In November we shared some of our favorite adoption stories of the year with you. Today, we’re sharing three more staff favorites. We can’t tell you enough how grateful we are that you make it possible for us to help these cats all year long. Thank you for making sure they get to have happily-ever-afters!
Button with her adopter
Marie’s Pick: Button
Adopted in October
“When Button came to Cat Town we only knew she had some serious medical problems, but we had no idea what they were or if they were even treatable. We just knew Button needed to get out of a cage and into a foster home ASAP. Over time, and with a lot of work from her foster, our vet team, and Cat Town staff, although not ideal, all of Button’s health issues became manageable. She still has trouble using a litter box, asthma, and the worst case of arthritis our vet had ever seen. I thought she’d be in foster for a long time. What adopter wants to take all that on? I should always remember to have more faith in the Cat Town community! Button got adopted within a month of us making her available and now she is thriving in her new home. Her person let us know she spends her days happily ‘going back and forth between cuddles with her new person and her food dish!’ All the hard work and chances we take at Cat Town feel worth it when I can remember stories like this.”
Ann’s Pick: Suzy and smallz
Adopted IN january
Suzy showed us it was possible to socialize much older kittens than we had previously helped
Smallz went from shy to the center of the room, helping Suzy build confidence alongside him
“One day at the city shelter, I met a woman who was having trouble trapping a stray 3-month-old kitten in her yard. She asked me if it was too late to help her. Knowing that we help older kittens all the time, I urged her not to give up, and promised that we'd take the remaining kitten from the shelter whenever she could get her. I didn’t realize Suzy would be so hard to catch! It was another 3 months before she was trapped — and by then Cat Town and OAS were inundated with animals from the nearby wildfires, so Suzy was 9 months old before she came to Cat Town. She was our oldest forgotten kitten ever at the time. Our volunteers worked with her over the course of a year, letting her blossom at her own pace. Breakthrough by breakthrough, she began to trust humans. Suzy also made fast friends with another forgotten kitten, Smallz, who became her confident role model and favorite playtime companion. Over the course of a few visits, an adopter fell in love with the duo. She adopted them both, and the rest is history!”
Marie-Luise’s Pick: Andromeda
Adopted in September
Andromeda needed a calm routine in a home to show us all her best self
“Ten-year-old Andromeda is a Cat Town poster child: this beautiful senior had a slow, consistent transformation. I loved seeing her personality come through over time. At the shelter she had to be sedated to see the vet for her broken tooth, and at our Adoption Center, she hid under pillows and in her bed to feel safe. She would reluctantly let our trained volunteers pet her, but every time she heard a sudden sound she would look worried and give a hiss. Bit by bit, she gained more confidence, accepted more pets, and came out of her hide-a-bed more often, but her progress was slow. We then learned that she had been very bonded to one person in her previous home, and was always quite shy around strangers. After a few months of being greeted by her little hisses, we decided to bring her to a foster home for more individual attention. The difference for this sensitive girl was immediate! Andromeda would still startle easily, but showed herself to be a wonderful, even-tempered companion who loved cuddling in her foster’s lap for belly rubs. Her adopter recently sent us a great update: Before I leave for work I put little treats all around the house to see where she's been, and she has definitely been exploring! I know her process of adjusting will take time, but every day she's taking more steps towards adjusting. I'm letting her call the shots, and I think that's probably the best strategy for her. It’s the perfect happy ending!”
We are grateful to you that we were able to help these cats. Thank you for making sure each of these cats is able to live their best lives, and have a happy ending to their story! If you’re looking for your own happily-ever-after, email us to meet your perfect match at info@cattownoakland.org.