Serendipitous Siamese

Happy November!

We've started the month off with a bang, placing no less than 17 animals in new homes last week.

Let's start with the smallies. Louise and Patch, guinea pig life partners, went home with a VERY excited nine-year-old girl who had been told that she was now deemed responsible enough to adopt.

In dog land, Zoey (terrier mix) and Buster (Jack Russel mix) united with new forever families.

And six kittens went home!: Taurus, Orion, Polaris, Aurora, and orange tigers Sunny & Cloudy together.

But the cats take the fishcake for adoptions this week:

Burly & Hazen together

Tilly

Bubble

Winter

and the featured adoptees: Cleo and Cassanova!

You know, from an outside perspective, it's easy to condemn those who relinquish their animals to a shelter. If we can't imagine doing it ourselves, we might assume that the motivations of those who do so are less than loving. But the truth is, the majority of our relinquishers are in extremely difficult situations. For many of them, this is a last resort. And those owners are absolutely heartbroken to have to say goodbye.

Cleo and Cassanova's relinquishment was one of those cases.

A pair of purebred seal point Siamese, Cleo and Cass are astounding beauties. They sport matching tawny coats with dark chocolate faces, ears, paws, and tails--and brilliant blue eyes. The owner had purchased them separately a year apart, each at a very young age, and had taken impeccable care of them for four years. The cats were insperably bonded. Life would have blissfully continued like this--cats and owner all lovingly attached--except that this woman suffered a devastating stroke, and found herself unable to care for them. With tears and a palpable sadness that made our adoption counselor's heart ache, she turned them over to us.   

If only we could have told her then that she need not worry. The cats did have a tough time at first; Cassanova, especially, was very shy, and didn't want to come out of his hidey bed. But feline supervisor Kayla housed them together in one of our larger cages, and this certainly helped them adjust. Both kitties proved to be just as affectionate as they are graceful, and they arrived on the adoption floor last Tuesday.

Where they didn't remain for long. One of our volunteers had heard about the pair, and was ready and waiting to pounce as soon as they became available. She did! They went home on Wednesday--not here long enough to even make it to our website.

What's so incredible about this adoption, though, is that Cleo and Cass must have been fated from birth to receive royal treatment. The volunteer who adopted them has a very special job here: every Thursday morning, Carol comes in and assesses our most difficult feline cases. Using a thorough checklist of "tests," she selects our shyest, most mal-adjusted cats, and gets to know them. One at a time, she pulls these tricky cases from their cages or rooms, brings them into a small and quiet space, and sits silently with them until they're ready to engage. Sometimes they never do become ready, and Carol has to return to them the next week. But by the end of each completed session, she has a full profile on what makes these cats tick. I have long admired Carol's unending patience, gentleness, and quiet intuitiveness about these animals, and her assessments have played a large role in helping us find the right matches for our cats. No doubt Cleo and Cassanova are basking in the same standard of loving care that they enjoyed in their last home. Their previous owner could not have asked for her loves to wind up in better hands.

I received an update from Carol the other day:

I wish the previous owner could know that her dynamic duo is doing well, and will be loved and cared for no matter what. Amazing how this all worked out for us.

When our new cats are out free in the condo it's like having double vision--every time I turn around there are two cats--two cats jump up on the toilet after I raise the seat, two cats jump up on the counter when I'm at the sink, two cats go into the kitchen when I do, two cats go for every door that is opened and every drawer that is opened. Wow, they are a curious duo! Their names are now Tango, the male, and Jazz, the female. ~ Carol

Don't you just love perfect matches?

That's the good news here. To view our animals who are still waiting for forever homes, or to support the work we do, please visit our website: www.chittendenhumane.org. Thank you!