BARNEY:

We found our wonderful kitty Barney at a local shelter with the help of Maine Coon Adoptions. Barney was a member of our family for over two years. He was the life of the house. He greeted us when we got home and woke us up every morning by stomping on our heads. He wouldn't give up! If we didn't get up when he wanted us to, he would proceed to knock anything and everything off the tops of the dressers that would move. I would watch him (with one eye open), gently pushing items like my hairbrush, or a bracelet, or my reading glasses onto the floor until I would jump up and say okay, we're up! When he was ready to eat, I'd better listen! He wanted absolutely fresh food in the morning, even if he had an entire bowl sitting there from the night before. Barney and our other cat Muffet, were best buddies. They would play hide and seek and would run from one end of the house to the other as fast as they could run. At times it was like watching a cartoon, cats sliding across the floor, back feet moving as fast as they could go, but their bodies weren't! I adopted them at the same time, but they were not litter mates and had never met before. When Barney climbed out of his carrier, he walked in like he owned the place...as if he had lived there his entire life. He was more like a dog and loved to fetch. We would lay in bed at night listening to Barney and Muffet playing hockey with the numerous toy balls and mice they loved to chase. When Barney had had enough hockey, "chirping" with pride he would climb up onto whereever I was sitting and would drop the mouse toy or ball into my lap, urging me to throw it again! My husband and I loved Barney and he loved us. We could never have asked for a better cat. We will miss him forever.

Veronica and John, May 2008

MARY B:

Mary B came to us in May 2007 - I could not stand to have her killed at the shelter so we took her in. We knew that she would never be adopted –she was an older kitty, so tiny and clearly not well. Mary B took the best seat in the house pretty quickly and was a quiet little girl. She loved her wet food and would play with the water in the water bowl. She started failing this spring but kept on eating and playing nearly up to the end. Named after one of our great volunteers, she was happy with so little and was a constant presence in our kitty house. We miss her.

Elaine and Dana

CODY:

Cody entered my life almost as quickly as he left it. I never thought I could get attached to a pet as quickly as I did to this sweetheart. He was my very first cat, and the moment I met him, I instantly fell in love with him. Cody was everything anyone could want in a cat; he loved to cuddle and had an amazingly sweet disposition. As soon as I brought the gentle guy home, he found his way to my pillow and kept it warm practically until the end. Cody could stay on your lap for hours, purring gently whenever you would pet him. He was sweet, loving, and irresistibly adorable. I know we will see each other again some day where he is healthy and happy, but in the meantime it feels like a huge part of me is missing.

Nika

SEBASTIAN:

Sebastian came to us when he became slightly ill – his family no longer wanted to care for him. This dear boy was clearly older but just needed a family who would pet him, care for him and love him. Maine Coon Adoptions took him in knowing that he would never be adoptable, but that was fine with us. Eventually he went to the North County Humane Society in Atascadero where he was the beloved office kitty of Kayce, the Director. She writes,

Thank you for allowing me to get to know and love this wonderful old soul. He did bring joy into my life.Sebastian was an old soul. We look forward to seeing him again at The Rainbow Bridge.

Elaine, Maine Coon Adoptions
February 2008

MACK:

Mack had us at "hello". He was our first foster cat and was an amazing and charming gentleman. We could pick him up and lug him around the house or simply let him circle our feet giving us headbutts but he would never leave our sides. The minute he met you he became your friend. He kept our kids in stitches chasing string around the house and was always extremely gentle with them. All of that and he was gorgeous on the outside as well. Mack was the total package.     Catherine and family, foster, MCA, September 2007

Mack came to us from the San Jose shelter when his family got ill and could not care for him. We are so lucky to have known him – he embodied what "gentle giants" are all about in Maine Coons. Sweet, mellow, patient, happy, big, dear, with a peaceful look on his face and eyes that shone. I am glad that we will see him again at the Rainbow Bridge.     Elaine, foster, MCA, September 2007

HORIZON:

Horizon came to Maine Coon Adoptions in May 2007 from the Santa Maria shelter. He hid under blankets at the shelter and did that at my foster home as well –it was funny: during the day he would sit on the chair under the blanket and then come 5:00 pm, would pop out for dinner and then sit around for the evening on the chair or desk (not under the blanket!), surveying the scene. In the morning, I would find him under the blanket again…

Horizon was about eight years old when he came to us and had a very sweet and dear spirit. He loved to sit next to me on the chair when we watched a movie. He would purr and purr, head butt and love. A wonderful boy.

He had a very aggressive mouth cancer. We will see him again on the other side, healed and healthy, purring, happy, and sweet as ever.

Elaine Lyford-Nojima, August 2007

STUART LITTLE:

April 2001-May 2007. The most awesome cat. He was more like a "dog" and ambassador to all my cats, dogs and fosters. Always in our hearts NEVER forgotten.

Tammy Rieser, May 2007

HULK:

Hulk and his brother, Wolfie, were our very first fosters. My husband told us not to get attached to any of the fosters, but he ended up getting attached to Hulk himself. As soon as he came home Hulk would be in his lap and would not leave. Hulk loved the kids. When it was time to go to his new family he would not go to them. He just stayed near my husband. So the family decided to take his brother instead. Hulk chose us, and we are so happy he did. You could not have asked for a better kitty. He loved tummy rubs, always had to follow the kids around and would let the baby chew on his ears and pull his whiskers and he would just sit there. No complaining at all.

