|
 |
|
| Name: |
Charlie
|
Age: |
Eight years old
|
| Gender: |
Male
|
Kind: |
Domestic Shorthair
|
Home: |
Garfield, New Jersey, USA
|
This is how Charlie and I came to be together: In June, I had to let my beautiful 14 year old Himalayan cat, Mugsie, go over to the Rainbow Bridge. He was the last of a gang of six kitties. It broke my heart each time one of the six had to leave this earth. When I came home with an empty carrier that last time, I walked into a house that, for the first time in 35 years, had NO other cat waiting for me to help me get over the loss. It was such an empty feeling. However, I knew that I needed to mourn the loss of Mugsie before I could even think of adopting another cat.
One day, in the very beginning of the month of August, I found myself near a Petco. I told myself, do not go in there; you are not ready to bring home a new kitty. But I did go in, of course, and there I saw Charlie relaxing by himself. I talked to him and scratched him a little. He was kneading the air the whole time I visited with him. I think I fell in love with him a little bit that day. Unfortunately, I knew that I had to leave for a vacation n Florida in two weeks. I couldn't take him home and then just leave as he would be adjusting to a new home. So, I had to wait.
Three weeks passed slowly but I kept thinking of Charlie and checking Petfinder.com to see if he was still available. The day after I got back to New Jersey I called the FOCAS rescue group office. Yes, Charlie was still available and did I want to meet him? Yes, Yes I did! When I walked into the office, there was Charlie walking around. He didn't run and hide and let me approach him. He let me pet him right away. He is the kind of cat that flops on the ground when you pet him. Pet, pet, flop and repeat.
Well, I was smitten. Charlie is a big boy with big feet, a black nose and black jelly bean paw pads. And very sharp claws! There is no picking him up because he slips out of your hands like an otter. He LOVES to be brushed which I also enjoy because most of my previous cats hated it. This chubby boy can't get enough!
I had another black and white boy called Howie. In the beginning with Charlie, I would be freaked out every now and then because I would think it was Howie for a split second. One weird thing is that Charlie does not purr. I can feel a tiny vibration going on in his throat and a tiny trilling noise that seems to come from his nose but that's about it. A few times I have put my ear close to his throat to try to hear the purr but he whacks me in the head with his paw. He has his boundaries, Charlie does. He will also start thumping his tail hard when he's had enough of my attention. That being said, I am allowed kiss his head as much as I want. Thank goodness for that because I do love to kiss his furry head a lot.
It's only been three weeks that we have been together but he seemed to have no trouble settling in. I'm so happy to be his human.
I wanted to write about Charlie because his previous humans relocated to Germany and because they didn't think an 8 hour flight would be fair to put him through, they turned him over to the FOCAS group. I know CatoftheDay.com is viewed all over the world and I have seen many posts from Germans sharing stories about their beloved animals. Just in case his former mom and dad are fans of CatoftheDay, I wanted to let them know that I have Charlie and he is safe and warm and well-fed. I promised to love and care for him and protect him in his furrever home.
|
|
|
|
|
