Sill More Proud Alumni...
QUACKERS AND PHILLY
Quackers and Philly were skittish when they came
to us. They hadn't had enough human contact in their young lives so they
were lucky when someone fell in love with them on the web and gave them
a home. They kept to themselves at first, but the following update shows
what time and patience can do.
"They have now taken up sleeping in the middle of
my bed, leaving me to sleep corner to corner. They're pretty well behaved
when I am trying to sleep, but if they know that I'm awake, they'll crawl
up to me and demand to be petted. Quackers will always go to my left side
and Philly will always climb onto my chest first, before finally settling
into my right side. Every toy ends up underneath my couch, eventually,
except for the laser pointer that is.
Quackers loves to have treats, but Philly just turns
her nose up to every kind of treat that I buy. They get along pretty well,
but sometimes he is a little too rough with her although I have seen her
sneak attack him on occasion. Quackers will now let me pick him up for
a couple of moments at a time and he'll last longer just sitting on my
lap, without me holding him. Philly on the other hand, loves to be held
and will sit on my lap all day and night if I let her. They follow me from
room to room, but will turn and run (for about a foot) if I try and get
them. They do let me catch them eventually and they both like to have their
bellies rubbed."
Quackers and Philly when they first arrived at the
shelter and didn't trust us.
Quackers and Philly, now called Erebus and Nyx, are
clearly very comfortable in their own home.
Erebus and Nyx were adopted in 2004 and in 2008 their person sent us
a new photo and a note saying, "Erebus (Quackers) and Nyx (Philly) have
turned into two of the greatest joys of my life."
BREWSTER AND KATO
Brewster and his little black Kato were both 12 years old when they arrived
at the shelter. They were a bonded pair who had to stay together. We thought
the odds of finding them a home would be slim to none. But they were such
an endearing pair -- brave, noble Brewster, and flighty, friendly Kato
-- that everyone fell in love with them. One of our volunteers ended up
adopting them. She brought us photos along with a happy report on how well
they're doing. On a funny note, she wrote us that, "Brewster is very protective
of his Kato. On their first night at our house, Brewster thought our dogs
were going after Kato (they weren't). So he ran after the dogs (a German
Shepherd and a Rotweiler), hissing and spitting. The dogs were terrified.
Both the cats are getting used to the dogs now, and vice versa."
SHARLA
Sharla was a semi feral cat who we thought would never be adopted. Though
she'd made friends among the other cats, she never learned to like human
contact while she was at the shelter. Then two and a half years after she
arrived a couple took her home, the same people who'd trapped her family
from a train yard as kittens and had kept one of her brothers. Predictably,
Sharla went into hiding at their home, taking up residence under the bed.
But within four months she was greeting her people at the door and sleeping
on the bed with them. "Mornings are fun. She head rubs me until I'm awake
with a mouth full of fur. She likes her sides patted. Her front end goes
down between her forelegs, and up comes the rear as if on hydraulics. She
starts purring loudly, then she rolls to the side or walks three steps
and we start again. This goes on through the full length of the hall or
until our knees give out."
The photo at left was taken at the shelter. The photographer
finally managed to corner Sharla and snap a photo before Sharla could slip
away.
The two right photos were taken at home were Sharla
has settled into domestic life beautifully.
JANIE
Janie was trapped on a farm with a number of other feral cats. The other
cats were returned to the property where they would be cared for. But Janie
didn't seem to be feral. This youngster went into a foster home where she
was playing and enjoying human attention very quickly. She was also adopted
fairly quickly and her new family is delighted with her. They write that,
"She is confident in her new surroundings (as though she's been here all
her life) and she is extremely playful. Mike and I have to keep our
feet bundled up at night as toes seem to be one of her favourite toys!
I have never met a more affectionate cat in my life and we're so happy
to have her."
The left photo was taken when Janie was in a foster
home. The middle and right photos are of Janie at home.
