Pepper ... A Spicy Girl!

This cute, chubby girl came to PAWS not too long ago, when her owner could no longer care for her.

A "young" 15 year-old, Pepper meows at us for attention and enjoys a good petting. While Kevin and I have attempted to take her out of her cage on a number of occasions, she's not taking the bait...We suspect she may be a little cage-dependent.

Recent playtime leads me to believe that she may like to play with string toys, but it's pretty much a one-sided game as she's not too fond of sharing...(:

A Scaredy Cat No More

When she first came to PAWS, Madeline was what you might call a "scaredy cat." We can't say we blame her, though. After all, this poor little girl was abandoned outside in a cat carrier on a frigid winter day ... what a terrifying experience that must have been.

Madeline lives in one of the "open" cat rooms at PAWS, and her affinity for other kitties has been evident from day one. But when it came to people, she'd try to hide or -- at best -- stay just beyond arm's length of the volunteers. Oh, how times have changed! Miss Madeline has learned she can trust people, too (and that people are sources of good things like food, toys and pets!). As a result, this little sweetie has become one of her room's most outgoing citizens. Today, for instance -- after some petting and much purring -- she jumped up onto my shoulder and calmly took a ride around the room. She was happy as a clam (and so was I)!

Terrific Adoption News!

King and Murphy have been adopted! They were the two handsome longhaired black cats mentioned in an earlier post who lived together in a room with the lovely, lovable (to humans, that is) black cat named Claire.

Let's just say that -- according to the following report from their new adoptive parents (and the pic above) -- King and Murphy are adjusting VERY WELL!

..."I wanted to drop you a quick note b/c I know you’ll be happy to hear that the fellas are doing great! We’ve got them set up in our bonus room right now, which is a large room so they have plenty of space to run around and play. We were planning on letting them out of the room in a few days to explore the rest of the house but they’ve acclimated so well we are going to do it today.

When we first got to the house, King came right out of the carrier and walked around like he owned the place. He immediately explored the room, ate, used the litter, and was playing, purring, and grooming within an hour. Murphy came right out of the carrier too, looked around, and then settled under a chair for the next hour. But then he was up and exploring and playing as well. Towards the end of the day Murphy would run right up to us whenever we came into the room and he would rub all on our legs while purring. This morning was more of the same, they both run to us when we enter the room and rub on us and purr. Both of them allowed us to brush them and seemed to enjoy it.

We really can’t believe how quickly they’ve made themselves at home. We were worried about Murphy but he’s really taken a liking to his new environment and seems very happy. He purrs loudly whenever we pet him. King too.

Thanks again for your help in the process. We’re very happy that this is working out so far."

Congrats King and Murphy! Kevin and I are so happy for you!!!!

Sweet Reggie is a True Gentleman

We absolutely adore Reggie.  This handsome, calm and good-natured fellow -- who lives in one of the shelter's "open" rooms (i.e. no cages) with a bunch of other kitties -- enjoys the company of people and felines alike.  He's also the room's self-appointed greeter: whenever we come through the door, Reggie is always right there to welcome us!  Don't get me wrong, though ... he's not an attention-hog by any means.  He's quite content to relax in a sun spot or gaze out the window while his roommates get some "people time."  It's almost as if Reggie understands that Tracey and I will eventually give each and every cat in the room some attention, and all he's got to do is wait.  This sweet, calm and patient nature just makes us love him even more! 

Abracadabra! Another Houdini Update

And now, for my next trick, I'll require a shoelace...

Houdini continues to astound us with his amazing progress. It gives us great pleasure to report that this magical guy has now decided he likes being pet. Yes, you read that correctly ... the cat who used to hide behind the safety of the cat tree now comes right up for his share of pets! Houdini's confidence level is growing by the day, and it's a joy to watch his true personality emerge. As you can see from these photos, he's intrigued by shoelaces ... he and I had a great time playing together this afternoon. :)

Past posts about Houdini:

Houdini and Bootz ... More Amazing Progress!

Update on Bootz and Houdini...

Bootz and Houdini

Wonderful News! Adoption and Foster Updates...

Kevin and I are very happy to announce that the following cats were adopted...

Bonnie & Clyde (together)
Hassie
Kyle
Mia

...And the following cats are being fostered...

Alexis & Jasper (together)
Annie & Blossom (together)

We’d like to give special thanks to all of you who adopt/foster shelter animals. With so many millions of shelter animals being euthanized annually, your choice to adopt from a shelter is very kind, giving and selfless. Thanks for giving them a chance at love.

Houdini and Bootz ... More Amazing Progress!

One of our favorite things about volunteering every weekend is being able to witness first-hand the transformative powers of consistency and love on the animals. Watching kitties who formerly avoided human contact learn to trust people is incredibly rewarding. Especially because it makes them that much more adoptable. :)

We've written before about Houdini (the orange and white guy) and Bootz, and continue to be amazed by their incredible progress. It's almost as if a light has gone on for both of them as they've watched the other cats in the room bask in the love and attention lavished upon them by the volunteers. As you can see by these photos, both of these kitties are becoming more at-ease with their surroundings with every passing day.

Houdini, who once refused to budge from his safe spot behind the big cat tree, can now be found lounging on the sofa or in the middle of the floor. Yesterday, as I sat on the floor of the room, Houdini got up off the couch, sauntered over, and laid down about two feet away from me. And today, Tracey was actually able to pet him (twice!).

Bootz -- not to be outdone by his buddy Houdini -- now enjoys laying next to us on the couch. He's also decided he loves being pet and brushed. Bootz is also fond of laying on his back with his belly exposed. Talk about feeling comfortable! Who would've ever guessed?

Stay tuned ... we'll do our best to keep you posted about these guys' continued growth.

Previous posts about Bootz and Houdini:

Update on Bootz and Houdini

Bootz and Houdini