1-6-10 – Mike & Gus.

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Look! My babies are famous!!!!

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Here’s the story:

A few months ago, a woman who lives in St. Louis emailed and asked if it was possible she could adopt Gus. She had fallen in love with him from my site (I mean, really, how could you NOT?), and so I passed her the information to contact the shelter manager. At that point, the Wonkas hadn’t been retested, so it was still a possibility that Gus could be FIV positive. She said that she was still wanted him whether he was positive or negative.

Time went by, then the Wonkas were retested and came up negative, but unfortunately it turned out that the lady in St. Louis wasn’t going to be able to adopt Gus, so I was disappointed, but not worried. Because seriously – you’ve SEEN Gus, I half expected there’d be fistfights in the parking lot once his floofiness was released to the public.

And THEN, I got an email from a woman in Portland, Oregon, who had fallen in love with Gus from my site and wondered if it would be possible that she and her husband could adopt him. I told her that I was pretty sure Challenger’s House wouldn’t ship kittens, but I’d pass her email along to the shelter manager anyway.

As it turned out, the shelter manager had a friend whose daughter LIVES in Portland, Oregon. AND she was going to be here visiting for the holidays. AND she was not only willing to take Gus home with her, she was excited at the idea!

The paperwork was filled out, the shelter manager made calls, and voila! They were deemed suitable adopters! I was thrilled not only that Gus had a home, but that I knew his new mommy’s email address and could ask for the occasional update. I was a little worried about him being alone, but Gus is really a people lover, so I figured if any of the Wonkas would be okay as an only cat, it would be Gus.

AND! THEN! The shelter manager told me that they wanted to adopt Mike, too! I just about hyperventilated when I heard that, I was so excited, believe me.

And really, that’s the story. Mike and Gus are now in Portland, Oregon, no doubt being spoiled rotten, and happy as can be. Yesterday, I spent most of the morning snuggling with them and loving on them. About an hour before we needed to leave the house, I put harnesses on them.

(We’d been putting the harnesses on them for a few hours every night so they’d get used to having them on. Every time we put them on, their reaction was exactly the same – first, they’d roll around on their backs. Then they’d slink around, low to the ground. Then, after about ten minutes, they’d completely forget they were wearing them. The harnesses were necessary so that they could wear their ID chip tags and rabies tags, and so that if they needed to be removed from their carrier, they could each have a leash attached to them so they wouldn’t go rogue and hop on a random plane and end up in India or Australia.)

When it was time to leave, I picked each of them up, told them it had been a pleasure knowing them for the past three months and some days, told them I loved them, kissed them a million times, and put them into the carrier.

They were pretty calm on the drive to the airport, although Mike would occasionally say “HI EXCUSE ME THERE SEEMS TO BE A MISTAKE I AM IN A CARRIER, OUT NOW PLEASE.” We parked and went inside to wait for the kind woman who was taking them to Oregon with her, and after a few minutes, Gus and Mike settled down and just sat there and watched the people go by.

She showed up, and we moved Gus and Mike from my carrier into hers (she’s used to traveling with animals, so already had a carrier that would fit under the seat, travel dishes, a small box to use as a litter box during (I assume) their layover – she had everything she needed!), I waited while she checked in, and then I said goodbye (to her, and the boys), made sure she had my cell phone number, and left the airport.

I’ll admit, I got a little teary-eyed when we were putting Gus and Mike into her carrier, and then when I left the airport, I was a great big bawling baby. I would say I got a TEENY bit attached to those guys. I know you’re shocked!

And here’s a confession that will probably surprise NONE of you – if they hadn’t told decided to adopt Mike along with Gus, Mike would have become our next cat. THANK GOD they decided they wanted Mike, because (1) Gus and Mike, brothers, togther forevah!, and (2) We DO NOT need any more cats! (Now that I’ve said that, we’ll probably have, like, six more before the end of the year!)

Of course I took more pictures of them yesterday, but let’s take a quick peek at what they looked like back toward the end of September when we first met them, shall we?

I had an email from their new mom this morning – they made it just fine, and were busy exploring their new home!

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And guess what? GUESS WHAT? Veruca got adopted last night! All my sweet Wonkas have homes!

She’s going to a home with a cat-friendly dog, and I’ve gotta say, I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Veruca gets a look at that dog (actually, now that I think about it, when I took them for their 2nd vaccinations, a great big cat-loving dog came over to investigate, and none of the Wonkas were in the slightest bit fazed). She is going to rule that roost!

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“You sure are purty, Mister.” (When Spanky woke up and realized what was going on, there was some HISSING on his part. )

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Previously
2009: Girl kitties on the bed.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: “Oh. Were you gone?”
2005: No entry.

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