Proud Alumni VIII

 

KELTIE

Keltie arrived at the shelter all alone, a tiny kitten who had never lived among humans before. She was so tiny that she learned quickly to enjoy a human environment and she was adopted. Her new mom says "She's grown into a happy, healthy, mischievous bundle of fur that has brought great joy into my life. The elderly cat and the rabbit, who were already resident with me, have become her special friends!"


Keltie now calls herself Katie.


She's just about all grown up now!

She also has a new best friend, Monique, adopted from Katie's Place some months after she herself was adopted.

JARVIS

Jarvis was adopted in September '07 and joined another Katie's Place alumni we had known as Momma. In their new home Jarvis is now called Satchmo and Momma is Thembu. Their family contacted us to say, "We are really enjoying them -- and they have become fast friends. We named Jarvis "Satchmo" as he has such a deep voice. He can eat more than any cat I have ever known, and it is lovely to see how he has gained some weight. His coat is very shiny as well."


The photo at top left was taken when Jarvis hadn't been in shelter care for long. He was so scared he didn't want to come out of his box to see visitors.
In the photo on the right, Jarvis seems to be completely relaxed and content in his new home as Thembu checks out the string under his hind paw.

DUNDEE

We thought Dundee might never get a home because he had a reputation as a sprayer. He'd been seen to scent-mark in his communal room. However, when living with so many other cats, that wasn't surprising. He was an utterly charming fellow and somebody decided to take a chance on him. In his new home, he was fine. In fact, a note from his new mom said, "I adopted Dundee a while ago and he is the cuddliest, funniest little idiot I have ever seen. I love him."  We've also learned that Dundee has taken over his mom's chair. Below is a photo of the little rascal, looking angelic in his sleep -- on 'his' chair.


PATRICK

Patrick was about ten years old when he came to us. He was a sweet quiet cat who only wanted a second chance. He got his chance and was adopted in 2006. The photo below was taken at Christmas 2007. Patrick is a happy guy who is pictured in "one of his favourite spots" according to his family.


BABY BEAR

Baby Bear lost his home at the age of ten due to allergies in the family, and he'd had the same home since he was six weeks old. So he was absolutely devastated to find himself in a strange place surrounded by strangers. It took him a long time to adjust, and he never really was happy at the shelter. So he was lucky that someone gave him a home. A year later, his new mom reported, "The General, formerly known as Baby Bear, is doing wonderfully well, and I can't believe we're only just coming up on our one-year anniversary together. He is sitting on my lap right now, resting his head on my arm and making it difficult to type, but do you really think I'm going to ask him to move? ; ) He is such an affectionate and adorable guy, and we're so glad to have him in our family."


The photo at left was taken when Baby Bear was at the shelter and just wanted to hide.
The photo at right is from his family. He's a much more confident and contented fellow now.

PEPPER

Pepper was a very unhappy youngster who made herself unwelcome at her first shelter. So she came to Katie's Place. She was upset about losing her home. But she didn't have to wait long for a new one, (lucky little thing). Her new mom sent an update: "I was told she might hiss and spend the first couple days hiding in her new digs. But within an hour of arrival, she hopped up in my lap, and from day one she's been a joy, a very cuddly and floppy little furball who is happy to greet me every day when I come home from work and play with her favourite shoelace with me."
All Pepper needed was a home. The cowering or angry pets you might see in a shelter just need a home and someone to have faith in them. Pepper didn't even need much time to settle!

The small photo inset at left was when Pepper wouldn't even come out of her box at the shelter.
The larger photo at right was sent by her new family. She sure doesn't look like the tense, unhappy cat we met!

LOU

Lou was a shabby looking street cat who came to us from another shelter when they determined that something was wrong with him because his head was so large. But it was only the jowls of a mature unaltered male. Lou turned out to be a lovable fellow who was soon adopted. His new mom reports, "I adopted 'Lou' who has been lovingly renamed 'Cat' (which I will admit is short for 'Catbearpig') but is also known as 'Mr. Stinky Bum' or 'Purry Mc Purr Purrs'.  No worries, he is quite aware of who we are talking about because he ALWAYS thinks you are talking to him. Cat has become quite the little man. Loved by all, and loves all. Anyone who comes over is apparently coming over to visit him, or so he believes. He's a chatty little fella - everyday my boyfriend or I get home he likes to tell us all of the news for the day.  He also likes to spark up conversation while you are cooking in the kitchen. When we first got him he adjusted immediately to living it up in my apartment.  He never hides - heavens no - how could you pat and chat to him if he is hiding! I will say he was a broken little thing when we got him. But all he wanted was a home, to be loved and some stability.  Now he has an overabundance of both."


