If she could talk, what would she say about being second choice? Would she be insecure and uncertain of her welcome? Let me assure you that she is a most welcome addition to my little family and will be loved and cared for for the rest of her days.
It may be of interest to my readers to know that I had every intention of adopting an older cat of 11 years called Bootsie. Poor Bootsie's owner had died, and her family did not want her so took her to Animal Control where she spent some days in a cage, finally ending up in the SPCA. She required most of her teeth pulled out and so she was not ready for adoption right away. I checked the Cat page of the SPCA for about two weeks, waiting for Bootsie's picture to appear so that we could go up to the shelter and adopt her.
I had even purchased a new cage to bring Bootsie home in, as I was told she was a large cat. The shelter was full of large dogs from what I saw and the cats were kept in a separate area where they would not be bothered with the barking dogs. Bootsie was at the back of her cage, huddled and silent.
My son and I really tried to interact with Bootsie, spending a couple of hours hoping she would trust us enough to come out to the front of her cage. Alas, nothing would budge her and she remained at the back of the cage, not even coming to sniff us.
Poor old cat, I could understand her fear but then my son saw another one who was a little more outgoing and asked me to have a look at her. The staff person took her out of the cage and took us into a room to see if she would be comfortable with us. It turned out well, she burrowed into my side and hide herself that way. She did allow us to pick her up and pat her.
She is a much younger cat, not quite 7 years old and my son had to promise to take care of her if I should die before she did. He gladly did that and I know she will be in wonderful hands as he loves animal and is very used to having cats and dogs and birds around him. We have had, over the years, mainly these types of "pets".
We were allowed to adopt Gemma and brought her home that same night. The SPCA had given us a voucher for $25 so we went to a pet store in Waterdown where the certificate was valid.
We picked up some Tidy Cat litter in a big jug and a scratching board. My intention is to wean her off the litter gradually and by this time, I am only putting in about half a cup of litter and the rest is newspapers. She has accepted that without any problem.
I had been cat sitting Oliver for two weeks during the March break for a family who had gone down to Florida so Gemma had to be kept in my room until Oliver went home as she hissed at him when he tried to be friendly. There wasn't enough time for them to bond.
Gemma, being a shy gal, hides under the bed or under the sofa.
Yesterday my son came for a short visit to help me with my computer and I told him of the problem that Gemma only comes out at night to eat, drink and use her litter box. She waits till I am in my bed and settled and then I feel a light spring onto the bed and there she is. Ready to chat, so to speak!
He was able to get under my bed and we closed off my room and all the other doors in the place so that she would get used to the sitting room and the kitchen. It worked and last night after Ken was gone home, she hopped several times onto my big chair and sat on my lap.
She now sleeps in the sitting room as did the other cats and I have my quiet bedroom back which is better for me.
This morning when I got up, she was nowhere to be seen so I am assuming she is hiding under the sofa right now. She'll come out when she is ready.
She sure is one timid gal! Very friendly once she comes out and sits with me.
That is the ongoing saga of Gemma, the shelter cat. As for Bootsie, I saw that her picture is no longer on the site so I am assuming that some other older person has adopted her. I sure hope so.
On that note, stay tuned for my episodes of Gemma the cat..........
Thanks for dropping by.
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