"I Wonder Why He Picked Us?"

We recently lost our beloved cat, Gobi. She was such a sweet, pretty, loving kitty. My son Andy adopted Gobi while he was a student at UW-Madison. He brought her home and when he married Melody, Gobi became ours because Melody and most of her family were allergic to cats.

Teddy with My Gobi

At first, Gobi was the definition of "ennui"...she could not care less for the people that fed, watered and changed her litter for her. After a couple of years, she changed her attitude and became a lap kitty. She had her favorites, but also became a favorite of many...especially my three grandsons (my granddaughters have two cats of their own).

Gobi loved the boys!! Anytime they were over, she could be found resting right next to one of them. When she passed away, all of them were very sad..but, Gabriel took it the hardest. He cried and declared, "I am not going to like Mondays anymore".

At first, I was adamant that I would not want another cat...nobody could take Gobi's place. First of all, I usually preferred boy cats to girl cats because they were usually better behaved. I believed Gobi behaved the way she behaved....so lady-like and lap friendly...largely because she was a female cat...(without some of the annoying habits of other female cats we have had). Boy cats were better behaved, but none were as cuddly as my Gobi; I did not think it was possible to ever get another cat to take her place.

But, after I got over the profound sadness I felt after she passed away, I thought it would be okay to at least look at the furry friends at the Humane Society. I was largely swayed by how my son Michael's cat, Ishmael was acting following Gobi's death; he was exhibiting signs of loneliness. I decided to bring my grandsons in on my visit to he animal shelter. I was explicit in my "rules" prior to our visit.....all of the cats in my life had happened as if they were pre-destined to be our pets....meant to be. I would only adopt if I 'felt something'.

When the boys and I were looking at all of the cats, there was only one that stood by the front of their cage. Only one that "meowed"and stubbornly stuck out his paw, encouraging us to stop by and pet him.

Cimaron, whom we would rename Henry, had scars from some kind of attack. His ears were tattered and there were bald spots on his neck 😢.  We were told that he looked a lot worse when he was brought in, that he actually had abscesses on his face! And yet, my grandsons were unanimous in their choice of what cat they wanted to bring home.

Henry with his tattered ears. 

Sadly, the adoption was delayed because Cimaron/Henry chose to bite Ian during our first visit with him. Even after the bite, 10 days of quarantine....my grandsons still wanted to adopt him. We agreed that since Henry had been such a loving cat, was such a survivor...he was worth a second look. When the shelter called us to tell us that Cimaron was out of quarantine and up for adoption again, we made plans for the following Saturday. We had a successful second visit. Henry was still the loving cat that we first met; Papa and I decided we would move forward with the adoption. I told the boys that we had to buy some stuff before we finalized the adoption. We all visited the local Pet Smart and WalMart in search of a new cat bed and scratching post. The boys were so worried that someone would buy Henry before we went back to the shelter...but luckily that did not happen; little did they know that the lady at the SCHS was filling out all of the paperwork so that once we got back, all we had to do was sign.

So far, everything is going really well. I have learned that Henry is a very smart cat that actually learns from gentle direction and firm words. Things were a little shaky at first. He was sneezing at the shelter, but the lady there assured me that he showed no signs of a cold. Lol, of course that changed upon getting here. The first week, he was sneezing up a storm, eyes watering and not much of an appetite. But I sat by him to encourage him to eat, and he ate enough to keep me from bringing him to an emergency doctor visit. He wanted to go explore in the basement/rec room, but since he was not feeling well...I firmly told him he could not go down there..and he listens to this day! He won't go down even if I am down there, unless I tell him it is okay. Ishmael was very apprehensive of Henry at first, and Henry largely ignored Ishmael. But they are slowly warming up to each other. Luckily, they are both non-threatening cats....so no negative behavior at all towards each other.

Ishmael checking out Henry

Resting, but on guard

Once Henry got over his cold, his appetite returned and he is now drinking regularly out of their new water fountain. His coat looks a lot better and even his tattered ears are better. The only thing that he still does on occasion (when he is overly stimulated, is what I believe is the problem) is that he makes as if to nip at you if you pet him too long  or in the wrong place....close to his underbelly. I have read online that the best way to nip the nipping/biting in the bud is to firmly say "NO!",  while looking him straight in the eyes...and then put him down, ignore him for at least 20 minutes. It seems to be working, as he went from breaking skin the first time he did it, his teeth touching skin the second time, to now just opening his mouth to whatever offending hand is doing what he sees as dangerous/offensive. He has a vet appointment on Monday, and I will be sure to ask the doctor about it. I am determined to not surrender him, as I think the behavior can be altered, plus he is otherwise a very loving and loyal cat. One can only imagine what he went through to get that much damage; it will take time for him to feel completely safe AND learn what is inappropriate behavior. Even then, the people at the Humane Society told me that even old furry friends will react to things they do not like.....

Otherwise, he is very loving, getting more playful every day.

The boys are still marveling; Gabriel said to me, "I wonder why he picked us?"

Teddy and Henry

Henry with his scarred nose