A male cat's jowls (see left photo) recede after altering.
Now Lou looks very happy as he reclines comfortably in the crook of his person's knees. And he's very handsome (right photo).

MISSY

Missy came to us from another shelter for being aggressive. She'd been declawed so she resorted to nipping hard enough to make everyone give her some space. She hated shelter life, and nobody was interested in a cat with a bad attitude. It was Catch-22 -- she was grumpy because she couldn't get out and she couldn't get out because she was grumpy. Finally in November '07 someone came a long way to meet her and Missy got a new home. In January, they emailed to say, "thank you again for taking care of Missy until we found her!  She's a very sweet, spunky cat, and we absolutely adore her.  We thought that she might take a while to adjust to her new home, but the day after she arrived she popped out of her hidey hole and laid claim to the entire apartment.  Missy's now the head of the house, securing the best spot on the bed at night and often putting the kybosh any activities that don't include petting her!  She had a wonderful time on Christmas opening her stocking and playing with her new toys.  Although she doesn't always want to cuddle, she tends to follow us around the house, just to make sure we're not going to run off (either that or she's practicing mind control in order to get more treats, which -- let's face it -- works most of the time!)"
We heard from them again a year later. They said "Margot (formerly Missy) has changed quite a bit since we adopted her. When she first arrived at her new home, she didn't meow at us at all -- she would open her mouth but no sound came out. Now she's incredibly chatty and always lets us know when it's time to us to dish out her wet cat food."


Missy's photo at left, taken while she was living at the shelter, shows her grumpy face.
In her photo at right, sent to us by her new family, her grumpy look is completely gone.

KONA and PAPAYA

    Kona and Papaya lost their home when they were 10 years old. That's a hard time of life to be looking for a new home. Kona, especially, was depressed and withdrawn when they arrived and we feared this pair might have trouble catching adopters' attention. But they were lucky and found a loving new home. We soon got the report that, "They have really made themselves at home after the first week, and their amazing personalities are really showing through. They are very different in how they act -- Kona hasn't realized she isn't a kitten anymore yet, but Papaya is a little more relaxed in her middle years. ...they are really enjoying having a whole house they can call their own turf! We spoil them with lots of petting and playing too."
    We had to read that again: "Kona hasn't realized she isn't a kitten anymore." Kona had refused to come out of her nest for a long time after she lost her home; she sat curled up with a stoic, stoney face and she didn't want to see visitors. What a wonderful change!


Kona is in the foreground in their new home with Papaya behind her. Compare her relaxed confident pose with
the curled-up, hunched pose we found her in for a long time when she first arrived at the shelter (inset at top right). She's a happy "kitten" now.  :)

SEQUOIA

Sequoia was abandoned for shelter workers to find. So all we knew about her is that this was a sweet, loving cat. Our vet estimated her age as about seven or eight years old. Her sweet nature soon won her a home and she recently sent us a note saying that she settled in well and is getting along well with her new kitty brothers and sisters. Her new name is Honey now, and she said, "I'm a major treat hound and will come running if I hear the treat bag (or even the treat drawer being opened). The daycare kids love me (and I love them). They say I'm great at giving hugs. signed, Honey" She included the photo below of herself "having fallen asleep on the couch watching cat TV".

LARK

    Lark first came into shelter care in December 2006 and she had a miserable Christmas that year since she was traumatized to be among so many other cats. She hated other cats. So her stress level was continually elevated and she lashed out at potential adopters. She came to Katie's Place when she proved to be unadoptable.
    This is a terrible problem for some shelter animals. If they don't get along with other animals then they don't show well to adopters so they can't get adopted and escape all the other animals: Catch-22. In their own homes, they'd be fine; people need to have faith in them.
    Lark was at Katie's Place for a year and she learned to live with other cats though she never was happy about it. People kept passing over this pretty cat because she seemed cranky. Then by Christmas 2007 someone was interested in her. We emailed back and forth and they made the very long journey (several hours of driving) to meet her. Lark went home! We got the report below within a couple of days of her adoption.
    "Larky is SO cute and funny! She's been getting braver, too. Last night she ventured out and looked around. She really loves to have her head scratched, as you probably know. I was sitting on the floor and my husband was on the couch and she jumped up between us. We scratched her head then she rubbed her head against mine. Then she flopped over on her side and was wiggling around and kneading the air. I think these are all good signs :)"

    We heard from Lark's family again a year later. They wrote to say, "Dear Katie's Place Team, We've been thinking about you since we arrived at the first aniversary of Ginger's adoption. She's taken to her new name and surroundings quite well. Please enjoy the enclosed snaps of our girl in her element. She does love a good sunbeam. :) Thank you again! We adore her and think she's pretty fond of us too!"


Lark is the picture of calm, confident contentment!

