Question Of The Day, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm not sure how many responses I'll get to this, because it will be a bit involved, but I LOVE watching you all stretch your imaginations! So many of you have such vivid ones! So, I'm going to take the risk, and post this anyway.

Here is your scenario: You are at a shelter, wanting to adopt a cat...or two...or three. You see the one(s) that speaks to your heart. Now, give that cat a look, a personality, a backstory, and a name. Who is your new cat?

Although there are so many sweet cats here, I really want to give a home to a cat or two who might be overlooked. I'm especially interested in seniors. I tell the volunteer that, and her face lights up. She looks at me, and asks forlornly, "You wouldn't consider two, would you?" She shows me a cage where two girls are curled together in the back and tells me their story. They are about 16 years old, and belonged to an elderly lady. Their mama's health became very fragile, and she was no longer able to live on her own. Her family took her in, but were unable or unwilling to extend their home to her cats. They have been at the shelter for almost six months, always passed over due to their age and the fact that they must stay together. The shelter is beginning to despair of ever finding them a home.

Of course I'm interested, and after spending some time with the girls in the visitor's room, I'm quite smitten. One girl is white, and shy, but very sweet. The other is a more outgoing tortie. SO, I fill out their paperwork, and bring my new girls home. I'm not fond of their names...Suzie and Mable...but want to get to know them a bit better before settling on names for them. Once home, their personalities begin to come out. Sue, the white cat, is shy. She loves to curl up in a ball where she can watch everything going on, and be a part of it, but without being in the middle of it all. She moves utterly silently through the house, often startling me. Mable, the tortie, lives up to the reputation of torties. She is a bit bossy, demanding and very, very chatty. She has no problem telling you exactly what she expects! Trying to think of a name for them a few days after they come home, my eye falls on one of my bookcases, and I spot Krista Davis' series, Paws and Claws. Book #2 gives me my new babies' names! They are "Ghost" and "Mrs. Mewer!"

With thanks to both Krista Davis and to the wonderful old movie, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," where her idea came from.


SO...anyone up for this rather challenging question of the day?

 

[Kat0121]

That's a gutsy move. TWO torties in one house? Did you discuss this hypothetical situation with the Queen? Is she still speaking to you?

I don't know. Black cats and I have always been drawn to each other like magnets so I'd imagine the cat would be black. I have never raised a cat from kittenhood so I'll say that they are a pair of brothers from a litter that was surrendered. Their names are Dante and Damian just because I like those names. I think 2 females in one house is good. I doubt Queen Lilith would tolerate a third.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

None for me from a shelter. I have been there and done that. It was a nightmare, but the end of the story is good because he still lives with us. If I ever bring another cat to my home, it will be a stray found in the yard here. End of story.

 

[Kreatorcat]

Mine is the older cat who was very reluctantly brought to the shelter by an older woman who had to move into and old folks home that doesn't allow pets. And tho the cat is confused,it hasnt lost its love or its desperate need of human companionship. So,like many of its fellow cats at the shelter, it searches for the eyes of anyone who walks by its cage. And tho it sees the younger cats and kittens being taken to their new homes,this cat still has hope someone will claim it as theirs.

As i walk by said cats cage,it meows to get my attention. Amidst the din of all the other animals,this one appears to know my name.

I stop dead in my tracks. Turning toward my future housemate,I speak back. The cat returns my call,and places its paw on the cage door. It says "Let me out so we can be together."

I sit down in front of the cage,and open the door. The old cat walks right into my lap and nuzzles my face,marking me as belonging to it. I scratch the old cats head,and it closes its eyes and purrs in satisfaction. It curls up in my lap,dooming me to being still so as not to end this moment...one that both of us will remember until the end of days.

I fill out the paperwork as i sit there on the floor with this old cat in my lap. When its all done,we say our goodbyes to the people at the shelter and head home.

I have not described this cat in any way except that it is old.

Thats because i dont care if its male or female. Long or short haired. Tuxedo,calico,or solid black...i care not. Only that it wants to be with me.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Awwwwwww...LOVED your stories! And taking in a stray is such a wonderful thing to do, and very brave, given what medical issues they can pick up on the streets. Of course, you get that with shelter animals, as well.

That's a gutsy move. TWO torties in one house? Did you discuss this hypothetical situation with the Queen? Is she still speaking to you?

I did, and she is, but only barely, and that because I explained to her that my lease will only allow HER, and this was just a sort of day-dream.

 

[Desertmouse]

For me I think I would find them from a recuse that only fosters their cats.

