Chip and Cookie were adult siblings that finally found a forever home together– and the perfect one for them!
These were kittens that four CC4C volunteers went out to trap in a woman’s backyard. Ann wanted some kittens pictures in the wild to use for advertising. So it sounded like an easy job so we all trucked out there to do our thing and found the woman had NOT described it well and the babies had a very good hiding place that we couldn’t get to. Then the woman left for 10 days. Then when she finally returned, I was on the phone to her and she said “yeh, they’re here.” I made plans to go out there but before that time came up, she called me back and had changed her mind and decided I couldn’t trap in her yard. Too afraid of liability risks. Took us more than a month to track them down in the neighborhood but finally someone responded to my signs and she was game to help. Got them all. I still have mom who allows herself to be pet but not adoptable.
The adopter has written some lovely anecdotes that we get to share.
September 18
Chip is such a character – he’s still so little even though he eats like a piglet. His nickname is “tidbit” and it suits him perfectly. He ADORES being in my lap or tucked up under my chin, and he now tolerates little kisses on his face. Cookie has taken much longer to relax around me but she takes her lead from Chip, as Stacey predicted, and she no longer bolts when I come near her. I have noticed that since she’s been back from Stacey’s Cookie has started to seek me out – still very tentative, but she jumps up on the bed and just stares at me with such a quizzical expression or gives me a long look from the armchair next to the bed. As I write this, both are cuddled together in their heated bed and giving me “come play with us” looks.
Evenings are most precious – they have learned “treat-treat” which typically means diced deli chicken from Whole Foods. After dinner, they are ready for lap time if I sit on the floor. So, most evenings, this has become our ritual. I get ready for bed and then sit on the floor to watch TV or listen to music and cuddle the kitties. During the night, they may visit my bed or, if I wake up, they both stand by the side of the bed begging for attention. It’s a pretty funny sight and – yes – I have been known to get out of bed at 3 am and play with them!
I’ll forward you some pictures of “tidbit” and “her sweetness.”
Thanks so much for your kind matchmaking – I just couldn’t be happier with my new kitties.
September 18 later in the day
Chip’s gums seem fine but he has his vet trip in early October so we’ll see what the expert says. He chows down on dry food so I guess nothing hurts and his breath smells fine – no stink. I realize what you mean by the shy ones are the hardest to place. I was really down in the dumps for the first couple of months then, out of the blue, Chip decided I was OK and that was that. He was in my lap from that moment on. Cookie has taken much longer, but the pace has picked up in recent weeks and she is now quite comfortable around me. Neither one likes it when I tower over them, so my trick is to get down on hands and knees and approach them with a lower profile.
My friends and I agree that there is nothing more calming than to stroke your cat in a quiet house at the end of a busy work day. We also agree that you are never alone if you have cats – you have solitude, not loneliness. My younger sister will visit in a couple of weeks to meet Chip and Cookie – she will be their caretaker if anything happens to me. She’s also a cat person and recently lost her elderly Siamese to cancer. Her house is cat-less at the moment so she’s coming over to my house for her feline fix. Another sister says she’d like to live with just cats – wonder what she plans to do with her husband, daughter and great big ole’ dog!
Cookie has the most beautiful eyes – so expressive. I wonder what she’s thinking when she just stares at me. She does this a lot – I’ll look around and catch her watching me from across a room, from under a glass-topped table, from a doorway while I’m getting ready for work. You were so right to have them adopted together. They play together constantly – their face-washing devolved a moment ago into a wrestling match. I don’t mind leaving them alone during the day when they have each other for company. Cookie is exquisitely attuned to Chip’s behaviors and is calm when he is calm, frisky when he’s frisky, and in my lap if he is. Chip gets such comfort from Cookie – she holds him when they cuddle. Her arms are around him and Chip is curled into her like a baby. I’ve come downstairs on these warm evenings to find both curled up together – ying and yang – on a fuzzy floor pillow I put in front of the low dining room window. There are any number of cozy sleeping areas, but they always are glued together on just one. Oh, I’m so totally gone over these two little things.
I’ll let you know what the vet has to say about them when they have their check-ups.
September 19
As for these two precious little bundles getting out of the house – that’s my nightmare. They don’t rush the front door when I come home, and if I have people coming and going (baby shower, for example) both are safely locked in the bedroom and everyone knows not to open the door. Both will get microchips very soon, but that hardly matters if they get out and run into the hills adjacent to my condo. They’ll be some predator’s snack! My primary responsibility is to keep them safe.
This whole adoption experience has been so uplifting! First, you responded so quickly and so kindly to my first email to the CC4C website back in late March. I was heartbroken that evening when I learned that Charlotte was dying and your compassion was such a comfort. Then, I got to meet Stacey and her two darling little fosters. Now, Stacey and I have formed a friendship around Chip and Cookie which is delightful for all of us. Stacey keeps “our” babies safe and loved when I need to go down south for family events. Best of all, I share my life with two sweet cuddlebugs.
If anyone wonders if “free” cat adoptions have the same outcome as paid adoptions, I will tell you that money had nothing to do with the devotion I feel toward Chip and Cookie. I don’t care for them less – or take my caretaker role any less seriously – because I got them for free. They are solidly mine to love and nurture for the rest of their lives – I couldn’t be happier about it!
September 19 later in the day
These two are the best fly killers around – if one gets in the house, it’s a free cat toy. Funny you should mention screens – I deliberately keep windows cracked enough for a breeze but not wide enough for the cats to accidentally push out a screen and fall out. Ditto for the patio door – just in case they learn how to move the screen with their claws. Charlotte was a master at this.
Thanks for the advice on kitties on the loose – hopefully, I’ll have the same record with these two that I had with Charlotte and Clarisse. In 18 years, they only tried the outside once each – and they didn’t get far because the non-slip surface on the landing hurt their little paws. Talk about your princess and the pea! Each took just a few steps and then hunkered down and howled until I picked them up. Neither ever went near the door again.
