A few weeks ago, the unthinkable happened. I lost my dear cat, Pookie. I never in a million years expected to love a cat as much as I loved her- I am not a cat person. At least, that’s what I continue to tell myself. After losing her, the thought of harvest season coming up around us made us realize that we needed another cat for at least one reason- we needed a mouser.

Adoption

My husband and I looked at many different humane society websites in our search. We wanted to make sure that if we got another cat, we adopted one that needed a home. Little did we know that my oldest child was doing the same. We found one particular kitten that we all were drawn to. A kitten at Paws Humane named Dash. I believe I described her as the ugliest cat I had ever seen, but something about her eyes just drew me in.

I applied for adoption that night. The next morning, Micheal came to me with his research and showed me the same kitten. He had no clue that I was already looking into her though.

Micheal sent me this picture, a screenshot he had taken from the website as well! I told him that we would consider it. A few hours later, we got a phone call that we were approved to adopt Dash, we just needed to visit her first! It was late afternoon, and they were supposed to have 4 more kittens come to the adoption floor the next day, so we decided to wait until morning to visit.

The Process

We arrived at Paws an hour before opening. We were so excited to see Dash. That hour wait seemed to last forever with three kids. When they finally opened, we signed in and immediately went to Dash’s room! She was just the best.

After about 30 minutes of playing with Dash and getting to know her, I stepped out and told them that we would like to move forward with the adoption. We didn’t bring a pet carrier (I didn’t think that far ahead) so we had to purchase one there. The great news was, Dash had already been spayed, so we were able to bring her straight home.

There were a ton of forms to sign, almost like when we closed on our home, but it was worth it! About 30 additional minutes (and about $85) we were headed out the door with our new family member!

A name change

After getting to know our sweet kitten, we decided that she was in need of a new name! The boys and I decided to name her KitKat.

Feeling at home

In the last several days, KitKat has definitely made herself at home! She loves to sit on top of the couch while I work and watch over my shoulder. She was a little skittish around our dogs in the beginning, but has warmed up to them now. Her favorite place to hang out in the entire house is on top of her new litter box.

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Reasons to adopt a cat:

• It makes better financial sense to adopt than to get a free cat. Adopting a cat means that she will come spayed, and with all of her shots.
• You save more than one life. Adopting one cat makes room for another in the shelter.
• Controls overpopulation. When you adopt, your pet comes to you spayed or neutered, so you have no worries of unwanted kittens.
• Animal shelters take great care of the cats and other animals they are entrusted with.  Some may have been neglected before arriving at a shelter, but once there they are given needed treatments, vaccinations, medicine, care, behavioral screenings, and lots of attention by trained, experienced, and professional staff members; they are ready to join their new family. 
• Cats and pets in general are great for mental health, especially during a time when we are at home and social distancing so much.  This can be mentally taxing and cats can greatly help reduce anxiety, depression, cabin fever, and a host of ailments that are typically seen when we are cooped up and can’t get out as much as we would like.  And cats make excellent senior companions as well.

Until next time,
Alicia