Meet Tommy!

[spooky3]

As some of you know, I lost my dear AC to heart disease recently. But my other kitty and I missed him so badly that we decided to look for a new friend to adopt quickly, rather than waiting. Ironically, the day after we lost AC, another kitty who looks very much like him but is 1 year old was given up to a local shelter. This kitty, who we named Tommy, has had at least 2 "permanent" homes. One owner decided she didn't want him any more. The other was elderly and couldn't take care of him, so the shelter volunteer went and picked him up and brought him back to the shelter. Tommy was very, very unhappy in the shelter and hissed and spat at me and everyone else so the volunteers were afraid no one would want him, but they said he had been a very nice cat when he was there before.





We brought him home and although he was hissing and spitting and yowling, he didn't want to stay in the office, which I had set up for him. My other kitty also wanted him to come out within just a couple of hours, so I let Tommy out, and he began checking things out. He immediately went to the room with the cat toy boxes and dug out a big soft catnip toy and started biting and kicking it, and wouldn't let me play with it with him! "This is mine, mine, mine, I tell you!"

It took only a couple of days for him to settle in and fall in love with my other kitty. Last week, the shelter volunteer came to my home to check on him, and to have me sign the final adoption papers. But I was chagrined that, for the first time since I brought him home, Tommy was hiding in the one spot AC always hid when he was scared. I couldn't believe this, since strangers had been in and out all day that day, and Tommy was not afraid of them. I was afraid the volunteer would think he did this all the time and was unhappy. But she was very understanding and said, "I think he recognizes my voice and is afraid I am going to take him back to the shelter, which is what I had to do 2 weeks ago!" We eventually tricked him into coming out, and we took him into my small back yard that is protected with a privacy fence, which he (like AC) absolutely loves, as you can see from the photos. Sure enough, it took about 3 seconds for him to forget he was scared and to show the volunteer how happy he was. Each day since then he seems to relax a little more. He is VERY active and sometimes is too much for my 10 year old kitty but we seem to be working that out too! So of course he will never replace our sweet AC, but Tommy is a wonderful new member of our family.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. He is soooo beautiful!!!!!!!

My first thought was that he was hiding from the shelter person so as to avoid being brought back there.

He looks very happy in those pics, and I am sure he will give you lots of love and smiles...

[spooky3]

3. thanks so much! I've asked her to return for a visit so Tommy

will eventually see her as saving him, as she did, rather than as taking him away. She's agreed!

[Muttocracy]

2. Congratulations and good for you! :)

[Sanity Claws]

4. What a handsome fella!

I'm so glad he fits right in.

[livetohike]

5. Tommy is gorgeous! What a sweet face

May you have many, many happy years together :-).

[spooky3]

6. Thanks so much, ISOS and livetohike! Every time I see Sarah McLachlan's

ad for SPCA, which is so sad I almost can't bear it, I have to go find Tommy and hug him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjAcQlCKmAI

[livetohike]

26. Me too, me too... both of my dogs are from shelters

It's heart breaking (the ad) and if my husband would agree, I'd adopt them all :-).

[yellerpup]

7. What a great adoption story!

Tommy is a beautiful boy and you and he will be happy together for years and years without a doubt. We adopted two rescued kittehs in March from a shelter who picks up cats when they have been at public shelters "too long" and go onto the euthanasia list. The boy (about 3 years old) had been placed once in the 18 months(!) and was returned after only two days because he was not active enough. He's plenty active around here and a great communicator. The girl is estimated to be about five and is playful as a kitten. The lady who runs the shelter came over to check on them after a week and they came out to say hello to her but wouldn't get close enough for her to touch them. She came back two weeks after that because I was writing some copy for their fundraiser and the second she walked into the apartment, but cats hid and hissed. They decided they liked it here. One kitty can never replace another but he'll be your friend for life. Congratulations, you did the right thing!

[spooky3]

9. awwww, that is so sweet! No one ever gave them a chance until you did.

Isn't it amazing how little empathy some people have for animals? How would they feel if they were in a cage and no one loved them for 18 months? Would they feel comfortable and active in 2 days?

After all your kitties' bad luck, they more than deserved their good luck in finding you! They have finally hit the jackpot! And they pay us back every day.

[yellerpup]

11. They are so much more sensitive to our emotions

than (most people) are to theirs. Yes, they have hit the jackpot. I am a mostly stay-at-home kitteh mommy and they love training me every day. They know that if they want or need something they can come and ask me and I will try to figure it out. I think we've all hit the jackpot, spooky3...you, me, Penny, Jake and now Tommy. Animals make better humans of us. :hug:

[spooky3]

12. you are so right!

