November 2009
Meet Majik
MajikAt the age of 3 months Majik came to us via Continental Airlines from Colorado in January of '05. He's been a real joy to our family and we cannot imagine our lives without him. He's fun, energetic and very, very smart.
The Laplante Family, Houston Texas
Tawnie
Tawnie, an outside cat, was born on Labor Day of 2009 in a litter of five. She was the runt of her litter, but that never stopped her from picking a fight with any of her siblings. I watched four kittens be adopted and Tawnie being the last.
I convinced mom to let me keep Tawnie. The two noted features about her are her long back legs, and the tan line on her forehead.
I was happy that I kept her. She is such a character. She'll follow you around the yard and if you try to run she'll jump right in front of you as to make sure you don't get away from her. And even after a couple of months, she's still kitten sized.
We go up to the pond in the woods together everyday and soon our hobby together was collecting flat rocks to skip across the pond, which Tawnie watches me do with interest. I had started this a couple days ago and Tawnie immediately caught on. I would pick up a flat rock and put it in an average sand castle bucket. After a while, she began to do the same. She'd grab a flat rock with her teeth and at first she didn't know what to do with it. She'd look at me with stone in her mouth as if she were asking me "What do I do now?". I laughed a little and I continued to gather the rocks near me. Soon, she copied what I would do with the rocks.
A day after that, Tawnie picked up another flat rock. And she looked at me again with the rock in her mouth. She walked over to where the bucket was sitting and she put the stone in the bucket. I put this to the real test by getting a flat and a round rock. I showed her the round rock . . .and she just stared at it, didn't try to take it or anything, just stared at it. So I showed her the flat rock, and she took it from my hand and set it in the bucket. Unfortunately, she's only done that once.
I can't believe we even considered putting Tawnie up for adoption. I automatically fell in love with her the day that I found the newborn kittens curled up in the bottom of a stack of tires with there mother. That is all I can say about my little Tawnie.
The Campbell family Slippery Rock, Pa
Oliver James
After the death of our 16 year old dog, Dori, we decided we needed to hear the pitter patter of four little feet in our home again.We always adopt older animals who have been in the shelter for long lengths of time. Due to our work schedules, we didn't feel it would be fair to bring a dog into our home at this time, so we decided to adopt a cat.
We went to our local shelter and requested to see their adult, male cats. While there were so many beautiful cats there that fit what we were looking for, I was drawn to an orange tabby sitting high on a shelf. As we greeted the other cats that the shelter worker pointed out, the tabby got down from his perch and wound his way through our legs. Asking if I could pick him up, the shelter worker explained that the orange cat barely tolerated people and didn't like to be held.
At the risk of scratching, I picked him up, laying him back like a baby in my arms. After just a moment he relaxed, half closed his eyes, started purring and rubbed his chin against mine. I fell immediately in love. The shelter worker was amazed to the point of calling a co-worker in to see that he was being held with no fighting.
We decided this was the fur baby for us. After hearing the warnings about his behavior and that he had been adopted out and returned, we learned that he had been in the shelter for over 3 years of his approximate 6 years of life.
Oliver James came home with us a frightened and nervous cat. In just a few hours, he felt comfortable enough to explore our home. In just one week, he was King of the castle.
Ollie is such a joy to have in our home. He follows us where ever we go and makes himself comfortable on any available lap. He spends a good portion of his day on his cat tree, watching the squirrels and deer through the window. His favorite activities include chasing a laser pointer, playing with rings from milk jugs and batting his ball around the house.
He is always waiting at the door when we return home from work with a warm feline greeting. He has effectively debunked the myths concerning his behavior. He loves being held, doesn't mind being brushed, and tolerates having his nails trimmed. He even likes having his face washed with a warm wash cloth.
While Oliver has been with us just over a year, we don't know how we ever managed without him. He helped heal the hurt of losing our dog, while winding his way into our hearts with his silly antics and loving manner.
The Highfield Family