I called the shelter and let them know what I was looking for, one or if they were bonded with another cat two cats, past their wild kitten years but still young enough I would have many more good years with them. They told me they think they have a foster couple who might have just what I was looking for in the group they were taking care, a group of cats rescued from the house of a elderly woman who had to be moved to a assisted living facilitie.

I brush down my clothes, more nervous then I thought I would be, before knocking on their door. The woman who answers th door has such a kind face I can feel myself relax. “Welcome! I’m so glad you came! I’m sure you are going to find what you are looking for here. I have two cats in mind I want to show you.” Taking a deep breathe I follow her into the house. “By the way I’m Karen. Do you know the back story of this group?” I nod saying, “they told me that they were recused from a elderly woman’s house when she had to leave, right?” Karen sighs and says “yes, but did you know she used to run a cat rescue in her hay day? Sadly as she got older she started showing signs of dementia. Her children live out of state and were shocked when they came to visit and found over 7 cats of different ages in the house. They still don’t know where she got all of them from. We’re just lucky they all get along and seem so healthy.” She opens a door to a large room filled with cat toys, cat trees and litter boxes.

“This,” she says holding up a lovely orange tabby, “is James. We believe he is around 2 years old. He loves to play with the ball track.” I smile and reach toward him to let him smell my fingers. To my shock he hisses at me and squirms away from Karen and jumping to the top of a cat tree. I blink a couple times surprised, cats usually love me! What did I do? “I don’t think he likes me much,” I say with a sad smile. Karen gives s little forced laugh, “don’t worry, James is just a little to picky.” I can feel her giving me s sideways look. I was assure her that it’s not me, that I really am a nice person, but I bite my tongue. “Well,” she says going over to a cat tree where a black cat is sleeping, “this beauty is called Jasmine. We believe she is also around 2 or 3. She might not look it right now, but once night falls she will hunt any cat toy you have in the house!” I look at jasmine a bit warily after what happened with James but hold out a hand for her to smell. To my relief she doesn’t hiss, just smells my hand, yawn, and go back to sleep. I hate to say it, but I don’t really feel a connection to her. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I just don’t think she is the right fit” I tell Karen. Her face falls a bit but she nods, “I understand sometimes....” while she is talking I notice two cats behind her grooming each other and purring. They are so beautiful! One is a delicate little girl with markings like a Siamese, the other reminded me of a Russian blue. Slowly I move closer and hold out my hand. To my shock the blue boy started licking my hand! I couldn’t help but giggle, surprising Karen. “Who are these beauties?” I ask. Karen blinked and says, “that’s Sia and Rocky, but I’ve never seen them do that before!” I grin, “are they already spoken for?” I really don’t care how old they are at this point, though I should probably find out. “No, in fact they usually hide when someone new comes around, Sia is guessed to be around 5 years, and we think Rocky is close to 4. I think they like you.” I smile down at my two new family members, “I think I like them to. When can I fill out the paperwork and take them home?”

 

[Merlin77]

So this is like writing a fictional piece, right? (My specialty, yay!)

Janessa did not remember the last time she had gone anywhere without a purpose. Life was too short for that nonsense--wherever she went, she knew what she wanted to happen.

Today, however, was not in the least way related to her normal days. She was lost.

The moment she had stepped through the doors of the Aspen Mountain Shelter, her mental compass had broken and she floated through the hallways deep in thought, knowing she could touch the fate of an animal. Which one would be the lucky one? And which ones would be left behind?

Remember, you came for a cat, Jay told herself. One that will get along with the dog.

Faces peered through the metal cages, showing off yellow eyes, green eyes, blue eyes... Cats mewled and purred. A orange tabby reached out of the bars of his cell and patted the empty air with a desperate paw. A black cat shoved her body into the wall of her cage, arching her back and rubbed her head to the smooth metal.

Jay didn't pay attention. She knew she would feel which cat was right for her. Wandering the hall for minutes upon end, she saw cats of thousands of varieties. Big, small, light, dark, tall, short, mean, friendly.

The one that caught her eye was a petite grey tabby ramming herself into the bars of her cage. A tiny female, yowling and spitting and pouring all her heart and soul into escaping. The pitiful thing was covered in scars that almost outnumbered the stripes lining her pelt. Blazing eyes were green fires that looked hotter than the morning sun. She screeched at her prison, breaking off claws in effort to break down the bars.

Jay leaned closer to see the page of information nailed to her cage. One year and a month old. Thirteen months in total. Past barn cat. 3.3 pounds. Social and active. Requires outside access. Named Fern.

Fern had stopped pummeling the cage, and panted next to her tipped-over litterbox, in the corner. She raised her eyes to meet Jay's. Unblinking and fiery.

