Following up a great week of adoptions, we had another successful streak! Nineteen cats were adopted this week; twelve from our Uptown headquarters, five from the Bucktown location, one Community Cats adoption (Coco Gravi), and Gackt was adopted by his foster mom! We were so pleased all these cats found their forever homes, and we met a great group of adopters, plus saw some familiar faces come back for more kitties.
This week, for every featured adopted cat we want to introduce you to a cat who is available for adoption! We’re seeing double, and it’s a beautiful sight!
Silly, spunky, wonderful Mimi Strauss was adopted, finally! Mimi charmed visitors with her adorable face and head butts. This precious cat was trapped as part of one of our targeted TNR projects in an underserved neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. Like many free-roaming cats, she was tentative with people, so she was returned along with her colony mates to the location where they were trapped, to be cared for by their registered caretaker. But Mimi didn’t want to leave the trap. Finally, she slowly stepped out, and our Project Coordinator picked up the trap and drove away. But she did not get far, because she could not get Mimi’s image out of her head. Mimi did not seem feral after all, so she turned around and found her in the same spot and found someone had already placed poison pellets on the ground around her! Needless to say, she scooped her up immediately. We are so glad that she is now safe, and though she waited at Tree House for awhile, she is now in a forever home where she will be loved and cherished. Want to meet another wonderful black-and-white adult kitty? Thimbelina is a lapcat who is looking for a place to settle in and get comfy.
Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin? Adorable, oh-so-lovable Thumbkin (pictured) is in his forever home now! Who DIDN’T want to adopt this affectionate baby? When Thumbkin came to us in late December 2013 as a transfer from a hoarding situation, he was very ill, had tape worms, both of his eyes were infected and both knee caps were abnormally positioned. His eyes were found to require removal, and during a recheck, his left hip was found to have dysplasia. Thumbkin showed little sign of discomfort through all of this, and never lost his sweet demeanor. He shows no fear or hesitation when it comes to moving and is energetic despite his condition, and can jump and run with the best of cats! His blindness wasn’t much of a disability, but his hip issues will likely require an extensive surgery in the future. Wonderfully, we had a great young woman and her supportive boyfriend who were willing to take on what may come. When she visited a few weeks ago, she met Thumbkin and knew he was the perfect cat to add to their family! She made a sweet video about his first day home that you can find on our Facebook wall. Playful Thumbkin will join five other cats and a dog in his forever home. Though Thumbkin doesn’t have eyes, it’s easy for him to see he is loved! Run and play, Thumbkin, run and play!
All but one of the cats from Thumbkin’s hoarding situation have been adopted, and Lhasa is the last one at Tree House. With her dollops of black, three-year-old Lhasa is like a work of art. Easily startled, she spends most of her time in a back office, occasionally venturing out to check out the shelter. When pulled from the hoarder’s, she had a complicated fracture in her leg, which required a surgery by a specialist. Lhasa now is fully mobile and no longer in pain! Once you start petting her, she will purr loudly and immediately, and soon enough will crawl into your lap to be closer to you. She may even drool with pleasure. Lhasa is just wonderful, and whoever adopts this tiny treasure will be incredibly lucky.
Another special-needs cat to find a home this week was Parmesan! Parmesan was admitted to Tree House in August of last year as a kitten with his brother Gorgonzola (adopted in February), both from a hoarding situation. Parmesan has corneal lesions on both of his eyes for which he needs eyes drops daily, making him partially blind. Throughout the time he has spent at Tree House growing and healing, Parmesan has progressed from being very shy and hiding in the back office, to becoming the welcoming, chirpy and loving reception kitty! We’re happy to report that Parmesan went home to another young orange tabby like himself! Parmesan leaves behind another young male with special needs–Guy Grey. Stunning Guy Grey loves to be pet and brushed, and enjoys playing with other young cats. He may have epilepsy, as he has had a few seizures since we’ve been caring for him.
Violetta came to us not that long ago, after being found under a dumpster in Edgewater, meowing at her admitter. She was in really rough shape, with thin fur, mats, and either chewed or frost-bitten ears. Despite everything she had been through, Violetta was still as sweet as ever and had recently begun going on Animal Assisted Therapy visits. Violetta is going home to a loving family where she’ll have a few other feline friends to hang out with! Elaine Kilgore, who leads our Animal Assisted Therapy visits, says of the cats she brings to nursing homes: “I look for a cat who enjoys being picked up and held. Usually, AAT cats are the ones who will first approach you in a room and the ones who will hop in your lap if you sit down. The groups we visit love having a cat who will sit in their lap and enjoy attention. AAT cats like Violetta or Limbertwig make friends easily with people and with cats!”
Anyone who has visited the Tree House Bucktown location over the years has probably met the special kitties we have shared office space with. Special in the sense that they all shared one similar trait: they all needed a room of their own! Most recently and possibly most memorably has been the swaggering, sassy Rubenesque beauty we all know as Adora.
Beautiful and sleek, vocal and demanding, she would always greet any visitor with a golden-throated squawk (like a lovely she-bear) and sometimes a head-butt (or playful swat!). Adora has been with Tree House since 2010, after being transferred from a downstate animal control facility. It took Adora a little while finding her comfort zone in the shelter due to her intolerance toward the other kitties sharing ‘her’ space and her tendency to ‘bully’ some of her house mates. She lived in every colony room available until we were able to give her her heart’s desire – a room of her own! She loved being the boss of the room and often pushed us humans around with her swagger, but at heart she was patiently waiting for that special human to chose her as their special kitty.
Well, that day has arrived! One of the dedicated Bucktown volunteers whisked Adora off to live the high-life in her very own apartment with plenty of space to frolic and chase her favorite toy–crumpled up paper-balls (it’s the little things, isn’t it?). She’ll have plenty of large windows to watch the birds! We know that this is just what Adora (and her new human) needed to complete her happy ending! Meet the yang to Adora’s yin (other way around?): Leche. Another well-known resident at Bucktown, beautiful and quiet Leche is growing used to be doted on more and more every day.
It is always bittersweet to see such a well-loved and well-known kitty venture off to new adventures in her new home with her new humans, but our hearts are bursting with happiness for Adora and all the special cats who were adopted this week!
Also adopted this week: Brother and sister pair Betizu and Luxi, Eggytoast, Moondancer, Chikorita and Puff the Magic Kitten, Mueslix, Peloria Wolf, Miss Moneypenny, Oakey Oaks and Goosey Loosey, Ah Ah and Opp, and perma-kitten Bethany.
Posted by Michael G.
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