Happy Holidays!

It’s Christmas time again, and for my husband and I that also means the anniversary of when we adopted our youngest cat, Muggles (formerly Braveheart), from MEOW. For those of you who might remember him, I just wanted to send a quick update on how he’s doing.

In all seriousness, I can’t begin to tell you how far Muggs has come. He truly is living proof of how love (and a lot of patience!) can completely change an animal’s life (and ours as well!).

I could go on and on about how he responds to his name now, how he rarely gets startled, how he even allows strangers to pet him…but the thing that has been most striking to me is how – beyond the individual behaviors – it almost seems his entire personality has changed. Compared to even just 6 months ago, he is really like a completely different cat (in a good way!).

For example… the first few months we had him, he would allow me to pick him up and would almost go limp in my lap. Once in my lap, he seemed to really like having his tummy rubbed. He also drooled – a lot! We thought he was always going to be this shy, calm, cuddly lap cat.

However, now he hates being picked up. If he’s going to be held, it has to be on his own terms. He also absolutely hates (he’ll swat at us – politely! – if we do) having his tummy pet…and he NEVER drools any more.  My husband and I are sure now that his past behaviors/tolerances were simply things done out of anxiety and nervousness. We now see his true colors – he is an extremely spunky, playful, outgoing, loyal (he’s ALWAYS wherever I am) and affectionate (but not necessarily “cuddly”!) cat. And we absolutely love him. It’s nice to see that he’s become comfortable enough to be himself!

I tell everyone I know about Mugg’s transformation, in hopes that it will convince others to take a chance on an animal it seems no one else will. While I’m sure we would’ve loved and been happy with any other kitten we chose, there is something truly amazing about taking in the “imperfect” one and, in our case, watching him grow into the “perfect” loving, happy, and healthy cat we always knew he was.

PS. Our other two boys from MEOW are doing well also! Their days consist of a lot of eating and sleeping and soliciting attention from their owners.

Best Regards,

Michele Gowin

Winston & Leopold have settled in to a nice routine, and seem quite happy:
 
5:00 AM: hang out in master bedroom, wait for somebody to get up
6:00 AM: follow mom to kitchen, wait for food
6:01 AM – 6:02 AM: (meal #1) eat 95% of their food
6:02 AM – 7:15 AM: stay out of the way while the big kids scramble around getting ready for school
7:15 AM – 8:30 AM: hang out, drink water, nibble on the last few bits of food
8:30 AM – 3:30 PM: sleep in cat perch by the window, maybe watch mom do stuff on the computer
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: mostly sleep, but also available to receive attention from kids who should be doing their homework
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM: hang out in the kitchen, waiting for food, hoping that dinner food preparation is sloppy and something yummy falls to the floor
6:00 PM – 6:01 PM: (meal #2) eat 95% of their food
6:01 PM – 6:30 PM: wait for dad to get home
6:30 PM – 6:30:30 PM: (meal #3) THE GOOD NOMS! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM
6:30:30 PM – 9:00 PM: affection and play time, help kids procrastinate
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM: run around like maniacs, stalk and attack each other, etc.
12:00 AM – 5:00 AM: sleep in their cat perch, or occasionally, on mom and dad’s bed
 
Dave R.

MEOW Staff,

I can’t thank you enough for the wonderful job you do and for your help in finding my kitty soulmate, Stella. I knew from the minute I walked into the older cat playroom at MEOW that I had been “selected,” although I admit that it took me a sleepless night to convince myself — this was my cat and I was her person! I brought her home in July, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. Although she came home as “McGonagall,” she quickly settled in to her new persona. Stella, the Princess of Everything and Absolute Ruler of Food Provisions. She loves to bird-watch in the window, hide her toys in the coat closet, and lounge around in the sunlight. She’s a natural lap-cat, and greets me at the door when I come home every night. She’s been a wonderful addition to my family, and I am so grateful to you for taking such great care of her before I she found me. Thank you!!
 
Stefany B.

Rudy and Cleo, aka Ginger, found their way into our hearts and home this past March of 2010.  It had been six months since our home heard the pitter patter of paws on our wooden floors and I can honestly say it was a most welcome sound.  Better yet, having adopted two buddies, it was even nicer to hear them running around the house after each other in joyful play. 
 
In the beginning Rudy was a bit cautious of his new surroundings and quite vocal at night.  What was most intriguing was that when I‘d go to find Rudy to see if something was wrong, I would find him completely content sitting on a chair.  To this day, I think he was testing me to see I would come when I was called like he would do when I called him!  Cleo, on the other hand, was quite inquisitive and made herself at home right away.  If there was a lap to be had, Cleo was sure to find it.  Her favorite past time in the beginning was learning how to open cabinet doors….very inquisitive!
 
It has been seven months now and they are truly part of the family and a joy to be around.  They continue to surprise and entertain.  Thank you Meow for taking such great care of them and keeping their spirits so beautifully intact!
 
Karen & Rick Shea

Hello,

We adopted our precious kitties from you and just wanted to give you an update on how they were doing. We adopted Junior(Johnson) from you Five years ago and our other cat Opie (Tyler) from you four years ago. They both were adopted with eye issues, Opie was rescued from a hoarder and developed the Herpes virus in one of his eyes that required surgery and Junior was abandoned by someone at an apartment complex and somehow got an injury to one of his eyes. Their days are now happily filled with playing,eating, sleeping and getting lots  of loving from their mom and dad. We love them both, so much, they bring us so much happiness. They are, our little family. I have attached a few photos of them, to show you how well, they are doing now.      

Thanks,
Craig and Carolyn T.

