Another Happy Ending - Allie

I met Allie (aka Annie) at Maddie’s more than a year ago. She’s lovely and sweet, and about the softest cat I’ve ever petted. Beyond the exterior, there was something intangible about her – I just thought she was a special girl.

She stayed at the shelter for about a month, which surprised me. Sorry, but it’s true – the cute kitties tend to go fast. She didn’t show well (meaning when I brought a potential adopter in to meet her she was initially unfriendly and maybe seemed standoffish). But that only lasted for a few minutes. Once she adjusted to someone new, she would slink out and sit close by, and offer nervous little hand licks.

The boyfriend had been making noises about getting a second cat. I’d mentioned this one as well as numerous others. This was a year ago December, and he went east over the holidays to visit family. I remember sitting in her condo, stroking and whispering while as she nervously licked my arm, promising to little Annie that she would find a good home.

Come January, it happened. He spent a good chunk of a couple afternoons at the shelter, and met a bunch of kitties. (He’s less impulsive than a lot of people and took his time deciding. I tried not to push, though I worried that someone else would see how special she was and take her home while he deliberated.)

But then he made his move. Brought the soft ginger girl home to his sunny airy home and big sister Emmy. We followed the guidelines about keeping the new cat confined and the two of them separated. It was an adjustment for them both.

Now I can’t imagine the house without Miss Allie. Soft and little and pretty as she is, she disdains the cooing and baby talk her preciousness invites. I’m pretty sure she views herself as a hardened alley cat, just taking the occasional nap break. She and Emmy run around the house together, sometimes like friends and sometimes like foes, but attuned to each other as well as to their man’s comings and goings. They devise attention getting scuffles to urge us to feed them, then sit side by side at their kibble bowls, gobbling happily.

Allie’s in the prime of her life now, comfortable and content. It was a good move for everybody.