Part II of Sometimes I Wish I Was a Cat
If you missed it yesterday, click here to read my introduction to this series about my pets.
First, I will introduce my critters to you. Meena (aka Willameena) and I met at Rescue Village in October of 2011. I was looking to get my very first pet on my own. With my work schedule ( I had four jobs at the time), I did not think it would be fair for me to get a dog. Cats are much more independent and don’t require as much attention. So, I looked online at the cats they had available, read the “kitty biographies,” and selected one that I really wanted to meet. My friend, Colin went with me to meet my new potential pet.
I met Ann, a Rescue Village Adoption Counselor, and she introduced me to June, the tiny calico kitty I had picked out online. June was very shy. She did not seem too interested in meeting me or playing with me in the “get acquainted” room. Ann checked back with me after about 10 minutes. She asked me if I would be interested in meeting another cat that she thought would be a good fit for me. She brought in Mitzi (now Meena) and gave me a little background information on her. She was a little aggressive, especially when it came to other cats. She was a stray, and I am sure she had to fight to survive. Ann had been working with her a great deal and really was hoping she could find a forever home for the feisty kitty she called Mitzi.
Meena was quite playful and talkative. I sat on the floor and just let her get to know me. Ann sat on the floor with me. I could see that Meena was very comfortable with Ann, not aggressive at all. As we were talking, Meena walked over to me, put her front paws up on my shoulder, and gave me a big kitty kiss on my face. I was hooked. Ann teared up a little and we both knew at that moment that Meena was mine. We were very lucky that Ann is so good at her job and made a perfect match!
Meena was the queen of the castle for about three months. On New Year’s Eve, I got a roommate. With that roommate came along a little wiener dog and another cat. We had a few trial playdates to see how Meena would interact with them. She hissed at them but she did not run away scared. We decided that they would be ok after a while, and we were right. They became buddies after about three months. They would chase each other around the house and play all the time. They loved to sit in the open windows and watch the world go by outside. I hung a bird feeder in the bedroom window for them to enjoy or to drive them crazy. Not sure which one is more appropriate.
After my roommate moved out in August, Meena seemed lost without her buddy. So, my boyfriend and I decided to start looking for another cat. We went into Rescue Village a few times and also looked at PetSmart in Aurora every time we would go in there to buy pet supplies. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we also have a bearded dragon, but she is not much of a kitty companion.)
During one of our shopping trips, we spotted a small black and white kitten named Willow. Her name is what drew us in at first because it was so close to Willameena. We talked to her through the glass and just sat there with her. I still was not ready to commit to getting another cat. So we said farewell, for now.
Two weeks later, we went back to PetSmart and Willow was still there. While we were sitting on the floor in front of her cage, Chris from Valley-Save-a-Pet walked up and laughed at us saying something like, “Now this is what I like to see.” She asked us if we would like to meet Willow. Of course, we said yes, pretty much knowing that if we met her, we would probably be taking her home. We walked around behind the cages with Chris as she told us a little bit about Willow. She was found behind Red Lobster as a kitten. She was a bit shy and did not really like to be held, but she did like to be petted. Chris had fostered Willow in her home, like she does with many of the cats that are adopted through Valley-Save-a-Pet. We got down on the floor and I was actually able to hold Willow and give her kisses for about five minutes without her wanting to get away. Again, we were hooked.
Come back tomorrow to read about the adventures of Willow and Meena.
