of 2 I love my cats too.   

I was terrified of cats as a child. Dogs as well. My sister told me recently that i came home from school once and mum had a tiny kitten in her hands and when I saw it I started screaming and kitty had to go back.
When I was 8/9 years we went to a farm for a summer's holiday. Apparently my mum told Mrs. Farmer to help me get used to cats somehow. Every time she saw me she'd dump a cat in my arms and tellbe to take it to Mr. Farmer which I did. We brought a kitten home with us and now I can't live without cats in my life.

Beautiful kitties and dog!  Welcome to the site.  My cats, Max & Phoebe, and I are new to the site, too!  Looking forward to keeping up with you.