Sweet and Snuggly Sophia

Sophia is SO sweet. This gentle senior (12+) ladycat was a bit overwhelmed by the many unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells of the shelter when she first arrived at PAWS. While she did enjoy being pet, Sophia seemed to prefer the comfort of her cage -- even when it was her turn for "out" time. About three weeks ago, I decided to try to hold her in my arms, and was delighted to discover that Sophia LOVES being held. She purrs up a storm, drapes her paws over my shoulder, and burrows her head between my neck and shoulder.

With Sophia's secret affinity now revealed -- and with a number of volunteers spending regular time with her -- we are seeing her beautiful personality emerge. She recognizes her favorite volunteers, comes to the front of the cage to be let out, and enjoys being out and about. We've also discovered this lovebug is pretty happy in a nice warm lap if a shoulder isn't available. :)

Sophia is spayed, and up to date on all her vaccinations. She has tested negative for FIV and FeLV. She does have hyperthyroidism, but is regulated and quite good about taking her medication (especially when it is wrapped in a salmon treat). :) Sophia would do well in a quieter home with someone who is willing to give -- and get -- lots of loving snuggles. She would also do best as an only pet. Won't you please consider giving this sweet gal the forever home she deserves?

A Visit With Sophia

We wish everyone had the opportunity to really get to know the distinct personalities of all the PAWS cats.  So many of them have wonderful quirks that don't translate in pictures and words alone.  Take Sophia, for instance.

You can see from this picture that Sophia is a beautiful ginger tabby, and that she appears to be lounging on a lap.  But there's SO much more to Sophia.  She's interactive - a real conversationalist.  And a serious lap cat.  But how, we asked, could we help everyone (including potential adopters) see the Sophia we know and love?  And then Tracey had a great idea ... we could film a short visit with our sweet pal.  And so we present to you, "A Visit With Sophia." We hope you enjoy it.

To learn more about Sophia, click here.

Happy Sunday, everybody! :)

PAWS Best Lap Cat Contest 2012

Welcome to the 2012 Best PAWS Lap Cat Contest!

Here are the amazing and oh-so-adoptable contestants: 

Allie - This six year-old black beauty usually likes to sniff around the room a little bit prior to coming over to visit. But once she does come over, a simple pat on your toweled lap is all it takes ... she's onto it and settled right in. She's a sweet girl who also likes to lay on her back, and who is tolerant of other cats (as long as they don't get too close ... LOL)!

Sophia - This lovely ginger-hued cat of 12 years is quite the talker, and she is not afraid to tell you exactly what she wants.  And what she almost always wants is to snuggle, nuzzle and lay on people's laps!  Looking for some polite conversation?  Sophia is almost always up for that, too! Quite simply, this girl has "tunnel vision" for quality human interaction.

Loreen - When this gorgeous multicolored girl first came into the shelter, volunteers and staff had difficulty understanding her. When we began spending more time with her, we discovered that she's far more amenable to things like being put back into her cage when she's gotten sufficient lap and bonding time with us.  We have no doubt that she and her sisfur Krystal will thrive in a home environment with constancy (and snuggles and laps)! 

Tessa - This gorgeous, petite and agile two year-old is a big fan of catnip, pets, and perching on the cat tree.  And when we sit in a chair by the cat tree, it's never long before she makes her way down to step daintily onto our laps.  Soon, she's snuggled in and purring away, front paws tucked underneath her.  Like Allie, she's not what you would call "fond" of other animals, but she will tolerate them if they respect her "purrsonal" space.

It's difficult to choose just one winner from this amazingly talented quartet, but it has to be done.  So after much consultation and consideration, the judges have decided that the winner of "Best PAWS Lap Cat 2012" is ... LOREEN!

And what a prize Loreen (and her sister Krystal) have won: a home of their very own!  We understand that Loreen's supreme lapcat skills (with some snuggle-filled assistance from Krystal) largely contributed to the great connection they established with their new parents.  Concatulations, Loreen and Krystal ... we can hardly wait to hear some happy tales from you and your family!