"That one's wild. Better to get one of the normal ones," a passing staff member stopped to point at Fern. "That beast will destroy all your furniture. She's better off outback on a farm than in some tiny apartment."

"We've got a big backyard," Jay smiled. "And a dog to keep her busy. How much is she?"

"She's free. We figured no one would care to invest money in a mini tornado."

"I'll take her."

In less than half an hour, Fern's prison had changed from a cold cage to a cramped carrier. She still perservered, thrusting her face against the walls.

Three adoption papers and a hasty car drive later, Jay carried Fern in through the front door and set her down in the living room. She gingerly opened the door of the carrier and held her breath.

A perfectly happy, purring young cat strolled out and promptly stretched out in the middle of the room. Jay met her gaze for the second time, and made Fern a tiny promise: I will never imprison you.


The End

 

[Blakeney Green]

Last July, two unsocialized kittens were found in a ditch, very sick and covered with maggots. Both recovered physically, and one bounced back emotionally right away, but the other one seemed to struggle more with what had happened to them. The happier kitten got adopted pretty quickly by a nice family. I tried to convince them to take them both - "She doesn't need much, just a place to stay and some food" - but no dice.

She was only a few months old, but I never saw her play. She just sat staring straight ahead, all day every day. I would take her out of her cage every day for awhile and we got to the point where she would let me pet her and I could even get a few purrs out of her, but she never really warmed up to anyone else, and I don't recall a single prospective adopter ever even asking a question about her.

One day I was doing something entirely unrelated (I was actually sitting in a theater seeing a play) but I could suddenly see the writing on the wall very clearly for her. She was a black semi-feral kitten in a shelter full of cute, friendly pets. She would linger there for years, getting more and more emotionally damaged in the process, as has happened to many of our black kittens in the past... or I could take her home. I figured if I did, she would basically just live under my bed and I would see her occasionally.

I started fostering her on December 23rd; I wanted her to be home before Christmas.

For the first week, I didn't see her at all. I was afraid she had gotten outside because I couldn't find her anywhere. (I eventually figured out she was wedged behind the water heater.) I was worried I had made a mistake because she had regressed so much - at least I could pet her at the shelter. Did I make her worse? I felt a little silly about doing this, but I prayed for a sign that I had done the right thing by taking her home, and hadn't made things even harder for her.

Later that evening, I found her in my kitchen cabinet hiding behind my toaster. Well, I thought. There's my sign. She was interested enough in what we were doing to hide in the kitchen so she could watch us better, so I figured that meant she liked it at my house after all. The next day I told my boss that I would finalize her adoption on the same day as Toad's.

Very gradually, she came out of her shell. Now she is a happy little girl who plays with my other kitten and snuggles with my older cats. She likes to cuddle with me when I'm in bed, and she comes to me for kisses and pets. She'll flatten against me like a pancake and cling to me with her claws.

That's how I got my Laceyface.

 

[neely]

Here is your scenario: You are at a shelter, wanting to adopt a cat...or two...or three. You see the one(s) that speaks to your heart. Now, give that cat a look, a personality, a backstory, and a name. Who is your new cat?

Actually we were at the shelter where we adopted Neely last Sunday dropping off cat food. So this story will be close to the truth. We visit the shelter from time to time to bring in extra food, treats, newspapers, etc. I always have to check out the kitties. I didn't see any particular cat that peeked my curiosity until a woman and her partner were in the private meet & greet room with a large long haired tabby that had the most piercing green eyes. I knew I couldn't bring home a new cat but I stopped and imagined nonetheless. I did not know if the cat was male or female, young or old, but already thought of a name, Martha if she was a girl and Martin if he was a boy. The personality was intelligent, active and affectionate. As I continued to daydream I thought about what it would be like to add the cat to our family. Something about this particular cat made me feel he or she would adjust to our home very easily. I waited by the window of the room to see what the couple meeting the cat would do. Sure enough the woman walked out, went up to the volunteer in charge and hugged her. I knew right then and there they were going to adopt him or her. It was then that reality set in and I walked away happy for the couple but bittersweet.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thank you all for taking the time to do this! I knew that I would not get a LOT of responses on this one, too intricate, too time consuming for a lot of members, but I also knew that those responses that I did get would touch my heart very deeply. And they have, each and every one.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

for me, it would be the eyes of the cat(s), what i saw when looking into them. and i'd love to adopt a senior cat, and a bonded pair would be ideal. i wouldn't be particular as to male or female, or coat coloring.

i'd wonder about their 'story', about before we met and how they came to be at a shelter/rescue, but i tend to focus on the here and now, as well as planning for our future together.