:hug:

[Blue Gardener]

8. He's Gorgeous!

Good for you for giving him a wonderful home! :hi:

[spooky3]

10. thanks, he's helped me more than he'll ever know!

:hi:

[badgerpup]

13. Pardon my asking...

...but a blue-eyed white male?

Obviously he can hear OK...he heard the volunteer and thought he was going to be taken back to kitty jail...:hide:

Just I've read in my ASPCA handbook that blue-eyed white male kitties have a defective gene on the Y-chromsome that made them deaf...glad that isn't so with your Tommy!

[demnan]

18. I was wondering about that myself

What a beautiful cat he is. Perhaps there is some Siamese/Himalyan there and the points haven't developed yet. My PadThai didn't really develop points until he was about 2 and a half.

[spooky3]

20. possibly - thanks, I will check it out. I think he is partly Turkish Angora - Tommy has a lot of

the personality as well as the physical characteristics. So did AC - who looked so much like the kitty on the wiki page (except for the one blue eye) he could have posed for the photo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Angora

Tommy has a very faint heart murmur, and given AC's tragic experience (and poor advice from his first cardiologist), we are obviously going to keep a very close watch on that. My vet did not know about the HCM link for Turkish Angoras, so at least there will be one benefit to come from that experience, in that we know there may be a genetic risk. When we go to the cardiologist, I will tell her about that as well.

[spooky3]

19. Yes, he's blue eyed, and no, he's not deaf.

He doesn't respond consistently to sounds, so I wonder if he has partial hearing loss in one ear or the other. My vet said the testing procedure is complicated (have to go to a specialist, who will attach electrodes to his head) and she didn't advise taking him, at least not right now when he's been through a lot. He is really calm at the vet (the only adult cat I've ever had that was) so I want that to last as long as possible!

[roody]

14. Congratulations!

[spooky3]

21. thanks, roody!

[emilyg]

15. Simply beautiful.

[Eurobabe]

16. Aww, pretty boy, congrats...

enjoy! :hug:

[spooky3]

23. thanks, emilyg and 48percenter! He's a very good boy

with devilish tendencies!

[MagickMuffin]

17. What a beautiful kitty

spooky3, I'm glad you were able to rescue Tommy and provide him a safe environment and loving home.

It's interesting that he likes some of the same places that AC liked. He realizes you are his new protector and will show his approval each and everyday.



I'm still missing my Sweet Kagome, but my other Kitty Babies try and keep me occupied with their needs which consist of lots of pets, their cuteness and lots and lots of lovin.


Congratulations:hug:

[spooky3]

22. MagickMuffin, thanks. Sadly, you will miss Kagome for a very long time,

but I am glad the other kittehs are there to help you and make excellent use of your time and attention!

[japple]

24. What a beautiful boy, and he looks very intelligent. I think

he looks very much like an Angora. God bless you for adopting him and giving him such a good home. He probably senses AC's little furry spirit and might be hanging out with with his "ghost" companion.

[spooky3]

25. japple, thanks so much. The shelter volunteer told me something similar

She emailed me ("Hollywood" was what the shelter volunteers named Tommy):

"There is a book called A Soul's Journey by Peter Richelieu and in it he speaks of the evolution of the soul and describes different planes/levels of existence for souls. And he says cats are collective souls - meaning more than one soul in a physical body (hence the many personalities we see). What a wonderful thought if indeed AC found his way back to you through Hollywood even if only for a brief moment to tell you he is OK on the other side."

It really seems that way.

We are the blessed ones, to spend time with such wonderful, loving creatures.

[AZBlue]

27. What a handsome guy! Great eyes!!

I'm happy for you all!! :D

[spooky3]

31. thanks so much, AZBlue!

[blondie58]

28. what a sweet story- thanks for sharing

and what a handsome boy he is! Have fun!

[spooky3]

32. thanks, blondie58!

[lukasahero]

29. Tommy's beautiful!

Love the blue eyes! Thud.

My first cat was named Tommy. Best little cat I ever had - he still visits me in dreams occasionally. :hug:

[spooky3]

30. hi, lukasahero!

We love our Tommies and we will never forget them.

:hug:

[emilyg]

33. You're a good person.

[spooky3]

34. No, I just love cats. Maybe that suffices.