Destiny and Patches joined our family at the end of May. They were slightly unsure of us at first, but it didn’t take long for Patches to settle in and become Queen of the house. Since they were already 8 and 10 when we met them, we decided to keep the names they have had for so many years, but now call Destiny, Desy for short. She actually seems to like the new name better!

We also call them the “purr monsters” because they are always purring and happy for affection. We are so thrilled to have two cats who share such a loving bond with one another. Watching them groom each other and snuggle together is so adorable! They are also incredibly well behaved. They actually ask before sitting on the couch with us, though we have no restrictions on furniture for them. Patches likes to groom us as well, to keep our “coats” as pretty as hers. At 10 years old, Desi still requires play time each day and both girls look forward to their daily brushing. Mostly, they’re just happy to curl up together in a box or on the bed and start purring the moment they see one of their humans.

Dear Old Friends at MEOW,

This is Her Brightness, Lady Rose of Aberlone writing to you from my new home! I was adopted on Valentine’s Day under the name Tabitha – but my person thought this long fancy name was better suited because of my dignity and aloofness. She just calls me “Brightness,” though. Humans are so lazy! 

I like things here very much. It took me almost no time to warm up to my person! But there’s another cat here, my new brother. His name is Weatherford and it took us about a week and a half to become friends. “Who are you?” he would hiss. “Who do you think YOU are?!” I would growl. Then I called him a malevolent demon and he called me a raging lunatic, but we were both just lonely, really, so we got over it pretty quickly. Now my favorite thing is to chase him all over the apartment and to ambush him! Well, I’m still a kitten, after all! I also have a huge collection of toys! I like to keep them under the sofa and coffee table, out of reach of my human. I can’t really reach either, then, but at least I know no one else is playing with them! My human forgets how many toys she already bought me, and often comes home with another jingly ball or tuft of feathers. Soon I’ll run out of hiding places. 

My human wants you to know that I have been very well behaved! We haven’t had any accidents at all, and I’m growing so much. She’s pretty understanding about kitten things. When she discovered that I will shred any cardboard I find, she just laughed and said, “At least you aren’t chewing on the wires and books.” I hope you are all well!

Sincerely,
Brightness, a.k.a. Lady Rose, nee Tabitha

Dear MEOW folks, 

Sammy, now known as Clancy, is doing absolutely great.  Since bringing him home last fall, we’ve had a series of ups and downs.  It took him a while to adjust to his new home and his new human and feline roommates.  I’m very happy to report that he seems to have turned the corner for good.He has a new best buddy, Dudley (also a MEOW kitty, known to you all as Jazzman).  Like Clancy, Dudley was a timid, frightened cat when I brought him home five years ago, but he has blossomed into a sociable, friendly, “little buddy” of a cat — even my mother, who is not a cat lover, adores him and calls him “The perfect cat”.  Dudley loves other cats and he was totally thrilled when Clancy arrived.  They have formed a strong bond and I just love seeing them together.

The best part of all, however, is that in the past few weeks Clancy has finally decided that he also likes people.  At least, he likes me.  He’s discovered the joy of what I have dubbed his “pettin’s” — vigorous, all-over body rubs.  When it’s time for his pettin’s, he does somersaults all over himself in his efforts to get as much of his body rubbed as possible.  He even likes having his tummy rubbed!  He’s finally taken to sleeping on the bed with me and the other cats, and — best of all — he even climbed onto my lap a couple of days ago.  When he did that, I knew that he was truly happy to be one of the family.
Clancy is an absolutely wonderful little guy and I adore him.  Thank you for letting me bring him home.
Best,Beth Harvey

On Saturday, Tyler and I came in and adopted little Jack-Jack (now Rasta).  We couldn’t be more please with the service we received, and with how helpful and patient the staff was with us as we tried to decide which cat to take home.  Rasta is such a funny little guy, and we love him so much!  Unlike cats we’ve had in the past, he warmed up to us and to our home immediately, and is constantly curious about what we’re doing.  He gets confused if we’re all on the couch together and then somebody gets up – you can tell he wants to stay and continue to be pet, but then he also wants to see what the other person is up to!  He’ll run back and forth between us, keeping an eye on all the action.  He’s an incredibly loving and affectionate little guy.  When Tyler leaves for work in the morning, he follows him to the front door and then cries for 5 minutes once he’s left.  I think it’s safe to say that he loves us as much as we love him.  Again, we just wanted to say thank you for all of your help!!  We are truly so glad that we have this little addition to our family. – Tyler, Denise & Rasta

Hello!  This is Bella (a.k.a. Granita) writing from my new home where I live with my daughter Luna (a.k.a. Halle) and our humans, the Ottersburgs.  We moved here about 6 months ago, and we’ve been making ourselves at home ever since.  At first, we were very shy and spent a lot of time hiding.  Our humans were a little worried we would never warm up.  But they were wrong!  We never hide from them anymore, and only go under the bed when strangers come over.  We love to be pet, and cuddle with our mom and dad when they sit on the couch.  We’re having lots of fun playing with all our toys, especially the laser pointer.  We’ll catch it eventually! 

We’re showing more and more personality every day.  Luna is a known sock stealer; her record is 8 socks in one day!  She seems to think each sock is a “kill” and announces it to the whole family – no matter the hour.  Myself, I like to be comfortable, and will always be in the cushiest spot in the house.  My mom says it’s really hard to get a good photo of both of us, especially because almost every time she points the camera, I run at her and ask for some pets, but here is a pretty good one so you can see how happy we are.  I’m the big fluffy one and Luna is the little one. 

Well, we just wanted to let you know that we’re doing great and we’ve found our forever home.  Thanks!