Proof that there's always hope for the "unadoptable"!
A few weeks ago I posted a profile for Lilly and Annie, cats who are still waiting for adoption from Kitten Rescue, the organization that I volunteer for. In an interview Sandra Harrison of Kitten Rescue told me about some awesome adoption stories of cats that were considered "unadoptable." She emailed me the story of Lola (now named Bella).
Lola was was adopted from the group's Black Cat Affair adoption event at Pico. This couple had seen the event advertised on Good Day LA. They were in Palm Springs for the weekend, and came home early to go to the event. WOW! Talk about dedication!
Lola was a community foster cat who really had no place to go at the end of the day. She had been left behind by a roommate, and the remaining roommate did not care for her at all. The cat showed awfully at the event. She would whack at anyone who would pet her. She had one bad eye.
Paul, the husband, had a bad eye as well and because of that he had an instant connection to this poor cat. She was so wild that it took volunteers about 10 minutes to get her into a carrier. She was actually very scary. Yet, they still took her.
Sandra forwarded me the couple's email. And as you can see, Bella is very happy in her home. What's even more amazing is the fact that the wife was pregnant and you know the old myth about cats, pregnant women and babies. So glad they dismissed that myth.
In her email Sandra wrote:
"Rescue is often less rewarding than it is frustrating, tiring and disappointing. But we go on, because they need us. It is e-mails like this that let me know that we are making a difference. Lola was never loved or cherished in her first home. She is now. That is what we do. We can't save them all, and I wish we could. For this one cat we made a great difference in her life.as we do for around 1,000 cats a year."
Here's the letter and more photos from the adoptors
Dear Sandra and Belinda:
You may not remember us, but we adopted a cat, Lola, from one of Kitten Rescue's black cat adoption fairs at Centinela Feed & Pet in December of 2006 (a little over one year ago). Lola was a handful at the adoption event: she would not come out of her cage (it took 10 minutes and a lot of scratches on your volunteers to get her into our cat carrier), she turned her back to everyone, and hissed and struck out anytime anyone would get near. She is blind in one eye, was missing all of the fur on her belly and most on her legs, and had been basically dropped off that morning by the girls who needed to get rid of her. She was a very unlikely adoption candidate and I think it was Belinda who urged us to give her a chance.
Well, we just wanted to let you know how well everything has turned out from that pretty rocky beginning! She is a very happy and affectionate member of our family. We decided to rename her "Bella" to give her a shot of confidence (Bella meaning beautiful in Italian, of course). We made sure she got a lot of attention, love and food, and within one month her missing fur had grown back and she had put on a few pounds onto her skinny frame.
Bella loves everyone; she is the first to greet anyone at the door and jumps up on laps with abandon to get pet. She loves to play: she plays "rough" with me and my husband (we wrap up our arms in a sweatshirt and let her get her playful agression out), but she is smart and knows to play more gently with our elderly cat Tanaka (they chase each other and play "ambush"): she has never come close to hurting him. She spends many hours watching birds and other wildlife outside our windows (her one good eye is quite sharp!).
In June we welcomed a baby and Bella adores the baby (I know, not exactly a known cat trait). When I was still breastfeeding, Bella would lay down on the breastfeeding pillow, behind the baby, and just snuggle up next to her. Now that the baby is getting older, I'm starting to teach her about how we gently touch the cats, and Bella is not the least bit shy about being pet (with my strong guidance, of course): she actually gets her face right up there and wants the baby to touch her face. We've got many years and milestones to go teaching our child how to gently interact with and respect the cats, but we are happy to be off to a good start!
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how splendidly things worked out and to thank you both, Kitten Rescue, and all of the volunteers for all of the work you do! I'm sure you don't mind hearing a nice, happy ending to one of your sponsored adoptions, and maybe you can relate this story to others who might consider adopting a "less than perfect" kitty!
Thanks again for helping us find our loving family member!
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