As for our runners-up Allie, Sophia and Tessa ... fear not!  Your amazing lap-sitting skills are in great demand, and we know your forever homes are out there.  Until you find them, though, the volunteers and staff of PAWS will gladly love you and lend you OUR laps. :)  

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TODAY (July 31) is the FINAL DAY to vote for us in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE for us (and your other favorite pet blogs), and invite anyone and everyone you know to do the same, especially since PAWS will benefit. You can vote here (or click the Petties link in our sidebar). Thank you!

Sophia and Squeak

Sophia -- a beautiful and formerly stray cat -- is polydactyl, which means she has lots more toes than a regular kitty.  She looks like she's wearing big, fluffy mittens on her front feet!  Sophia is approximately 7 years old, and has a really sweet temperament.  Sadly, she's getting a little too accustomed to her cage at PAWS.  This gentle girl needs a home where she'll have a little extra room to move around AND lots of love!

Squeak is a unique-looking black and white kitty, who had been wandering the streets for quite a while until a kind man took her in.  Sadly, though, he was unable to keep her and brought her to PAWS.  He was devastated to have to give Squeak up, and after getting to know her, we can certainly understand why.  She an absolute sweetie who loves being pet and having her chin scratched gently.  Her rescuer told us that she loved to curl up on the couch and look out the window to watch the birdies fly by.  She's approximately two years old and has a very distinctive meow.  As you can guess from her name ... her meow sounds just like a squeak!

FURever Home Friday! :)

Hooray! It's time for the latest edition of FURever Home Friday, our periodic post about the lucky PAWS kitties who've found their forever homes. There's no sense delaying the deluge of happiness ... let's get this party started! :)

Do you remember our talkative and snuggly senior pal, Sophia? She was one of the shelter's longest (and most beloved) residents. She had been waiting patiently to be discovered by some lucky humans for almost 4 years. Well...

...Sophia's now in a permanent foster home, which is as close as a kitty can get to being adopted without actually being adopted. She'll live permanently in a real home, with her loving foster parents, and only come back to PAWS for checkups. We already miss her immensely, but are over the moon to hear she's already made herself right at home (and that she is a big fan of bird shows on her parents' iPad). :)

Look who else found their happily ever afters!

Here's the full list of the most recent PAWS graduates:

Archie, Asia, Bengali, Buttercup and Blossom (together), C-Lo, Eenie and Miney (together), Diamond, DJ, Erica, Frodo and Graycie (together), Little Caesar, Martina, Mindy, Olga, Oliver, Poblano and Cayenne (together), Salt and Pepa (together), Sophia (* - to permanent foster), and T-Bone

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Of course, no FURever Home Friday would be complete without some Happy Tails (um, Tales), so here are some awesome follow-up reports from some PAWS cat alumni and their families...

"These are my fur babies, Frankie and Johnny, they were adopted from PAWS, and will be 9 years old in November. They are Domestic Short Hair [although they shed like long hair kitties:)] Their favorite thing to do is talk to the birds and squirrels outside our windows (and snuggling with their Mommy)."

"Thank you PAWS for letting Itty into our family. He's such a great boy and fits right in. We were lucky he picked us."

Happy Weekend, everybody! :) 

FURever Home Friday - Dottie :)

Do you remember Dottie, our beautiful 16-year old blind kitty friend who waited at PAWS for two years before she went into permanent foster with our friend, Maureen? Well, we thought you might enjoy a little update on how Dottie, Mo, Harvey the blind doggie, and Rosie the cat are doing. WE sure did! :)

Check out what Mo wrote (and the pictures she sent) when we asked her about Dottie!

Dottie loves her catnip toys! She's found toys that my other cat Rosie stowed under the bed and I haven't seen for quite some time. Dottie bats the toys around from one bedroom to another and when she runs, she sounds like a big dog :-) Dottie also has a funny "I'm crazy" meow when she plays with the toys.

