Happy Tails!

Read notes from home, written by Forever Families of adopted Casa de los Gatos cats and kittens. 

There is only one thing better than giving a wonderful cat or kitten a second chance at life, and that is finding them a wonderful family to spend the rest of their nine lives with.
 
Every week Casa de los Gatos volunteers dedicate their time to make this happen for lots of our feline friends.  From bouncy kittens to sophisticated seniors and even some special needs cats in between; there are thousands of adoption success stories!!

We Love hearing about how our cats and dogs are doing in their forever homes.  CLICK HERE to see some examples and read the great stories below:

Older and Special Needs Cats Adopted
Oscar, a lucky cat who tested positive for Feline Leukemia, has found a very loving home.  Our diabetic kitty Lola has also found her special family.  DFW and Booker are older cats who came to us after their owner passed away, and are now enjoying life in their new forever home.  Lola's new family writes:
"We're sure you miss Lola! She has settled right in, purrs constantly, follows us like a puppy and helped finish off a thesis paper! She's a love, but the other two cats are a bit miffed. There was a brief stand-off in our hallway between Scooter, our tabby, and Lola.... lots of low throat growling type stuff, then Scoots took off and haven't seen her since. Our little black cat took one look at Lola in the cat carrier, vanished to the back bedroom and that was also the last we've seen of her! No doubt, there will be some hissing and growling (seems to be all on the part of our two little girls as Lola's primary mode seems to stay in "purr") but we're pretty sure everyone will get over it soon enough. Lola loves treats, and used the litter box (always a huge relief for new cat owners.) All in all, we couldn't ask for more. And..... there are pictures to show that Lola is fairly computer literate and was a 'huge help'! She's a love and we're crazy about her, and she has made her self right at home. She's an absolutely wonderful girl! Loving her will be a walk in the park!

Thank you so much!"

Big Cat 'Bronson' Steals the Hearts of a Family
THANK YOU so much for bringing Bronson to the Petco in Oro Valley Marketplace!! We always check out the shelter kitties whenever we see them set up anywhere. In December, we were definitely not looking for another cat. Our 19 year old Himalayan had died that summer but we still have a 14 year old Himalayan, a 7 year old Ragdoll and 2 year old Ragdoll sisters, plus a mini-schnauzer and fish and a hamster! We love animals...my daughter and I always think there is room for one more but my husband needs a bit more convincing.

That Sunday we had lunch out and were going to buy some pet food when we saw Bronson. He is this cuddly giant of a Maine Coon, purring and rolling on his back in the cage and kneading his paws. We stopped to admire him and scratch his nose through the cage, then went shopping. On the way out we stopped by to see him again as you were packing up to leave. He looked like he needed to be petted so I asked if I could hold him. Within one second of holding this mountain of fur, he snuggled his head on my chest and purred louder than I've ever heard. I looked at my daughter for a split second and then said to my husband, would you be mad if we brought him home? He said no, so we did! That was the best impulsive decision we have ever made, and we all agree!

Our dog immediately welcomed him as another playmate. The rest of the cats were a bit more hesitant at first, but he didn't care. He follows us everywhere and demands to be held like a baby if we are on the sofa watching TV. He sprawls across my daughter's homework and patiently waits for her to practice the piano. He has found every place there is to hide and climb and is very happy to have discovered the Pounce/Temptation treat drawer! He especially loves to watch the aquarium, the 6" golden algae eater and him seem to play hide and seek. In bed he will just flop down next to you using your arm as a pillow and purr till he falls asleep. He is great with not favoring one person, and will play with and curl up with anyone! The rest of the cats can't keep their eyes off him and follow him around. There's been a few whiskers "out of joint" when he discovered someone's favorite scratching post or bed but nothing major. He is definitely part of the family. And his name is just great- Bronson, you'd expect him to be some rough and tumble old guy and not the sweet big baby he is!

I strongly encourage anyone looking for a new fur-ball to love, to take another look at the grown cats! Sure kittens are cute and cuddly and playful, but so is Bronson who is only 2 years old (and male Maine Coons are slow to mature so he won't even get to his full size for 5 years)!  He is ,without a doubt the most loving, cuddle-some, snuggle-bunny, funny, curious and crazy cat we have ever had and that's saying a lot!

Thanks so much for giving Bronson the chance to select us as his Forever Family. I know he spent a lot of time at the shelter, so remember that sometimes it takes a while for the cat to choose his new family! This is definitely a happy ending.



Patience Pays Off - the story of Autumn and Feliz
Autumn and Feliz were adopted together in early 2009.  At first they seemed to get along fine, but as they grew accustomed to their new home, Autumn became very mellow while Feliz enjoyed aggressive playing to the point where Autumn was uhappy.  Luckily for these 2 girls, their owners patiently solved this problem using positive reinforcement.  Here is their account of this process:  "What we did was to notice the places Autumn would go to when trying to escape Feliz, and either try to catch Feliz before she followed Autumn to one of these places or take her out of those areas. Then we would gently take Feliz and put her in a bit of time out in one of her favorite places; the back of the couch or a window. As time went by, Autumn figured out these places were her safe spots and Feliz knew not to chase Autumn into these areas. When Feliz would stop and not chase her into these areas, one of us would pick her up and give her tons of loving and praise while the other would pet Autumn to let her know she was safe. It took a few months but now when they are playing and Autumn needs to run to her safe spots, Feliz comes to a complete stop and doesn't intrude in Autumn's space.  It wasn't easy and took a great deal of time and patience, but they are both great kitties and it was worth every minute. There isn't a day that goes by that they aren't running through the house together or wrestling on the floor like best of friends, not to mention all the joy they bring into our lives."

Casa de los Gatos is very grateful to our patient and loving adopters!

We love to hear how happy our kitties are with their Forever Families, so send us your stories!