I wanted a kitten, under 6 months. So, I wasn't really thinking about the possibility of my cat having a bad past. I was going to get a kitten, and she'd grow up with me.
I immediately saw the picture of the cutest kitten ever on the facebook page for my local shelter and I decided that I was going to visit her the next day after work and see if her personality fit me. I called ahead and found out that she had been adopted and to be honest, I was a little devastated. I hadn't even met this kitten and I was already mourning the loss of her.
What really came out of that, was that I for the first time realized how much I really wanted a cat. I spent days on petfinder and the websites of animal shelters in the area. I saw a lot of cute cats, but none that I was willing to drive out of town to go visit. I'll admit, I was guilty of typecasting my future kitty. I love gray/brown tabby cats. My cat growing up (who still lives with my mom is a tabby and he's so handsome).
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| Handsome Tanner |
I looked and looked online, but no kitten really caught my eye. My gut just kept telling me- wait until you find one at your local shelter. I was just hoping that I'd find one sooner, rather than later. Living alone for the past 6 months was finally getting to me.
So that next Saturday I was visiting my mom, about 30 minutes away. And playing with my old cats made me want one so much more. My mom convinced me to go to the shelter in town, and honestly I did not think I'd find a cat. However, perched on a high shelf was a cat, not a kitten who caught my eye. The guy at the shelter called her "Vixie" and said she was about a year old. Her old family had left her about a month ago saying they couldn't have pets anymore and that she was spayed and declawed.
He pulled her off that shelf and handed her to me, and she had me at first purr. I was quickly in love. It took me all of 5 minutes to decide to adopt her and after one quick stop at walmart for essentials we were on our way home, where I quickly decided she was "Zoey". My mom hung out and helped me give Zoey her first bath and by the next day (Sunday) Zoey was feeling at home.
So that next Saturday I was visiting my mom, about 30 minutes away. And playing with my old cats made me want one so much more. My mom convinced me to go to the shelter in town, and honestly I did not think I'd find a cat. However, perched on a high shelf was a cat, not a kitten who caught my eye. The guy at the shelter called her "Vixie" and said she was about a year old. Her old family had left her about a month ago saying they couldn't have pets anymore and that she was spayed and declawed.
He pulled her off that shelf and handed her to me, and she had me at first purr. I was quickly in love. It took me all of 5 minutes to decide to adopt her and after one quick stop at walmart for essentials we were on our way home, where I quickly decided she was "Zoey". My mom hung out and helped me give Zoey her first bath and by the next day (Sunday) Zoey was feeling at home.
Monday evening I noticed that I hadn't seen Zoey in about an hour (I also hadn't left the couch in that time). Zoey was still exploring, but she usually was around quite a bit and spent time on the couch with me. When she finally reappeared around 8 pm her eye was completely swollen.
When I say swollen, I mean swollen. Her third eye lid was so enlarged that you couldn't even get to her eye ball and she was just scratching and scratching and scratching. I got really worried {hysterically craying and calling my mother freaking out} and tried to get a hold of a vet. When I finally did, the vet had me meet a tech at the office. They wanted to get an E- Collar on her so she wouldn't damage her eye by scratching. They also had me board her, so the vet could squeeze her in the next day even though she was booked solid.
After leaving Zoey at the vet, I entered a whole new round of hysterics. She had belonged to me for only two days and then I was handing her over to a stranger who was going to put her in a cage. I knew she must feel like she was being abandoned, just like she had been a month earlier. It just really hurt my heart that there was no way for me to tell her that I loved her and wanted her and would be back for her.
As I laid in bed that night, I just kept wondering, what really had happened with her old family. And mostly how did she feel when they took her to a shelter. Pretty soon, "Where You Belong" by Kari Kimmel came one my iPod and the lyrics of the chorus really hit me.
You're surrounded
By love and you're wanted
So never feel alone
You are home with me
Right where you belong
From that point, I pretty much just wanted Zoey to come home so I could let her know how much I loved her. She came home the next day, and although she's still wearing a cone, she's on the mend.
Zoey hasn't been in my life very long, but I already feel like her Mommy. I don't know anything about her past, and I'm never going to, but from now on, I get to make sure she has the best future possible. She's lying in bed next to me as I type this, nudging me every so often letting me know that she's more important than my macbook. I probably lucked out, that I got a truly sweet cat, who seems to be as smitten with me as I am with her.
I seriously can't bear the thought of her sitting in a shelter, waiting for a possibly good home, and it upsets me even more to think about the possibility of her being put down, because she wasn't adopted. Cats out there need you, and if you're a cat lover, go get one. If you aren't a cat lover- give them a try. Visit a friend with a cat. They're so loving. Getting to know Zoey makes me want to find a home for every sheltered cat. My other cats were given to me by friends who owned their mothers, their back stories were not a mystery.
I've recently seen articles claiming that cats have no affection for their owners. Looking into Zoey's big green eyes, I know that isn't true. She follows me around and wants to be near me. She gets excited when I come home. She loves me already, like I love her.
When I say swollen, I mean swollen. Her third eye lid was so enlarged that you couldn't even get to her eye ball and she was just scratching and scratching and scratching. I got really worried {hysterically craying and calling my mother freaking out} and tried to get a hold of a vet. When I finally did, the vet had me meet a tech at the office. They wanted to get an E- Collar on her so she wouldn't damage her eye by scratching. They also had me board her, so the vet could squeeze her in the next day even though she was booked solid.
After leaving Zoey at the vet, I entered a whole new round of hysterics. She had belonged to me for only two days and then I was handing her over to a stranger who was going to put her in a cage. I knew she must feel like she was being abandoned, just like she had been a month earlier. It just really hurt my heart that there was no way for me to tell her that I loved her and wanted her and would be back for her.
As I laid in bed that night, I just kept wondering, what really had happened with her old family. And mostly how did she feel when they took her to a shelter. Pretty soon, "Where You Belong" by Kari Kimmel came one my iPod and the lyrics of the chorus really hit me.
You're surrounded
By love and you're wanted
So never feel alone
You are home with me
Right where you belong
From that point, I pretty much just wanted Zoey to come home so I could let her know how much I loved her. She came home the next day, and although she's still wearing a cone, she's on the mend.
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| This is how she watches me get ready in the morning |
I seriously can't bear the thought of her sitting in a shelter, waiting for a possibly good home, and it upsets me even more to think about the possibility of her being put down, because she wasn't adopted. Cats out there need you, and if you're a cat lover, go get one. If you aren't a cat lover- give them a try. Visit a friend with a cat. They're so loving. Getting to know Zoey makes me want to find a home for every sheltered cat. My other cats were given to me by friends who owned their mothers, their back stories were not a mystery.
I've recently seen articles claiming that cats have no affection for their owners. Looking into Zoey's big green eyes, I know that isn't true. She follows me around and wants to be near me. She gets excited when I come home. She loves me already, like I love her.
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