JULIUS and MANDARIN

Julius and Mandarin came to us in 2004 when they were left behind after their family moved. It appeared that they'd never been able to develop a really loving bond with people because they were nervous and took a long time to make friends with us. However, they were deeply bonded with each other. Eventually they made friends with the volunteers although they were still skeptical of strangers. In 2007 they finally found a home. We soon had an update from their new family: "The first week, they stayed in the room they were let out in. It took them 3 days to start eating. After the first week Callie (Mandarin's new name) would pop out here and there, but Julius stayed in the room. But in the last few days they've had big improvements. They have let me pat them and hang out with them in their room. They come out and visit when I'm in there now. Julius is craving attention, you can tell, but he's still trying to figure me out. Callie will come out for a quick pat if Julius says its ok."

Julius and Mandarin were never far from each other at the shelter where the small photo was taken.
In their new home, they're enjoy each other's company over dinner in a photo their family sent.

KASEY and LICORICE

Big, fluffy Kasey was traumatized by losing his home and finding himself left at a shelter. He huddled miserably, making himself unadoptable in his first shelter. So he came to Katie's Place where his spirits recovered with time and he enjoyed attention again. But he was always a bashful guy who never demanded attention. So he was lucky when he was chosen one day to go home. Later, his person adopted Licorice, a kitten from a litter we took in the summer of '07. They're both very happy in their own home and their person says, "We just love them to bits!" If you look closely at their photo below, you'll see that they also love each other. They're holding each other's paw!

Kasey and Licorice are pals, holding each other's paw.

RALPH and ALICE

Ralph and Alice lost their home at the age of five when their person went into care permanently. They found themselves at the shelter and they felt unsettled about this change in their lives. They huddled in their new-cat cage and looked around apprehensively. But somebody had faith in their capacity to love again and they were soon adopted (January '08). About five weeks later, we had a report on them (below). Ralph now calls himself Nemi.
"The two are doing just wonderfully in their new home. They are a treasure to have with us. Alice is very curious and affectionate. Whenever you open a cupboard in the house, she is right there to poke her head in. She also loves coming to bed with us and will cuddle up for a few pets before relaxing at the foot of the bed. She is still very talkative, and will actually carry on a conversation with you, to my delight!
Nemi is doing wonderfully as well. He had a slight cold in the beginning but it has pretty much cleared up now without the need for medication. Nemi is very much a lap cat and will follow us around the house. He never fails to greet us every morning with a kneeding to the back in bed or a nice fluffy tail to the face. He's very much full of energy and will gladly hop around the house amusing himself. He loves his string and his catnip toys."


Ralph (Nemi) and Alice's new family sent us the photo of the pair sprawled happily in their very own home.
The inset photos were taken at the shelter when they arrived and were scared and unhappy.

GEORGE

George wasn't with us for long. In fact, he was barely with us at all. We were just admitting him to Katie's Place from another shelter when his forever-home dreams came true. His happy ending is so heartwarming, it had to be shared! Here it is in his new mom's own words.
"I saw 'George' at [his first shelter] and they told me he was a a nice cat -- senior, had some intestinal problems and was deemed UNADOPTABLE. So of course I wanted him. He had the most pitiful cry and was pawing me through the bars of his cage, so wanting just a little bit of attention. I came back the next day, form in hand. They had sent him to a foster family due to fumigations being done, and told me they sent him to you. After his vet check, he was ours. After checking out his new house for two hours, he decided we were suitable (see picture). We have been able to manage, with medication, his intestinal issues, and we got his teeth fixed. He gives us such joy."

George loves his family as much as they love him.

GORDIE

Gordie was a young cat when he came to us as a homeless street cat. In his battles for food or turf, he contracted FIV.  He once had a home for a while after he was born; he never lost his love and trust for humans. But most of his life was spent either on the streets or at the shelter. Now he finally has what he's missed and maybe dreamed about for years. He has a home. We had an update on Gordie from his new family -- with photos. Their update and photos show a cat whose dreams have come true at last. Here's what they said:
"Gordie is adjusting well and is getting more and more comfortable with us every way. At first he was a little overwhelmed about the new space, but he seems to be more relaxed now. Gordie is very affectionate and loves being scratched and cuddled. He now follows us around the house and is happy just napping near us. He is very curious and smells and checks out every corner of the house. At first we thought he was looking to see if we had another cat, but I think he has finally realized that he is king of the house. Gordie's favorite things are being the centre of attention, sleeping under blankets and covers, and jumping up on window sills to look outside. He is just a big baby that loves to get petted and cuddled, and he is a beautiful, regal-looking cat too.


With an blissfully relaxed expression on his face, Gordie basks in the comfort of having a home and a family to love him.







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