OGRI AND HAGAR
A couple of our kittens were adopted into a wonderful
home where they have a feline big brother. The family wrote, "I want to
pass on how sound your advice to us was about not adopting just one kitten
especially since we had a 13-year-old at home already. Dorion is
now in love with his little brothers and wants to be with them all the
time whether he is joining in the play or not but they do get too much
for him at times which is why having two makes it perfect. During
the times when Dorion just doesn't feel like the rough and tumble Ogri
(black) and Hagar (grey) go off and kitten tumble on their own which makes
all three very happy indeed."
Being adopted is a happy event, but it is
an upheaval and can present some challenges at first. The family reports,
"Thankfully little Ogri is having no more digestive problems and in the
end all it took was just trying different foods until we found one that
agreed with his system."
These kittens have become a joy for their family,
revealing funny quirks like enjoying TV and playing in water.
ALFY (MEOWMA)
"We adopted Alfy (previously know as Meowma) 10 months
ago from Katie's place and as you can see from the pictures he has really
come a long way. When we first got him he spent all of his time hiding
- under beds, in closets, under the couch -- wherever he could. The "scared
kitty" picture (top left) pretty much describes how he was. We persevered
and gave him as much love and attention as he would let us and now he is
our big baby. He craves attention (he gets plenty!) and he has become a
part of our family. It has been very rewarding watching him go from being
scared of just about everything, to being a relaxed, lovable kitty. Thanks!"
This cat came to us at Katie's Place from a shelter
where he'd been so traumatized and so shy he was unadoptable. He is a sensitive
little cat who was devastated to have lost his home and very lucky to have
found a patient, loving new family.
BUDDY AND SAMPSON
'Special needs' cats rarely get homes of their own. So we were surprised
and delighted when a couple offered to give a home to a pair of FIV/FeLV
cats. They met everyone in our FIV/FeLV pen and chose orange Buddy and
Siamese Sampson to take home. We soon received a note telling us how things
were going. These are two lucky cats that someone saw past the 'defect'
to the love they have to give. Here is part of their new family's note
to us and some photos they sent. It's clear that the cats are overjoyed
to have a real home.
"Just to let you know that Buddy and Samson have been incredibly affectionate
right from the word go. Samson, who was so quiet and laid-back in the shelter,
is actually a hilarious fruitcake of a cat in the house, wandering round
'talking' nonstop. Buddy is much more chilled out, lying full stretch on
the sofa or in a patch of sunlight, but he too is a cuddle demander who
wants a stroke or a kiss every time we pass."
GIBBY
We had classed Gibby as unadoptable because she yowled and growled whenever
she felt hemmed in (which, in a busy shelter, was most of the time). She
would even whack us. She wasn't mean spirited. She was just high strung.
A volunteer got to know her and recognized that she's really a playful,
loving cat. The volunteer adopted her before moving out of town, and she
sent us the following report.
"Gibby's doing just fine. She can be a brat, but I think she more than
makes up for it just in the number of times a day she makes me laugh with
her weird little quirks, like flinging herself at me to attack my ankles
when I'm wearing long pants. (It's probably something she ought to get
in trouble for. But she doesn't bite hard at all when she does it, and
it's just so funny.) There's also one sweatshirt I have that she seems
to have a magnetic attraction to. So whenever I'm wearing it near her,
she gives a little chirp and bites down gently on my sleeve and holds on.
It's the weirdest thing. We're having such a great time with her; she is
the most playful cat I've ever seen!"
Gibby at the shelter (left) always felt wary among
the other cats. But at home (right) she's happy and a joy to her family.
HUGO and THOR
We recently had a report from a family who adopted a pair of kittens from
us some time ago. Clearly two kittens are better than one!
"Just to let you know, Hugo and Thor settled in the minute we arrived
home with them (hard to believe it's been three years) and are living very
happy and healthy lives. Their personalities are very different, yet they
play together well and never seem to be more than a few yards apart from
one another. It's impossible to have cold feet at night as they each flop
down on their parent of choice every night at bedtime."
HANK and HOUDINI
These two boys came to the shelter as semi-feral kittens who were a bit
too old to socialize. They lived at the shelter for nearly two and a half
years. They learned to enjoy our company and always hung around as the
volunteers worked. But they never allowed us to cuddle them. In November
2004 the right home came along for them. It was a home experienced with
semi-ferals. Now they are complete love muffins who bring a great deal
of joy to their family every day with their antics. You can read their
story and about the process of socializing them in their new home at Hank
and Houdini's Story.