I bought her a special, ritzy wand toy by Martha Stewart. It took me about 15 minutes to choose this one - it has 3 separate attachments and each has small jingle balls. Dottie loves it!

Some other factoids about this gal: She loves kisses on her head...loves being brushed around her head and cheeks...is learning some of the same phrases that I use with my eyeless dog Harvey - when I say "approach" Dottie lifts her head up to meet my hand because she knows she is going to get pet! She loves hanging out on her scratcher and happens to be a very messy eater :-)

It sounds to us like Dottie's making herself right at home. Thank you, Mo, for loving her so much and so well!

And finally, here's a video of Dottie, playing with that "special, ritzy wand toy" that Mo got her. :)

Happy Friday, everybody!  Oh, and be sure to come back on Sunday for a little tea and conversation with another ginger PAWS ladycat (Sophia). :)

(Almost) Wordless Hashbrown

If you think of hash browns as a side dish, you probably haven't met our awesome and adoptable pal Hashbrown. He's handsome, gentle, and sweet as can be. Side dish? No way. Star of the show? Most definitely!

Hashbrown, who is about 8 months old, is super outgoing and loves people and cats alike. He came to PAWS with his buddies Rudy and Sophia after they were discovered in an outdoor hoarding situation. Hashbrown is neutered, current on his vaccinations, and negative for FIV and FeLV. All he needs now is a forever home! Is it with you?

Happy Halloween (and Thank You)!

In the spirit and colors of Halloween, we proudly present (most of) the black, orange and calico cats of PAWS.  Be sure to click on the picture to "biggify" it, so you can see all of these oh-so-adoptable beauties! :)

(Left to right: Bunny, Ian, Gracie, Zoe, Susie, Elmer, Mercy, Sophia, Chino, Jazmin, Dottie, Cameron, Jett and Sabre)

THANK YOU all who sent messages, purrs, prayers and good thoughts our way!  We at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life weathered Hurricane Sandy pretty well.  And we're happy to say that PAWS and all the animals there are safe and sound, too.

To those still dealing with the effects of Sandy, please know that we are thinking of you.

Happy MEOW-loween, everybody!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday :)

While handsome DiMaggio snoozes...

Sweet Doodle shows her mischievous side...

Then tries to play it off...

Who, me?

DiMaggio and Doodle are both available for adoption.  Come meet them -- and the other amazing PAWS cats -- today! :)
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Check this out! Adoptable senior PAWS cat Sophia is featured today
on the 1-800-PetMeds Adoptable Pet Spotlight! 

Happy MEW Year!

Happy Mew Year! Or, maybe we should say Happiest Mew Year, because that's what it is for the many (now former) PAWS cats who will be ringing in 2019 with their new FURever families.

Those of you who've been here before probably recognize some of the faces in this collage of some of our friends who found their happily ever afters in December:

Clockwise from upper left: Millie, Gerdy, Ginger, Rascal, Christina, Tessa, Cindy Lou Hoo,
Leona and Bill all found forever homes in December!

Here's the full roster of the December graduates (50 of them as of the morning of December 31!), in alphabetical order: Ashton and Gilbert (together), Bailey, Bam Bam, Bentley, Bill, Blackjack, Boo, Christina, Cindy Lou Hoo, Claurice, Coco, Crosby, Daisy and Macee (together), Dwight, Filipe and Sophia (together), Finn and Bella (together), Gerdy, Ginger, Gomez, Judy, Kitty, Klaus, Leona, Leopold, Lola, Millie, Mindy and Wendell (together), Mistletoe, Moo Kat, Moose, Mr. Black Cat, Murray and Star (together), Princess Ophelia, Rascal, Santiago, Sergeant Orr, Sparkles, Tabby, Tessa, Tiberius, Tinykat, Umberto, Vinnie and Zulu.

Congratulations to all these graduates, and their new families! We wish them, and all of you, a new year that's filled with an abundance of joy, good health, and love. 

