Hello! This is Rob & Margaret. We wanted to give you an update on the three adoptions we made a month ago on Nov. 9, 2008. First, the kittens are doing wonderfully. Kyle we renamed to Dora, either short for Dora the Explorer, Adorable, or Isadora. Irene is now Honey because she’s the color of honey & short for Honeysuckle because she still suckles on her sister occasionally. They came home with a little cold, but are all recovered now and zooming around the house, chasing & wrestling with each other, us, all their toys, and Cliff. They are SOOOO adorably cute and this past month has just been PACKED full of hilarious antics and sweet moments. They have such different personalities, it’s really amazing they came from the same litter.

The only downside of course is that they’re growing and they won’t stay tiny forever. :o( We weighed them yesterday on their 4 mo. birthday and they are at 3 lb. 11 oz. & 4 lb. 3 oz. Dora has grown over a pound & Honey a pound and a half since we got them!

Finally, Cliff…he is just amazing; he has come light-years from when we got him. He still has his moments of being overly frightened when you come up to him–usually only when he’s fully awake, and he is almost always nervous close to people–but we’ve been able to get him to the point where he actually enjoys being petted in his little cat bed, which is his safe spot where he runs to when he’s scared. He actually closes his eyes, gets into it, and pushes back while kneading the air a little sometimes. He even allows us to pet him while he’s eating without too much trepidation!

We haven’t really been able to get him to purr at all, but he certainly isn’t afraid to use his voice or wander around the house. He is a loud and constant meower. It isn’t too bad at night, but we’re getting used to it. We bought a Feliway plug-in to hopefully ease his anxiety a bit. Most other times, even with loud noises & lots of movement around him, he seems perfectly content and will sit there slowly blinking and looking around. Oh, and we’ve gotten him to PLAY! He LOVES chasing the laser pointer and the dangly-string-attachments-on-a-stick toy! He even forgets himself and runs within a few feet of us before realizing how close he is to a human and scampering back under the table to swat at it again. It’s so great to see some of that kitten come out of the poor boy who I’m sure didn’t get that experience down in New Orleans when he was growing up.

We’re also very happy that he gets along so incredibly well with the kittens. He tolerates it for a short time when they want to sleep with him, they chase each other around a bit at night, and we’ve even caught him wrestling with Dora a couple times! Only the occasional hiss when one of the kittens inadvertently violates his personal space a little too much.

It was tough sorting through the couple hundred pictures we have, but attached is our best picture of Cliff and a few obligatory cute kitten pictures. Enjoy! :o)

Thank you so very much for the opportunity to adopt Cliff, Dora, and Honey! I sure hope the spots we opened up in your shelter allow more wonderful kitties to find their new families! – Rob & Margaret

Dolly and I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all the homeless wrinkle dogs. Our mum said we have presents on Christmas day but I do not know what that means. Dolly said she is not sure either as she only came to mum last October. Mum yells at us sometimes when we get too rough in the house, last Saturday we knocked over a candle and broke the glass container, and she said she will not replace it, and that we were a pair of ruffians…bark! bark! Bark! Sometimes I get fed up with Dolly licking me, mum says she is a licking fool. And I know Dolly gets fed up with me sometimes when I want to play and she doesn’t. But mum plays and we have fun. We do not like it when mum has guests because they sit on the couch and that is where Dolly and I go … And with the guests there is no room up there for us. I am Oliver Twist and she is Orphan Anne and she is on a diet…Bark! Bark! Bark! I am not … We are very happy in our new home and we have become good buddies as you can see by the photo. Love, Dolly and Oliver

I adopted Doorstop in the summer after he had spent 6 months with a wonderful foster family who named him Dudley. Dudley needed to be fostered because he was getting very stressed at the shelter. Unfortunately for the foster family he didn’t always enjoy the company of their other cats and so they reluctantly let me take him.

In his current home Dudley has the place to himself much of the time as I work long hours during the week and this seems to work well though he is always very pleased to see me when I come in and almost always sleeps on my bed at night!

I have owned many cats and have loved them all dearly but Dudley is very very special. I have never had a cat that gets up to so much mischief as this picture shows. He makes me laugh on a daily basis! Thank you,

Hi MEOW
I know that maybe you hear a lot of the adoptions that didn’t work out, so I just wanted to let you know how wonderfully mine did. A year ago, I adopted a little feral girl from you. I had just put my cat of 13 years to sleep, and I needed just the perfect fit for my very bossy alpha male named B. The volunteers directed me to two females who they said would be a good fit with my cat. One was Honey Bunny, a very terrified little feral tortie who really wanted nothing to do with me. But since she was still young, I figured that I could work with her. So I bundled her up and took her home. I tried to separate the two cats and let them sniff under the bedroom door as directed by everyone. But she shot out a few hours after getting home. B hissed a bit and then they raced around all night like they were old friends.

