Joshua, The Tabby Maine Coon

It was December, and for days I was following a post about a certain cat on the internet, which was stuck in our local shelter. The local Animal Advocates also posted on their page to let the neighborhood know that the shelter is overflown with pets. They also let us know when the dogs and cats were ready for adoption. When I saw this one cat in a photo, it was like “Love at first sight”. Now, my job was to persuade my husband that Finley needs another playmate other than two middle-aged dogs. “Hell! That cat even thinks he’s a dog! The only thing, what makes him not being a dog: He’s not barking!” I insisted. It took me two hours to get Kevin to ask: ”When are we going to the shelter and take a look at that cat?”

We drove to the shelter; with the hope the cat was still there. When we arrived there, the friendly staff at the shelter showed us the cat room (which brought back memories of when we were looking for Sammy, and adopted Finley years earlier). I looked at the cages and said to Katelynn: “That’s him! Just look at him. He is even more handsome and adorable than in the photo. After getting introduced and observing the cat, we realized he had sniffles. Katelynn and Sara were a little bit concerned about it. But I ensured, the cat probably has the ‘shelter-cold’, what is common in some pets, when they have to stay in a cage for days and wait for a family to adopt them. Katelynn was satisfied with my answer and said: “Mom, are we adopting him? I’ve already got a name for him.” “What would his name be, if we take him home?” I asked. She replied: “I’d name him Joshua!” A little bit later, Kevin and I agreed to adopt the cat. And Joshua came home with us.

At home the dogs sniffed the new family member. We called Finley (Remember Finley thinks, he’s a dog. Yep, he also listens like a dog. LOL) to introduce him to his new playmate. Finley came around the corner, looked at Joshua. And Joshua’s reaction was a big hiss. Finley walked away with the look in his face: “What the …?! Since when do we allow cats in our house?” Ranger’s and Lexi’s conversation must have been like this: “Are you going to tell him, or do you want me to tell him?” — “Naw, let him figure it out himself!”

It took about two days, until the cats were not hissing back and forth anymore. They started to tumble and play fight with one another. It took Joshua about a week to get rid of his cold. We wrapped him in a blanket, where he napped for most of the days. But at 3 a.m. the night was over. Because Mr. Joshua was meowing until the whole house was awake. Unfortunately, that went on until we got another cat. I’ll post about that member next week.

(April 2015)