Happy Tails
Alice is showing her true colors!
Nothing makes us happier than a happy match of owner and animal. Here are some wonderful emails we recieved from people who were reunited with their pets or adopted from VIPP....
Our family adopted Alice from VIPP about a year ago....and I wanted to let you know she is such a wonderful cat. We were told when we adopted her she probably would never be a "lap cat" -- and we loved her even though we missed her return affections. But during the past 10 months she has evolved and is evolving into a very affectionate cat (of course, only when the mood strikes her). I am sending along two pictures-- one of my son holding her in his lap (miracles!!) and the other of her checking out our turtle Yoda (warning: they may open very large). She spent the first month with us living under my daughter's bed until we took in an 8 week old kitten. That got her out of the bedrooom and and she mothered that kitten and slept with it in one of our family room chairs. The real turn-around came when she started going outside this summer. She has lost weight and comes inside in the evening to sleep on her bed in the family room and then moves to our bed in the middle of the night. I won't be too surprised if in the next year she actually jumps up on a lap and snuggles down for a nap.
Thanks for all the good work you do for animals.
Nancy
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I'd like to thank you people of VIPP for helping me with my search for ANNIE. She apparently had gotten locked in my neighbors garage. Luckily for her and I -my neighbor found her there. She has lost some weight but appears in good health. She's going for a check up Wednesday @ the Vet. You people are GREAT!!
We both (Annie and I) are VERY GRATEFUL to you all!
Thank You!!!!
Mary
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We just wanted to give you a little update on Morgan, and how wonderfully she's doing in her new home! She's the perfect kitty for us, with so much spunk and verve. You are right—she's a cat on a mission. She's got lots of outdoor space to roam around, so she's getting slimmer with all that bird-chasing, but she really likes the comfort of the warm house, and she spends most days curled up right next to me as I work in the studio. Her personality can still flip-flop, but she lost most of the edge within the first two weeks of being here, and she's more than anything a sweet sweet cat who wants to be around anything and everything you're doing—even wants to do the dishes with me, hop in the bath, and drink my coffee!
I'm attaching a couple of photos of our favorite cat ever—Thanks so much for bringing her into our lives!
-Annie
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I just wanted to let you know that Ray is doing really well settling into his new home! He was absolutely a dream to introduce to our existing cat - Priscilla did hiss and growl but Ray just totally ignored her hostility in the most blase way. She started following his lead when it became clear that he was an avowed pacifist and would not engage in conflict. After a week of mutually ignoring each other, they've now started ignoring each other on the same piece of furniture, so I think things are moving along well in their relationship.
The same unswerving calm has made Ray an excellent match for our household with a 5 month old baby. The past week was a grumpy baby sort of week what with the coming of the second tooth, but Ray seemed serenely unruffled and not bothered at all by the screaming and fussing.
He's just such a sweet, patient cat, and we're so happy to have him draped over our laps (the part that's not occupied by baby or laptop). He definitely seems to be having a good time with us, too, judging by the constant purring and the exposing the tummy for rubbing and twining around our feet. He's sitting on the sofa now extending one paw and looking very regal and content.
We've given him a full name of Horatio, so he can keep his nickname but have a more formal name to use when we express our admiration of what a handsome, dignified cat he is. Thanks so much for a really great addition to our household!
Jenny
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Here's a story from a VIPP volunteer to all the other volunteers: Hi Gang, I just got to witness a joyful reunion. That furious cat in ISO that we named Bruno (Buttermilk) turned into an sweet pussycat when he saw his owners today. These folks had contacted us right away when Buttermilk went missing. The delay was due to the fact that when Geoff picked him up at Fair Isle last week, he didn't have a camera to take Buttermilk's photo. Buttermilk was so fractious by the time he got the the shelter, Geoff opted to leave him in his carrier. Buttermilk was so mad, that he refused to come out except to eat and used his litter box for several days making it impossible to get his photo. When I did a shift on Wednesday morning, Buttermilk was no longer in a carrier inside the kennel. As soon as I saw him, I realized that he was the missing Buttermilk. I contacted the owners but I didn't hear back until today. What fortuitous timing! It turns out that the owner and her daughter were moving to Michigan tonight so that the mother can undergo cancer treatment at the Mayo Clinic. They were just beside themselves that Buttermilk was missing as they were trying to pack up to leave. There were lots of tears and hugs all around.
It made me realize as I witness this happiness, that doing all we do to help the animals is well worth it.
So another thanks to yall who do so much for VIPP! It is well worth it.