Jacqui, Spring 2005

SWEETIE:

Sweetie was one of the first kitties that I fostered when I started with Maine Coon two years ago, in June 2003. I usually don’t like names like “Sweetie”, but one look at her – and that was her name. Her fur was soft like velvet; she was a little tabby with white feet and a sweet spirit. She eventually went to Carol, another foster, who took wonderful care of her until her arthritis became so bad that she could not give her the sub-q fluids that Sweetie’s kidney failure required. In addition, Carol’s own Maine Coons that she had adopted from us reacted negatively to Sweetie. Eventually she went to live with my vet in “hospice care” where she received her fluids as needed, love and attention from volunteers, and a soft bed to sleep on. She lived at my vet for months until she went into renal failure and could not survive. She never had her own “home” and her own family which was very sad for me… but she did not die in the shelter, which would have been her fate had we not rescued her. Sweetie went to Kitty Heaven in the winter of 2005.

Elaine Lyford-Nojima, Winter 2005

SILAS:

This big handsome lanky and thin boy was rescued from the horrible Sacramento shelter in January of 2005 and was almost immediately taken to my vet. He was estimated to be about ten years old, a brown tabby who seemed so mellow and sweet. Little did I know when I took him to my vet that he would never come “home” again to me….he was thin, and would not eat. My vet had to force feed him and he just did not gain weight. She suspected something serious such as cancer and I just pretended that he was soon going to be coming “home” to me….he kept losing weight in spite of her diligent and attentive care and it was obvious that he was very ill. Still, I had hope…I had seen her do magic before, she was going to pull this one off too. He kept losing weight and would purr, etc., but never eat on his own. She kept force feeding him.

Finally the day came that I had dreaded – she had exhausted all the options and could only see putting him down soon because he was so thin….it was a Friday night when I got that message on my cell phone from her. I called her back on Monday, after feeling dread and depression all weekend…I called to say, “”I’ll come down and be with him as he goes to the other side.” She said, “You didn’t get my message later? I left it on your cell.” As it turns out, she just could not stand leaving him in the clinic for the weekend – she wanted him to have some time in a family, in a home, before his life ended, and so she took him home with her! And he was doing great! Playing with her kittens, purring, sleeping on her bed – all the happy, normal things we want for a kitty! I saw him for a visit and he was doing great – still not eating, but purring, sleeping on her pillow, playing with her kittens. I was so moved by her love and devotion to Silas. He was finally experiencing what I had wanted for him. Love. Affection. Home. Care. Tenderness. Fun. He died three weeks later at her home, which was so very sad for all of us, but at least he had a bit of “home” before he went to Kitty Heaven. My vet found cancer throughout him when she did an autopsy.

We have no idea of what most of his ten years of life were like, but for a bit of time, he was loved, cherished, and valued. He had a “home”.

Elaine Lyford-Nojima, Winter 2006

SNOOKIE:

Snookie came to us in May 2005; he was a 26-lb orange male, one of our favorite kinds of MCs – the orange males are known for being mellow, sweet, laid back and happy guys. However, Snookie didn’t get much of a chance. He was adopted out of the shelter and returned through the “drop box” one night later. Did you know that at most shelters, people can actually put animals through the door and “drop” them into the shelter, much as your mail “drops” through your mail slot in your door? Well, for whatever reason, Snookie didn’t last long in his new family and came back to the shelter – he had been a little sick before he got adopted, and then when he was returned, he got very ill with a terrible Upper Respiratory Infection – very common in shelter kitties, but in Snookie’s case, the stress of the shelter, being adopted, then returned, and then in the shelter again caused his illness to become life-threatening. Plus, the shelter did NOT medicate him adequately, quickly enough, or with the right medicine. By the time I got him in rescue and took him immediately to my vet, she took one look at him and diagnosed him with an illness that is usually fatal. In spite of her heroic and herculean efforts to save him – including consulting with vets at the UC Davis vet school – Snookie could not survive this illness and he died.

Needless to say, we were very upset – my vet, members of our rescue team, and me. This was a kitty who easily could have recovered from his illness IF he had been diagnosed early enough, treated with the right medication and the right dosage. This same shelter lost about 4 other cats to the same illness at the same time, for the same reasons. We have found that telling the shelter vets about these situations only gets us “blacklisted” at the shelter and limits our ability to rescue other cats. I still get angry when I think about how this poor boy was treated and how his life ended – angry at the family who adopted him and then didn’t even have enough courage to return him during the day; angry at the shelter vet who under medicated and misdiagnosed him, and angry that he is just one of many animals who suffer at these places that are called “shelters.” I also still remember him sitting in my house, barely able to breathe due to his congestion, and how I had hoped he would be coming “home” to be fostered by me. That memory makes me very sad for him, and all animals who suffer.

Elaine Lyford-Nojima, May 2005

ANNALISSE:

Dear Sweet Annalisse, a little senior MC Mix, came into our lives in August, 2005 after being pulled from an animal shelter when her elderly owner died.  She spent some time with a couple of different foster homes, got very sick and spent some more time at Dr. Thompson’s veterinary clinic being tested and treated and ultimately diagnosed with lymphoma. Maine Coon Adoptions didn’t have the funds to test her further or pay for expensive treatments.  Besides, her little immune system was pretty compromised and she wouldn’t have been able to handle any really ambitious treatments.  So they called on me to bring her into our home and provide little Anna with “hospice” for the remainder of her life, however long that may be. 

We were told she was maybe ten years old, but she seemed much older, she was so thin and boney.  Who knows what her life was like before ending up in the shelter, but with us she was sweet, loved affection, and meowed loudly to demand food or attention.  My husband and I gave her lots of attention, nourishment, and meds for her thyroid condition, hoping to make her life comfortable and pleasant until she died.  Annalisse left this world peacefully in December, 2005, and we can only hope she did so without pain and discomfort.  I can honestly say I believe she was happy here, as long as she had her Ocean Whitefish and Tuna, her warming blankie, and our warm laps to curl up with each evening during her brief stay with us.

--Kat and Alan Kantor, Sparks, Nevada, Spring 2006