And here's a happy tail from Calli's (formerly Sassafrass) family. We think it'll give you another reason to smile as we start 2019: 

Thank you for allowing us to adopt the sweetest, goofiest, funny, adorable and loving kitty. We named her Calli and she has really thrown herself into our family. The boys adore her and have been so caring. She has completely found herself a home with us. She is my sleeping buddy. I attached some pictures. I hope you know how much we appreciate what you do for these pets. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.
 

Finally, speaking of NEW ... you probably noticed things look a little (okay, a lot) different here on our blog. We LOVE our new header, designed by our wonderfully talented friend Ann at Zoolatry (Thank you, Ann!). Not only is it beautiful, the fact that it features all new cats is also a celebration of the adoption in September of the final PAWS kitty (our buddy Patch) featured on our old header. We hear that Patch is doing great in his forever home, and he is loved an adored.💖

Happy New Year, everybuddy!

😺💖😸

(Almost) Wordless Rudy

Looking for a best friend who's handsome, gentle, and all around amazing? You are? Then look no further than our adoptable buddy Rudy. He's all of those things, and more!

Rudy came to PAWS with his buddies Hashbrown, Moo, and Sophia after they were discovered in an outdoor hoarding situation. He loves getting pets and chin scritches from his human pals, and gets along super well with other nice cats. Rudy, who is about 3 years old, is neutered, current on his vaccinations, and negative for FIV and FeLV.  Come meet him today. You'll both be glad you did!

FURever Home Friday! :)

Looking for some happy news to kick off your weekend?  Well, you've come to the right place, because it's time for another edition of FURever Home Friday.  Those of you who've been following us for a while will see some familiar names and faces on the "adopted" list, including those of some kitties who've been waiting at PAWS for quite some time.  Among those who've found their happily ever afters are...

Biddy

Nassau

Oscar

Snickers

Sherwood

Imah

Who else was gotcha'd?  Here's the full list (in alphabetical order) of recent PAWS cat graduates:

Aiden

Bianca

Biddy

Boudica and Minnie (together)

Brad and Angelina (together)

Charlie

Donald and Joshua (together)

Ermandy

Frittata and Farfalle (together)

Gabriella

George I

George II

Goofy

Grigio

Imah

Jesse James

Kelly

Kumquat and Key Lime (together)

Madras

Melo

Mickey

Nassau

Oscar

Plata

Purrsnickitty

Sherwood

Snickers

Sophia (to permanent foster)

Uno

Wild Bill

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Some happy tails (er, tales) from some of our alumni and their families:

Patches’ new name is Calliope and she is doing well, I think. She seems comfortable in her new home and has a voracious appetite and very definite preferences. She will only eat Weruva and Halo Spots Stew brand cat foods. She is still somewhat skittish yet slowly but surely she is becoming more affectionate. We still do everything on her terms. On Saturday night she slept at the end of my bed for the first time ever AND I heard her PURR for the very first time. I was surprised and very happy.

Miffy (aka Tinkerbelle) is so purrfect! She’s given us so much joy and we believe she’s happy with us too. Here’s a photo of her enjoying a catnap with me. I found her snuggled between my legs.

Brandon has adapted perfectly to his new home. He gets along great with our other cat, and is really starting to get completely comfortable in his new surroundings. My wife and I are extremely happy with our two cats that we adopted from PAWS.

  

Thanks for reading, and sharing in our adoption celebration.  Have a great weekend!

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The PAWS animals need your votes! The shelter has been nominated for the "Vetericyn Loves Animals Charity Giveaway 2014."  Could you please spare a few seconds EVERY DAY now through October 15th to VOTE for PAWS?  Vetericyn is an immediate-acting, one-step wound and skin care product, and if PAWS is one of the three top vote getters, it will win a year's supply. It's a great product to have on hand for emergencies. To vote on the Vetericyn website, click here: http://bit.ly/1qVZSBi. Then Click on the blue picture that says, "Click here to vote for a small animal organization." When you see the PAWS logo, click on VOTE. There are no sign-ins or apps required. Thank you!