She was shy and spooked easily at the beginning. She is now named Ding Ho (for the dry cleaners next door – I always say that my cat is the only cat with a business card). As you can see from the photos, she has quite the life – hanging with her big brother and watching to see if that dang bird will ever leave his cage. I was in contact with her wonderful foster mom at the beginning who gave me great advice about how to best handle a feral. It was great to get a little more information about her background (she was picked out of a pile of manure!). Dingy is really happy and the biggest sweetheart. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate her – and you guys for all that you do! Thanks much! – Jen

Dear MEOW
On January 2, 2009, I came to MEOW in great pain after the recent death of my dog of nine years. I live alone and work full time, so I was interested in adopting an independent adult cat. When Dot (#06F-13RA-584-81) and I were introduced in one of your greeting rooms, something about her gentle purring told me that she and I were ideal for each other. During the first few weeks in her new home, Dot spent a lot of time sleeping under my bed or in some hidden corner. She had been at Meow for six months before I adopted her, so I new it would take her some time to adjust to a new home, a new human, and new rules. I too, needed some time to adjust. As the days past, Dot began to blossom out of her “Private Investigator” shell. She no longer seemed like a “Dot”, so I renamed her Lily. It began with her letting me hold her for a few seconds. Pretty soon, Dot was following me from room to room, quietly curling up on the carpet.

As trust began to build between us, Dot began snuggling up to me on the couch, curling up in my lap, and sleeping on my bed at night. Slowly, we healed each other. Now, seven months after her adoption, Lily is a very happy and content feline. When I come home from work — or anytime I come home– Lily greets me at the door, meowing, purring, and rubbing. She enjoys being held and often comes when I call her. She is still an independent girl who loves to play — either with me or by herself — and we seem to be a perfect fit for each other. – Thank you, Kimberly Stanton and Lily

The little mom (in the back) and her giant son (in the front) came to me over Labor Day shortly after my MEOW rescue of over a decade, “Miss Scarlett” made her trip over the rainbow bridge. I am their fourth home, through no fault of their own. They have settled in remarkably well and taken over the condo, including my antique fainting couch, no longer MY reading corner. Their most fitting names evolved – Janey is now “Koukla” which is from the Greek “Koukla Mu” which means “my little doll” and Jake is now “Apollo” for the Ancient Greek God of sunlight (he’s very red!) , healing, prophecy and MANLY BEAUTY! The name SO fits this big boy. They have landed in their forever home and are loved, spoiled, animated, active youngsters who love cuddling, all toys, running down the hall and watching the birds from the picture windows in our home. – Roxie

Five years ago we adopted “Spring”, who was then a 15-month muted tortie from your shelter. We remember chuckling over the question on the application “Where will your cat sleep?” Our response was “Whereever she wants”. Here’s an example of the cushy life Spring, now known as Lucy, now lives.

We adopted Madison about four years ago. I found her on PetFinder one day when I was lonesome for the Miss Kitty that I had just lost a few months before. Of all the Maine Coons on PetFinder I thought Madison was the most beautiful. I remember calling just to hear all about her, but not thinking I would adopt. I was told the best thing to do is come in and meet her. I live in Yakima so decided that I would just see about this kitty named Madison. It was LOVE at first sight. She has since become the queen of our household. Madison RULES. She is gentle, sweet, and just a love.

She misses us when we are gone to work, but we sit in the evenings together, and she likes to snuggle with us next to our heads before she finds a comfortable spot on HER blanket at the end of bed. It is a joy to wake up to her lil paw on my cheek. It’s as if to say “wake up, it’s time to feed and play with me”. Needless to say we are so happy to have found Madison and have her in our lives. She is perfect for us and we love her dearly. She adjusted VERY well, and as I already said “SHE RULES”. Thank you MEOW for Madison. Enclosed is a picture in the cage when we first picked her up, and then a few of her now. Love, Susan

We just wanted to brag about how great our new kittens are. We are so glad we got them together, because Neko (black and white) follows Sherman’s lead everywhere. When we first got them, Neko was very shy and we were afraid it would be a long time before she wanted to be social. But she followed Sherman out from their hiding place on their first day home, and after only 2.5 weeks, she enjoys being petted (when she’s not in play mode). Neko and Sherman are great friends and love to play and wrestle together.

They are also trying really hard to become friends with our older cats, and I think it’s working! Kazi (10 years old) plays more now that they’re around, loves chasing the bird toy and the laser with them, and even batted playfully with Neko the other day. We’re hoping the kittens might help her lose some weight.

They’re like personal trainers. Gerald (15 years old) doesn’t play with them too much, but doesn’t mind hanging out with them in the sun. When she’s feeling energetic, she’ll run around with the rest of them. I can’t wait to see what happens as they start getting along better and better! Sherman is also very social when we have people over–great entertainment for everyone.

Thanks so much for all your great work for the kitties! – Terry and John

This is a picture of Patch (formerly known as Stan) adopted in Spring of 2008, and Maria (now Miss Figgy) adopted Dec 17, 2009. They absolutely adore one another! We fostered them both, during Maria’s stay with her siblings, Patch really never showed that much interest in anyone in particular. But once we brought her home, it has been a non-stop love fest. Obviously he was looking for his “xmas Kitten!” Chris Conrad