I was also able to convince my dad to allow me to get another cat as a means of therapy. When I lost Marmalade in April, it completely broke my heart. Besides being like a child to me, she served as a therapy animal that helped with my depression, pain, sleep, etc. Marmalade also helped my sister know when she was about to have a seizure and would help calm her during the process. While no being of any kind will be another Marmalade, I knew that I needed to find a cat that would love me.
Maggie (my sister for those who have not read my previous posts) and I went to our local animal rescue shelter. We saw a bunch of cats online, more that I can even count, but we were floored when we saw that the cats online were merely a small percentage of those at the center. There were rooms upon rooms full of cats. It was depressing and I wish I could have saved them all.
After starting the application process, we looked through the different rooms. The cats looked like they were in the window of a shop. The cat beds, glass panels, and ability for 2-3 cats to be in one section to bond helped make it feel a bit less like a kitty orphanage but rather a shop at a mall. First off, I found a kitten that was 12-18 weeks old. Her name is Munchkin. We took her into the "Hug Room" and she immediately melted my heart. She loved to play and cuddled up against my chest. My only concern was that since we have an older cat with behavioral/mental health problems the kitty may not be able to defend herself if a cat fight happened.
The second cat was Mark. At the age of 1.5 years old, he was still playful but not as needy as Munchkin. He clicked with Maggie and he was her pick. Since it was up to me to pick out the cat, I declined against him because he seemed too aloof and independent.
Then, as we were waiting to see Munchkin again, Maggie saw a cat, Butterscotch, in the top corner and she cleaned his eye (we were on the caged side at this point). He rubbed up against the metal and batted at Maggie playfully. Since Munchkin wasn't available yet, we decided to see him. In the room, he loved the play toys, even jumped onto the door at full speed, and had us cracking up. As the volunteer came to take him back, he went the other way, jumped onto the bench, and laid on my lap/chest. The volunteer chuckled and gave us another moment. I looked into his golden eyes and held him. I whispered, "Would you be my kitty? Are you the one?" By holding him and seeing those beautiful eyes, my heart swelled and my eyes began to water. I looked at Maggie. This is my kitty.
I was overjoyed to bring him home. We renamed him to "Sammy". He adapted quickly to our home and he is fine with the other cats. They, on the other hand, are still adjusting to him. He snuggles with us. He plays and sleeps as if it's a constant cycle. And besides his amazing personality, he's a huge kitty! With being only a year and a half old, he's around 20lbs! I feel as if God, my mom, and Marmalade guided me to him. In the end, he chose me.
BTW, it's my sister who is in the last picture.
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