We talk a lot about pet adoption around here, but let’s be honest… not all pets come to us from a shelter or rescue. So, in that vein, allow me to formally introduce our cats: Meet Newt and Ripley!
OK, OK. If you’ve been here a while, you’ve met. 🙂 But, for those who are new, or for those who don’t know about our kitty contingent–it is OhMyDOG after all–I wanted to tell their stories and talk a little bit about some of the other ways pets enter our lives.
Newt found John while he lived in Houma, LA. He wasn’t looking for a cat, and our life was in chaos at that time–he was commuting between LA and IN while I underwent chemo. Had we walked into a shelter and tried to adopt a cat–two homes in two states, three dogs who had never met a cat before, jobs in flux, income unpredictable, etc.–we would’ve been denied for sure. Yet, here comes Newt, waltzing into our world.
Was it the ideal time to add a cat to the family? Nope.
Did we have any idea what we were doing with a cat? Double nope.
Were we going to figure out how to make it work? Heck yeah.
It was worth it for us, but I’m certainly not recommending anything similar for any other family. In fact, when other animals stumbled into our lives shortly after Newt–first Molly then Petey–we knew it was best to find them their own families outside of ours.
Thankfully, Newt is one tough cookie. She adapted well to moving from her first apartment with John to our Houma house to our Bloomington house to our Indy house, and meeting the dogs, and adopting Violet, and adding Ripley to the mix, and who knows what else I’m forgetting.
It’s her personality, an innate characteristic of hers to just be sure she’s the Queen Bee no matter what or where or who is around her. It comes out in less-than-kind ways sometimes (she’s been known to whoop a dog or two in her day and bite a person or two or almost all of them), but that trait helps her face life with nothing but confidence at all times.
We could all benefit from having a little Newt inspo, I think.
I missed writing her Gotcha Day letter this year, so please enjoy last year’s Dear Newt!
Ripley found us on Facebook. Well, I found her.
A friend posted that a mama cat appeared in her barn. No one around her recognized the cat. She and her husband decided to keep the mama safe until she had her kittens then find homes for the lot–including the mom–once they were eight weeks old. After the kittens were born, she posted a pic, and I said, “If we were looking for a kitten, it would be this one.” I pointed to the future Ripley.
Weeks went by, and she kept posting how glad she was that the mom had found a home and that most of the kittens had, too. Then, she shared a pic of Ripley and said something like, “This one is so sweet, but no one’s adopted her yet!”
I turned to John, “On a scale of one to 10, how much do you not want a cat?”
Later that week, we drove out to their farm and picked up Ripley.
Ripley couldn’t be more different from Newt than if they were two different species. While Newt is bold and couldn’t-care-less, Ripley is timid and cares a whole lot.
She’s frightened of new things. When something startles her, she hisses and darts away. She hides under the bed whenever something different happens or someone new is in the house. However… once she gets to know you… She purrs and rubs everyone once she’s comfy with you and wouldn’t dream of biting us or Cooper.
We weren’t looking for Ripley either, but she’s the perfect addition to the family. She and Violet are growing up side-by-side, and Ripley and Cooper share a love for cuddling. Ripley immediately loved Newt and identified her as the Big Cat in their relationship.
In many ways, being opposites is exactly what they both needed!
I also missed writing Ripley’s Gotcha Day letter this year, so please enjoy last year’s Dear Ripley! I just reread it, and whooooo boy. She hasn’t changed, not one bit.
So, my point in all this–other than closing a gap in their Gotcha Day letters, all of which I missed because of being down and out for two months, but now that I’m appendix-free I’m getting all caught up, and speaking of which here’s Cooper’s last year letter because I missed his, too!–so, my point in all this is to say: Pets come to us in all sorts of ways.
They come whether we’re looking or not. The right ones, well, we just know. And they know. I think that’s partly why we knew we had to find Molly and Petey their families… they weren’t meant for ours, and we all knew it. Our crew? Meant for us.
I was thinking about all this recently because a friend was denied an adoption application, despite already being a pet owner… and a dedicated one at that. Yet, she wasn’t deemed suitable for this particular rescue. I struggle with this and have written about it a bunch (some links are below) because the reality is, and what my cats demonstrate, animals come from all sorts of places. Someone who wants a pet is going to get one, even if an adoption application is denied.
I love my cats to pieces. They fit our family perfectly. No, that’s not quite right… They make our family. We weren’t looking for a cat in either case. We didn’t fill out an application or pay a fee or visit a shelter. Yet, we adopted them wholeheartedly and work every day to make sure this bunch is happy and healthy.
At the end of the day, that’s all we can do for our pets, isn’t it? No matter where they come from!
How did your pets join your family? Purchased from a breeder? Adoption from a shelter or rescue? Found on the street? I’d LOVE to hear your stories in the comments below!
Read more:
How Not to Adopt a Pet: Removing Barriers to Pet Adoption
Choosing a Pet: Is adoption right for my family?
I wholeheartedly agree, Maggie! The ones who are meant for us will find their way to us! We adopted our first fur-boy Buttons in 2014; at the time, I had never had a pet on my life and was even mildly scared of them. But Buttons was a two-week old puppy when someone tied him up in a trash bag and dumped him by the roadside. He badly and urgently needed a home and my husband asked me if we could foster him for a bit. Today, I am so glad I said yes! He ended up being a foster-fail and now rules us all with an iron paw and a high-pitched Pom-inspired bark!
We started actively looking for a second puppy in 2015 and a rescue worker who was helping us sent us a whole set of pics of dogs. We went off to check out a brown Spitz whom we felt was ‘the one’. But two hours later, we had hit a dead-end; the dog did not take to us at all and wouldn’t even come close. We drove back home thinking we’d go again another day and have another try when we got a call. Someone was moving out of state and wanted to give up their dog; could he come down and show us the dog? The situation wasn’t ideal. It was ten pm and we were bone-tired and angry at him for so easily abandoning a pet. But we agreed.
An hour later, he ran the doorbell. I opened it to find the world’s most beautiful, golden-furred puppy wagging his tail at me! It was love at first sight. Scooby is now 4 years old and is the happiest, sunniest little fellow you would ever meet. He worships the ground Buttons walks on (I think B has trained him well!)
Turns out Scooby’s picture was in the set forwarded to us but somehow we hadn’t noticed. But because he was meant for us, he found his way to us. ??
A coworker of mine was a lifelong Sheltie owner who had literally poured thousands of dollars into her last dog for vet bills and rehab for surgeries and after he passed she looked to adopt another one but was repeatedly denied for not having a fence. When I spoke to the owner of a local sheltie rescue about their 8 page adoption application, she gleefully told me that many of the questions are the same but worded differently just to trip people up. Hearing that, I advised my friend to find a reputable breeder.
I really hate when rescues/shelters make it so hard for people to adopt which (as above) drives people to breeders or worse yet, pet stores or backyard breeders. Obviously we want our dogs/cats to be in safe homes, but we can only do so much regarding screening and after that trust our judgement.
Great read, Maggie! Ps would love update posts on Molly and Petey if you are still in contact with their people! I don’t remember Petey, but I do remember Molly!
Not the biggest cat lover in the world, I have always owned Dogs and they are my passion. We always have cats coming and going at our farmhouse, it is cute but they can be very demanding! Good luck with these pussy cats.. you are doing a great job in caring for them.