PAWS Contest: Best cat to talk with...

I mentioned to Kevin this past weekend that it would be really cool to have periodic "contests" amongst the PAWS kitties, in CATegories like "Best cat to talk with" and "Cat who gives the best lap." All of the cat volunteers could nominate, and vote for, their favorites. Who knows? If these contests catch on, we could advertise the winners during adoption hours - when folks are filling out paperwork and waiting to meet with an adoption counselor about the kitties. (:

Well, we're going to give this idea a shot starting today. Our inaugural contest is in the CATegory of "Best cat to talk with."

And the winner is -- in a very close race -- Gadget! In addition to his superior conversation skills, this sweet boy is incredibly smart (he never, ever falls twice for the same "getting him back in his cage" trick), loves a good lap and a good brushing, and REALLY likes the company of his human buddies!

And who was the runner up in this CATegory? That would be Kiki, an adorable Bengal boy who is quick to let us know (in a not-so-subtle way!) when he'd like some "out time" (or wet food).

This super sweet and handsome guy ended up at PAWS when his owner became ill and could no longer care for Kiki and his many cat and dog siblings. A very friendly lap cat, he likes being held and pet all over. We've also been told he likes to play with laser lights, and that he'll crawl under the covers at bedtime for a snuggle.

Congratulations to Gadget and Kiki ... you're both winners in our eyes. Keep on talking, and we'll keep searching for your forever homes!

Four on Friday

Here are four PAWS residents, captured in one click of the camera...

Sweet Ishma (farthest from the camera) was adopted last week, but our buddies Eden (up top, in the front, performing the tail hangover maneuver), Bootz (profiling, with his paw hanging off of the chair) and Max (curled up, and getting the full sun spa treatment) are all still waiting for their forever homes. Of course, until they find them, we'll be sure to give these boys lots and lots of love. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy Tails Thursday

It isn't every day that one of our "long-timers" gets adopted. So this is a pretty amazing week, because the following THREE cats who've been at PAWS for some time have found their forever homes:

Sweet grey lap cat Tee-ma, who we wrote about just last month. Her new mom says, "Tee-ma is a little sweetheart ... she’s a really, really nice cat ... she’s lovely. She is eating well and has been perfect with her litterbox. She slept with us last night, and she is definitely not the kind of cat that you can just ignore, as she throws herself at you for affection."

Ishma, the adorable, people-loving "purr-monster" we wrote about back in August 2009, finally found a home of her very own.

Olivia, a beautiful, (now) full-grown cat who came to PAWS as a kitten back in early 2009, also found her very own people. :)

It's always heartwarming for us volunteers to hear from the people who adopt the PAWS cats, and we'll be sure to share any news we receive from Ishma and Olivia's forever families. :)

We love you Tee-mie, Ishy and Olivia. Be well in your new forever homes!

Tammy ... A special girl in search of a special home

One of our favorite kitties to spend time with is sweet, unassuming Tammy, who was first adopted from PAWS a few years ago. She was living with a friend of her adoptive mom for a while, but sadly didn't appear to be doing well there. So she came back to PAWS to find her very own perfect forever home.

There's a special air about Tammy that really draws us to her. She seems to communicate with us through both verbal and non-verbal cues ... intense stares, little meows, and an occasional touch from her paw. Although Tammy prefers the comforts of her cage to coming out and exploring the room, she lets us know immediately (and without fail) when we enter her room that she wants some special one-on-one time.

Her Likes: Being petted. Eating food while being petted. Oh yeah, and catnip, which she loves eating and rolling around in! :)

Her Dislikes: Not a darn thing (that we know of anyway)!

Don't worry, Tammy ... we're working on getting you a spectacular home. In the meantime, we'll gladly give you all the love we can give. :)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Forever Home Edition

Hooray for these PAWS cats who recently found their forever homes! :)

Murray

Carrie

Prince

And Larissa, Margarita, Nito, Rachel, Violet, Blanca and Emily were also adopted! We love you all, kitty friends ... enjoy your new forever homes!

We Were Tagged Wednesday!

Guess what? We've been "tagged" by our pal Pibble and his human over at One Pibble's Wish. If your reaction is anything like ours was, you're probably asking, "Uh ... what the heck are you talking about?" Well, according to the rules, we were supposed to do the following: "Go to your first photo folder; find the 10th picture; post that photo; and explain the story behind it. Then tag five blogs, asking them to do the same."

Just what, we wondered, would we find in the 10th spot of our photo folder? I actually laughed out loud when I clicked on the file and it revealed this fuzzy, but delightful picture of Aurora -- one of our favorite PAWS graduates -- doing one of her favorite things: playing with her squishy foam bouncy ball. :)

If you've ever known a super smart and observant cat who seemed to take in EVERYTHING, then you've known a cat like Miss Aurora. She'd snoopervise the room intently from her cage, and there was just an undeniable intelligence and a seriousness in her eyes. Maybe that's why Tracey and I were so delighted to learn that she also LOVED to play with the reckless abandon of a kitten! It was certainly one of the reasons we loved her so much during her time at PAWS, and why we remember her so fondly.

According to the most recent update from her mommy, Aurora is doing splendidly in her forever home, making happy new memories and, as they say, living happily ever after. :)

Oh, and before we forget, here's who we're tagging:

Milo and Alfie Marshall at The Cat's Meow

Fui, Suey and Lishy at Forever Foster

Tristan and Crikey at Tristan and Crikey at the Beach

The whole gang at Melody's Katz

Our pals at Cats of Wildcat Woods

Wonderful News Wednesday!

Maybe the stars have been aligned perfectly. Or maybe our kitty angels Bitsy, Graphite and Lady Madonna have been working overtime. Or maybe it's the result of the purrs and prayers of all of our Cat Blogosphere friends. Whatever it is, it's working like a good luck shamrock (Happy St. Patrick's Day!), and we've had a virtual cornucopia of fantastic adoptions in the past few weeks!

If you've been reading our Blog for a while, you'll recognize -- and be super excited about -- the names of the following kitties who have found forever homes. So just WHO was adopted, you ask?

Tango

Gerdy

Teal

Valentino

Madeline

Annie (from foster)

And as if that's not enough excitement for one posting, we're also over the moon that a bunch of PAWS kitties we hadn't yet covered in our Blog have found their forever homes, too:

Aphrodite and Emily, Audrey, Cadbury and Godiva, Carter, Cissy, Eddie, Emma, Hershey, Ivy, Kimmie, Lindsay, Madden, Nestle, Peggy Sue, Rose, Tootsie and Tristan (from foster)

Be well in your new forever homes, feline friends. We love you! :)