Just wanted to say thank you to Tammy and Kitten Little Rescue. Here's a little bit of our story. Hopefully it’s encouraging for other potential adopters.
We adopted Roxy just after the new year. We renamed her Olive, but we still sometimes call her Roxy cause it rhymes with the name of our other cat (Roxy + Foxy) and because she was named after one of those great kids that raised money for the organization.
Anyway, Olive is a joy. She just purrs and purrs and purrs. Ken works nights and Ava works days but when Ava leaves the bed in the morning, Olive comes to take her place and purrs some more. When she wants to be petted she kind of plops over in the funniest way, like she’s just been hit with a stun gun and can’t stay upright.
Most importantly Olive and Foxy are best friends. Foxy was another rescue. We got her in early 2007 from another group. She had been out on the street in Crown Heights and though she is a sweetheart in so many ways, she’s also kind of a tough kitty. Being a single cat in the home for two years, Foxy became the “queen” of the household and got all our attention.
We decided we wanted a companion for her, for when we’re away and just because, in the long run, we think it’s better. But we were worried how Foxy would react, and we spent MONTHS, literally, looking for the right fit. We never found it until we walked into Pet Stop and found Roxy/Olive.
We introduced them slowly, keeping Olive in the bathroom for the first few days. From, there, well, it’s history. Yeah there were some scuffles when they first met, but Foxy had already adjusted to the scent of the newcomer. More than anything she was curious and she wanted to be a good big sister. Now she’s so proud and loving when it comes to Olive. They chase each other all over the house. One time, Olive got a cut on her ear from roughhousing and Foxy cleaned it for her (and now they groom each other all the time). They still raise hell, but it’s as partners in crime, not opponents. They wrestle pretty hard, too, but just for fun. And Olive loves to imitate her big sister. If Foxy lies against the wall, she lies against the wall too. If Foxy climbs on my back while I’m sleeping, so does Olive.
When we recently went away for 10 days, we were so happy knowing they had each other.
I could tell a lot more stories about Olive’s sweetness, the way she turns over on her back and stretches out for a tummy rub, her electric-generator-like purr. But I guess the pictures speak for themselves.
One more thing. Everything didn’t go smoothly with Olive at first. She had a bad persistent cough when we first got her and she gave it to Foxy. Then she had a lot of problems using the litter box and she was having digestive problems. I’m not saying this to discourage people, just to have realistic expectations. “Parenting” is never easy I guess. But we loved her so much that it was never a question of getting through those bumps in the road. More importantly, Tammy was a complete ANGEL. Long after the adoption was done and she could have said “its not my problem” (though she never would) she was delivering us special food up in the Bronx on her own time, helping us find and administer the right medicine and taking repeated frantic phone calls from me. She never complained once or suggested that it was some kind of an imposition. I consider Tammy a friend. Certainly, she’s a very special person and I know I can always count on her for help and advice with the cats.
