FURever Home Friday - WOW!

Krystal and Loreen have been adopted! :)

We're so glad it's FURever Home Friday, because we have some big news to share!

Do you remember our pals Krystal and Loreen?  These beautiful sisters waited patiently at PAWS for nearly two years to be adopted.  Until yesterday, that is, when they went off to their very own forever home!  How strange (in the best way possible) it will be this weekend without Loreen on Tracey's lap, and Krystal laying on a towel next to me.  We've been told they really connected strongly with the couple who adopted them. Way to pick your new mom and dad,  girls! New Mom Sharon and Dad Jim promise to send photos and follow-ups, so stay tuned. :)

Here's the full list of cats in this most recent "graduating" class:

Apple and Cherry (together)

Bing

Chairman Meow and Mei Ling (together)

Cheddar and Colby Jack (together)

Colby and Harper (together)

Dan D Lion

Krystal and Loreen (together)

Parfait

Shadow II and Tails (together)

Wanna smile just a little bit more?  Then check out these great happy tails tales!

"I just wanted to thank you for Jack.  He is a wonderful part of our family.  It only took a week for him to start running around the house.  And he gets along so well with our other cats.  He is just a joy and we love him."

Remember Sandy?  His new mom says "...he has a new BFF named Salt. Salt and Sandy can always be found together. Sandy is quite the talker. He is still not comfortable with quick human moves or with being loomed over (as in getting picked up), but he is all about being up on the bed at night and in the morning to snuggle and get pets. We find him to be the most lovable cat ever. And incredibly playful. He has lots of toys and drags them all over the house."

Sandy's mom also said that because Sandy is hesitant about eating in the kitchen when his humans are in there getting food and such, they moved his food to the mid-stair landing where he can eat in what he feels is a safe spot.  We love that this sweet boy has found a family that understands and loves him so well. :)

That's about it for this post.  Have a great weekend, everybody! :)

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We're a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite pet blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

Two Pic Tuesday - Roamer

Here's handsome Roamer, relaxing in one of the PAWS meeting room's cat trees...

And here he is, doing what he does best!

Zoom!  Look at me go!

Roamer's name fits him purrfectly!  He's young, fun, playful, active, and would love a home where he can run and play.  Our friend and fellow PAWS volunteer Maggie (of Sundays at the Shelter) captured some great video of him in action, which you can see here. Like what you see?  Come meet Roamer at PAWS today! :)

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We're a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite pet blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

Happy Gotcha Day, Sammy!

Hip, hip hooray!

It’s our sweet senior boy Sammy’s sixth Gotcha Day! 

We remember when Sammy first came to PAWS.  He had been rescued from a kill shelter, where he somehow ended up after being found in a feral cat colony.  We suspect he had been eating more than his share of food in the colony, because he weighed a whopping 21+ LBS. when we first met him.  (In case you’re wondering, he now weighs a much healthier 14 lbs.)  Check out this picture of (then) big Sammy and one of his kitten pals while he lived at PAWS:

Obviously, the picture shows just how big and round Sammy used to be, but it also helps demonstrate one of the things that utterly endeared us to him.  Sammy is one of the nicest, sweetest, most tolerant cats ever, as was clear whenever little ones like this would climb over, bounce on, and jump on him.

We loved spending time at the shelter with Sammy.  Here’s a picture of Mom Tracey’s leg (she’s camera-shy), with Sammy looking up at her:

Are you my Mommy?

 (Yes, Sammy, that IS your Mommy!)

 

And here’s Dad Kevin holding Sammy, right before he came home:

Are we going home now, Dad?

Sammy has been through a lot in his life.  His veterinarians estimate that he is somewhere between 17 and 19 years old.  He had bartonella when we first gotcha’d him.  He has arthritis, a pellet in his leg (probably from when he was in the feral colony), not too many teeth, and he is on meds for hyperthyroidism.  But Sammy doesn’t sweat all that stuff.  This sweet mancat just keeps on going, and he's happy.  And that makes US the luckiest family in the world. :)

Sammy is still a pretty good eater (we call him “the Hungry Badger”).  In fact, he loves food (his AND Moosey’s).  Sammy's other nicknames are “Smoochie Boy,”  “Mama’s Baby,” and “Dootie.”

Like his mommy, Sammy is camera shy, so photos of him looking straight at the camera are few and far between.  But here's a good one of his handsome face (nice "soul patch," dude!):

Sammy doesn’t play as much as he used to, but when he does, his favorite toys (shown here) are the trayf mouse on a string, the hex bug, and the Neko Flies Kragonfly:

Sammy's favorite toys

Sammy's favorite pastimes are sun puddle surfing, laying against things (walls, shoes, pillows, etc.), being massaged and brushed (and trying to brush himself), laying under HIS Christmas tree, family couch time, and getting a ride up the stairs (i.e. the mom or the dad carrying him).

A Collage O' Sammy

He gets along pretty well with his much younger brother Moosey, too. :)

Moosey and Sammy

   Happy Gotcha Day, sweet Sammy.  We love you, buddy!

Mom Tracey, Dad Kevin and Brother Moosey
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We're a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite pet blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Pole Sitters

Doodle (left) and Jet

Here are pretty Doodle and handsome Jet, taking turns perching on this nifty scratching post in Cat Room 4. :)

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We're a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite pet blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

Easy Like Sunday - Kosmo and Kramer

Kosmo and Kramer are spending part of the day in their "tricked-out" cage.  Of course, we'll make sure they also get love and attention, and some extended time out to stretch their legs and play.  But for now, Kosmo is enjoying the hammock, while her brother Kramer is hamming it up for the camera. :)

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We're a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite pet blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

An award, and an update :)

We got an award!  A few weeks ago, we received the Very Inspiring Blogger Award from our new friends at My dog Sheba's life story!  How cool is that?  Hearty thanks to Sheba and her family (which includes a cat named Cody)!  They just started blogging in May, so please go and meet them if you haven't yet done so. :)

The rules for the award state that we're supposed to share seven things about ourselves.  As we've done a few times with past awards, we're going to use this as a chance to share pictures of seven of the awesome and adoptable cats now at PAWS.  So here are sweet brothers Derek and Andy; Doodle; Tessa; Oracle; Milo; and Woogie.  Be sure to biggify the collage to get a more detailed look at how beautiful these kittehs are. :)

Top: Andy, Doodle, Derek / Middle: Tessa / Bottom: Oracle, Milo, Woogie

We're also supposed to choose seven blogs with whom to share the award.  Honestly, we're inspired by so many of the blogs we read that we're going to pass this award along to all of you!

Finally, we wanted to thank all of you who have asked how our dear Auntie K. is doing.  She still has a long way to go, and is still in the hospital, but is showing improvement.  Please keep purring and praying!

Have a great weekend, everybody! :)

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We are a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties! PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite cat blogs) now through July 31 (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! :)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Yankee

Isn't our pal Yankee cute?

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We are a finalist in the "Best Cause Related Blog" category of the 2012 Petties, and we need your help!  PLEASE VOTE DAILY for us (and your other favorite cat blogs) now through July 31 (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).  Thanks for your support! :)