Today is Miss Sugar’s 11th birthday. She is the junior-senior of our senior cat duo, adopted from the London Humane Society when she was nine. The first thing we did was change her name from Kitty. Talk about unimaginative!
It’s obvious that she’s a female. With some cats you can’t really tell. Sugar has this way of acting demure and helpless to get attention. She’s a big-boned gal who carries herself like she’s dainty. And she always crosses her paws when she’s at rest.
She and Spice had a rough start. He became jealous and physical with her any time we showed her any attention. He wouldn’t allow her up on a bed at any time. But after many interventions and a lot of patience, the two cats and I can have a calm nap together and no one gets their back up. They nuzzle each other when they think we’re not looking and work together on security detail.
Perhaps you’d like to add a homeless critter to your own household? A kitten, cat, puppy, dog, rabbit – just about every town has a pet shelter with animals that just need a little TLC. But please don’t go to a Mom-and-Pop backyard rescue operation. The ones that believe the veterinarians at the bigger organizations are wrong when they say a pet can’t be rehabbed. (Read my experience HERE.) They mean well but many of them don’t know what they’re doing.
The London Humane Society has a lot of info HERE on what you have to do, and what you’re in for, when you adopt a rescued pet. Much of it is pretty standard across the province. Choosing seniors isn’t for the faint of heart. I buy pee-pads by the 100s. (Miss Sugar has terrible aim at the litterbox!) Choosing a kitten or a puppy brings with it its own special challenges, too. But the rewards are totally worth it.