LISA MARIE
Lisa Marie was lucky and found a home fairly quickly. It's all luck. Some
of our cats who've been waiting for homes for a long time are gems waiting
to be discovered. But little Lisa Marie's forever home found her less than
a month after she joined Katie's Place. They sent us a note about how she's
settling in and they said, "She kinda just hit the middle of the carpet
in the living room and flopped down as if to say I'm HOME!" They told us,
"she is loved, and that it's like she was meant to be here. She's not coming
back... well, maybe to visit!" Lucky baby!
Lisa Marie's left photo is one we took at the shelter.
In her right photo, she's saying "I'm home!"
LOVEBUG
Lovebug was an FIV+ cat who went to
live in 'the Boys' pen' with the FIV/FeLV+ cats when she came to Katie's
Place in early February 2004. She was adopted in late October 2004. Now,
after a year in her new home, we received an anniversary update:
"As you can all tell Bug, or Lovebug as you used to call her, is doing
quite well. She has, as my friends say, had the contentment spread. In
other words, she has gotten pudgy because she is happy. It has been over
a year since she decided to live with me and it has been interesting to
say the least. She greets me at the door most days, and insists on telling
me what she did the whole day nonstop. She follows me around until we settle
in for some good old TV watching. She loves the cat platform that I made
her though I still catch her on my counters only occasionally. I guess
she goes up there when I am not home or when I am asleep because I find
little bug hairs on my stove quite often. I must say though the spider
population isn't as large as usual, I just have to clean up the carcasses.
I watched her with a spider once and she just pokes it, it stops moving,
it moves and she pokes it again, she will do that until the spider stops
moving all together."
Lovebug's update also mentioned that she's had no health problems due
to being FIV+.
MIDNIGHT
Midnight came to us in January 2005. He'd been living around the outside
of a medical facility. He'd been somebody's pet once, but he was a very
quiet fellow who never attracted attention to himself. So we thought this
plain black cat would never get a home. But when he did get a chance to
have his own home, he proved that he's really a very loving guy who is
full of personality.
The close up at left was taken at the shelter where
he was a very quiet, introspective fellow.
The photo at right was sent to us by his new family.
He's become a real character!
SYLVESTER
We received this note from Sylvester's new family: "Just thought you might
like to see how Sylvester is doing after we adopted him on Oct 29th, 2005.
He is soooo happy here in our home with his new brother, William (a long-haired,
VERY gentle-natured Maine Coon). The sleeping picture is where/how
he slept a few nights after we got him [on a bed nestled against his new
person] and this has been his nighttime spot ever since. P.S.
Sylvester is now "Albert Einstein" (Albert for short) due to his wild,
disheveled look when we initially saw him. His fur is growing in
beautifully now."
The photo at left was taken when Sylvester was new
at the shelter. He huddled in a basket, scared and freshly shorn of all
his matted fur.
The photo at right is of Sylvester completely relaxed
in his new home.
LILY
Lily was an older cat who had been abandoned by her family months ago.
Neighbours had been feeding her, but she was fighting with their own cats,
probably competing for space and food. When she arrived, our vet found
a huge bruise/hematoma on her belly, consistent with a kick. She was a
very trusting, affectionate cat and was adopted. We received a note from
her new home. Lily is the apple of her person's eye. She follows her person
everywhere and sleeps next to her at night. The note explained how much
happiness Lily has brought into her person's life. Now, the friendly little
cat who'd been kicked when she was homeless is as loved as she is loving.
At left, Lily when she was at the shelter, and at
right, Lily in her own home.
OREO
Oreo was adopted as a kitten and he developed a bad cold after arriving
at his new home. But his family nursed him through it. That was a few years
ago now. He sent us Christmas greetings this year along with a recent photo.
Clearly Oreo is enjoying a pampered life.
Inset is a photo of Oreo when he was with us. He was
a scared little kitten.
Below are two pairs of kittens adopted by two different families. But
there's no mistaking what they have in common. They are growing up safe
and loved in their own homes.
MILTON and MATTY
IVY and WILLY
HOME