Last year, my husband and I adopted an older cat from a pet shelter, and she has made our lives even happier! We’d originally planned to find a kitten to raise together, but once we got to the pet shelter and some time looking at and playing with cute kittens, we didn’t connect with any of them. Of course, kittens are energetic and curious, but we didn’t feel like any of them were particularly interested in us, and something about taking an uninterested kitten home didn’t feel right (even though they were SO precious and sweet!). So, we walked around the shelter and looked at older cats, not thinking anything would come from it.
We’d both had cats growing up. In fact, my parents had rescued several strays who turned out to be pregnant when I was growing up, so I was very familiar with caring for cats of all ages. I understand that each little animal has a personality that grows as it grows. Many of the older cats were either sickly or needed special care, which was not something we were against, but we travel often and may not always have someone who could give a cat extensive care long-term while we are away.
In the section of cats that would soon be put down if not adopted, we heard a meow as if one of the cats was calling out to us specifically. An adorable orange-eyed cat with black and white fur emerged from her cat house, where she’d been sleeping, and stared straight at us. Remember how I mentioned that none of the cats seemed interested in us? She gazed at us so expectantly. It was like she was telling us, “I’m right here. I’m the one you want!”
So, we asked to take her into the play area where cats could be let out of cages and spend some time with her. The pet adoption place was nice enough, but she hardly had space to turn around in her cage, and the staff informed us she was unfriendly, didn’t play well with others, and that she liked to hide, so no one wanted her. It seemed like they were discouraging us, but after some reflection, they were probably trying to manage our expectations. She’d been there nearly a year, all alone in her hard metal cage, and people typically walked right past her because she was older. When they let her out, she walked right onto my lap where I was sitting, looked up at me, and curled up before beginning to purr. I couldn’t believe how sweet she was!
My husband and I played with her and some of the toys they had there, but she just seemed to want to sit with us and cuddle. We wondered if maybe her joints hurt from sitting on a metal cage, and we were warm and soft. We decided we couldn’t let her stay there another moment longer and filled out the adoption application. It turned out that she does have arthritis, according to our vet, but she’s healthier now that she’s gained weight with all the healthy food we feed her, and she has many, many comfortable places to rest, bird watch, and sleep at home.
On the way home, she was quiet, and we realized we hadn’t heard her meow again since the first time. I talked to her where her pet carrier was securely in the car, trying to comfort her, and the entire she just watched me with wide eyes. When we got home, my husband left to pick up some additional pet supplies she would need, and I let her out of her carrier in his office. We’d decided she would stay there for a few days, so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by being in a new, large place and because there wasn’t much she could get into or accidentally hurt herself with as she adjusted to a new place. I laid on the floor with her and thought I’d do some work while she explored, but she came up and laid between my arms, with her head on my wrist, and began purring again. Below is the first photo I ever took of her less than five minutes after bringing her home for the first time!
She is the sweetest, most affectionate cat I’ve ever encountered. If I’m cooking, she’s sitting nearby watching me, hoping for a yummy snack. If we’re watching a movie, she’s cuddled up with us. When my husband works in his office, she sits on his lap and purrs. She lays on the mat next to us while we do yoga or workout, she sits on our bathroom bench outside the shower whenever I bathe, and she likes to get right up against the TV screen when we play video games so she can watch the action (she particularly likes watching Robin play Skyrim haha). If I’m lying or sitting down, she likes to sit on my back, thighs, or my shoulder. At night, she sleeps at the foot of our bed or in her little cat perch and patiently waits by the door for us to wake up.
She’s never once hissed at us, bitten or scratched us, and she is the definition of gentle. I’m so thankful the kittens at the shelter could go to other homes who will love them as much as we love Noodle because I wouldn’t trade her for anything! She’s gained three pounds since we adopted her, finally bringing her to a healthy weight, according to our vet, who said she must not have had a very good appetite. She must have been sad and lonely and not wanted to eat before we gave her a safe, warm place to live. I think the Wellness brand wet food she gobbles down twice a day helps a lot too!
She even likes to join in when I take outfit photos, like the one above on the far right hehe. If you’re considering adopting an animal, please consider rescuing an older pet. Their personalities are pretty well set, so what you see is what you get. It breaks my heart that she sat in that little cage, day after day, for nearly a year while hundreds and hundreds of people passed her by. She is so well-behaved and sweet, and she loves to be loved. We didn’t have to train her to use the litter box, stay off counters, not scratch things she shouldn’t, or anything like that, so someone once taught her these things, but now she’s ours forever, so that’s all in the past. We’ve had her with us for six months, and I hope we have many, many more happy years together with her. We like to think she was waiting for us, and maybe there’s a loving pet like her out there waiting for you too!
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