Shelter Cats and Redemption

I was all prepared to blab on and on about life with Tucker. However, how can I blog, and blab, about something that's only just begun?? I am two months in to what is already a fabulous life with my new cat.   My Tucker.   The Tuck-Man.  He has exceeded my expectations in every way.  Our bond is already a strong and amazing bond, and I never expected that so soon after saying goodbye to Jackson. You know what they say about life while you're busy making other plans, right? So, rather than blog, let's just show you some of the great pics I have of life, thus far, with the Tuck-Man. At first, Tucker hid mostly under the bed: Every day I would peek in on him, feed him, and talk to him.  Mostly reassuring talk, making sure he knew that he was home and that he was part of the family now.  Almost immediately he would let me pet his head, and it did not take long for the purring to begin, and what a purr Tucker has! Slowl...

Today is Sophie's seventh birthday. Seven? Already? She doesn't look a day over 5. To say she filled the one and only Tyler's shoes is an understatement.  She not only filled his shoes, she made them her own. I never, ever thought I would find a cat so capable of taking over after Tyler's death. Never. Yet, there she was.  All bright eyed, bushy tailed, and eager to please and steal my heart. That she did. I simply could not imagine life without her.  She's an amazing cat, but then again we always think our cats are amazing don't we?  She's better than amazing: she's the matriarch of the family.  How she reaches up when she wants a hug and to sit on my shoulders as we look out the front screen door together.  Her loud meow when she wants food, how she always keeps me company when I shower, how utterly amazing she was through Jackson's illness and passing.  How she INSTANTLY took over Jackson's lap cat duties, as if she kne...

Thursday, March 2nd. Today was the day!  Tucker was coming home!  I was brimming with anticipation. I wanted the day to fly by! We had planned on leaving work at 4 to head straight to the shelter to bring Tucker home. Finally, 4pm rolled around and I rushed out of work.  I simply had to stop at the same pet supply store I had stopped in 2000 to get some extra cat food and a special toy (just as I had done for Tyler) for my new boy. He needed a welcome home present after all. In I walked into the main entrance of Little Shelter promptly at 5pm. "Hi, I'm here to take Ronald home" I proudly exclaimed, feeling on top of the world. Literally everyone at the front desk lit up and beamed right back at me. "Go right on back to the cattery, and THANK YOU!" "Oh, you're welcome.  I adopted Tyler from here in 2000" I repeated, thinking that this time they'd remember the old man. "Oh, that's nice.  We love repeat adopters." T...

The ladies at the shelter were all too happy to have us come back to spend more time with Ronald. After a brief visit to Target to pick up a new litter box (and a snack for me, I was back at Little Shelter within the hour.   This time.......they let us walk right back to the cattery.  We were high rollers this time! "Hi we're here to show our son Ronald, I just filled out an application to adopt him," I proclaimed proudly. "Oh, go right on back."  I was an adopter.....again.  God that felt great.  I was an ADOPTER.  I was giving another shelter cat a chance at a forever home, and from the same shelter I got Tyler from.  Aside from sex, there is no better feeling on earth than adopting a cat from a shelter.  Might be even better than sex, but then again I'm getting old. I entered the cattery for the second time that day. For the next two hours, I spent time with the cats, and Ronald.  I found Ronald just where he had been whe...

Jackson Tiger Pepe LePew Drummer Boy would have been 10 today. Just a bit more than 3 weeks since his untimely passing, so this makes today especially hard for me. Nevertheless, let's all take a moment to honor my one and only sweetums. If you have a cat, hug them in his honor. If you don't have a cat, go out and adopt one from your local shelter. I did, and Tucker Jackson is just beginning to realize that after 3.5 years in a shelter, he finally has a forever home. Happy birthday Jackson.  I love you and miss you.  It's not the same without you, and I have yet to sleep as well without you curled up in the crook of my legs at night.  We all miss you.  I know Tyler and Tiger are taking good care of you at the Rainbow Bridge and I know you're watching over us. Until we get to cuddle together again.

This past Sunday the plan was to visit......Little Shelter. The same shelter that I adopted Tyler from all the way back in 2000. Can lightning strike twice? Can I find another Tyler? As is usually the case with shelters, they only have limited numbers of open hours, and Little Shelter was no exception.  On weekends, their open hours are 12-5. With that in mind, I got an early start so we were sure to be at the Shelter just as they opened.  I wanted to spend as much time as possible with the cats, in the hopes of finding just the right fit. If you recall from one of my early blogs, Little Shelter houses their cats in "the cattery." No cages. No restrictions. Just......cats. Cats. Cats. ....and more cats. Get the point?  TONS OF CATS. I really shouldn't eat cookies before I blog.  Sugar rush. Anyway, being a pleasant day, I took the scenic route and we arrived at Little Shelter precisely as they opened at noon.  In fact, we had to wait ...

Anyone remember that awesome show? "In Search Of." Great documentary from the '70's about the search for missing people, alien life, that sort of thing.  Rod Serling narrated the pilot, and after his untimely death Leonard Nimoy took over and hosted the entire series which I think lasted until the early 1980's.  GREAT stuff.  I think they're on youtube. Anyway, it also makes a cute title for: The search. Last night we began the search for a new cat. Too soon?  Not for me.  While no one will ever, EVER be able to replace my Jackson, I like the idea of not waiting too long to adopt a new cat.  With so many cats in shelters needing forever homes, why wait? Besides, Jackson would want it this way. Sophie has taken Jackson's death far harder than I ever expected her to.  Like I said: they were never cuddle buddies.  Yet, she cared for him, and seemed reassured by his presence.  In the nearly two weeks since his passing, Sophie has ...