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"I thought you might like to know how one of your special cats has fared since adoption way back at Easter. The photo above is of Benny working off his Christmas dinner doing yoga moves. Benny has filled out, his beautiful white ruff is almost as fluffy and full as his luxurious tail. He has gone into a hibernation phase this winter where all he does is sleep, eat and groom. He is gearing up for the mice hunting season opening soon". Thanks for such a great cat.
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These two are not litter mates, but have bonded after ending up in the same loving home. Tolliver, the tabby, arrived first and then orange boy, Tulio, a few months later. They are one year apart in age. Upon Tulio's arrival, Tolliver followed him around the house and stared from a distance for a couple of days while Tulio explored and hissed. Soon they began their loving relationship of chasing, wrestling, grooming, sleeping, and playing hide-and-seek together. They are a most wonderful addition to our five VIPP cats and one VIPP dog household.
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"We love this guy!" Jake has made the transition from rescued VIPP cat to Happy loving family cat. He's a doll, don't you think?
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I wanted to give you a little news about Bengal, whose new name is Benny.
He spent the first day hiding--behind our clothes in the clothes closet, under pillows, just anywhere he could be out of sight. The next day we celebrated Easter with 15 people. We kept him in the master bedroom area away from the crowd. He reigned on our bed where everyone came to meet him and pay tribute. He was regal receiving all his subjects with grace and elegance. The next day he worked his way to the livingroom where "HE" selected the person to whom he would give his attention.
He is eating well, sleeping well, and entertaining us all. My mother is visiting this week, so he has someone at home all day. He is hysterically funny. He has this way of head-butting you when he wants a pet and a wonderful way of just throwing himself down, literally, beside you. Last night there were three of us on the couch and he kept going from one to the other of us for scratching and petting. I think he feels established in his new home. In a week I'll take him out gardening with me. I can hardly wait to introduce him to the biggest sandbox in the world. We are all happy.
Courtney and Benny
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I wanted to let you know that Harry came home last night. Thank you so very much for your help. Your website is great and so helpfull! I really appreciate what VIPP does for this Island.
Shana Fowler
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Star came back tonight! after seeing signs in the neighborhood, we had a good neighbor call us that they had seen a tabby cat that looked like our cat, we searched for her. she did not want to be "caught" - so we used our other cat, her pal Jake, 'crying' for her to come in the house, and she did. All back to normal! thank you for your website and for your support. it was great, and meant a lot to know that cats may return after even several weeks. thanks again.
Donna~
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Bruno -- aka Captain Von Brumeister, Bru Bru, and Bruno Brunetti -- is settling in nicely along with his girlfriend Alice, previously known as Breve. Alice is named for Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame as I was reading a book about her when she (Alice the cat) joined the family. We picked Bruno just because it seemed to suit him.
Even though they're almost always being adorable, it has been nearly impossible to get decent photos. Alice is particularly difficult to photograph. One of her nicknames is Greased Lightening because she goes everywhere at full tilt. Practically every photo of her is blurred!
They've been with us for almost a month now and we've so enjoyed getting to know them. Their transition into our home has been very smooth. I credit their friendship with each other and the excellent care they received at VIPP for that. They're more affectionate with each passing day (Bruno is sitting on my lap as I type) and both are very playful, although the fancy toys I bought them are ignored in favor of pieces of string and my daughters' hair accessories. They also "talk" a lot which is funny to hear. I wish I knew what they were saying!
Our vet checked them out last week and pronounced them in excellent health and said the paperwork you gave us was very thorough.
They spend their days eating, playing, sleeping, sitting in the sun and getting lots of love and pets from the whole family. I'm so glad they found their way to VIPP and that I happened to be on Vashon and saw the "Adopt-a-Cat" sign. Thanks for taking such good care of them and for the work you do everyday.
Best wishes for many more happy adoptions!
Sincerely,
Laura Jones & Family
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Hello: My husband and I adopted Kichi on Sunday, March 25th. I would like to report that he is so happy and content in his new home. He has been renamed, and we are calling him Mr. Tucker Grey. He was so content that he even slept with us last night, and has used his cat box. He is an extremely loving, smart and well adjusted cat. For the first 24 hours, we couldn't be happier!
Thank you.
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Thanks so much for the call to let me know that Serafin has found a home. It makes me feel very happy that she’s now in good hands and has a place to live and settle into, and it sounds like a perfect situation for her. I’m sure she’s very happy now.
Thanks again for being such a great group of people and helping her find a good place to live, and also in understanding people like me.
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Hello! I just wanted to let you know that we found our cat, Mau, last night! We are so happy to have her home. Apparently she had gotten in the garage of one of our neighbors and then they left for a trip. Someone walking by heard her meowing and called us.
Thank you so much for posting her on the website.
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