Andy & Annie, destined to be together

  

A few weeks after the passing of our beloved Kitty, we started trying to figure out what our breed our kitty might have been and then, if possible, to see if we could find another that looked just like her.  It didn’t take us long to come across the Petfinder website and then to talk to a very kind and sympathetic volunteer from Maine Coon Adoptions.  After seeing a picture of Kitty, she e-mailed Stephen a picture of a kitty named Eden who was just becoming available for adoption.  Both Stephen and I were amazed at the similarity of Eden’s looks to Kitty’s. And his story absolutely tore at our hearts.

Eden was from Pasadena and had a brother named Prince.  He had been with the same owner, an elderly woman, since he was a kitten and he was now six years old.  One day, his mom went to the doctor and the next day she was placed in an assisted living home. It happened that quickly.  This woman’s nephew came to take care of the house and turned Eden and Prince outside.  After a few months, a neighbor contacted Maine Coon Adoptions and they were rescued. 

When we met Eden, he immediately snuggled up next to me and began to purr.  What a brave boy!  He absolutely had us at hello.  Eden became Andy (top photo) after we adopted him, as it just seemed to fit him, kind of playful and down to earth.  Andy quickly settled into our house and made it apparent that he wasn’t Kitty.  First of all, he jumped with the grace of an Olympic athlete!  We were in awe of his ability to sit up on his back legs and then fly up onto his object of choice.  Agile as he was, his flights would land him in perfect balance, even if he ended up on a ledge that was only two inches wide.  It also was a joy to see him playing with toys.  Kitty used to watch us play with her toys, with mild amusement.  Andy, on the other hand, was now tossing his little stuffed mice in the air and running around like a hockey player with a puck. Wow!

We also met another kitty the day we met Andy.  Her name was Annie and neither of us had ever seen a sadder looking kitty in all of our life even though she was a purebred Maine Coon with papers.  She had been rescued about five days earlier and wasn’t eating.  She had a little shelf in her foster home where she sat on a heating pad all day, never moving.  She was shut down.

Back at our house, Andy was blossoming, becoming braver and more self confident every day.  But we kept thinking about Annie's sad little face.  We learned that the vet Maine Coon Adoptions took her to had gotten her to eat, although she was still a skinny (for her) 15 pounds.  We talked it over and decided that Andy would probably do very well with another kitty in the house.  Five weeks after we had adopted Andy, we adopted Annie.

Unlike Andy, Annie was quite distant when we came to pick her up.  She sat in the back of her cage and refused to make eye contact.  However, once she arrived home and she walked out of her carrier into her bedroom, she changed.  It really happened that quickly!  She walked around on the bed with delight, stretching her legs and purring like crazy.  Neither Stephen nor I had ever heard a kitty purr so loud in all of lives! 

Within the next week, we called Annie's former owner to let her know we had adopted Annie, and we finally heard her history.  The former owner was in her late seventies and living in a senior community.  As Annie grew and grew, it became very clear that she was no longer able to lift Annie, who weighed 24 pounds.  Annie had also developed the habit of scratching and scratching to the point that her fur had been rubbed off of her ears and she had an open sore on her head.  This woman felt that her one bedroom town home was just too small for Annie, so she finally made the very difficult decision to find another home for Annie.

She enlisted the help of her veterinarian, who took Annie and told her that Annie was happy and with a very nice family.  But as Stephen and I could see from Annie’s other papers, she actually had been taken to a rescue group who then put her into a Petsmart where she was adopted by someone who later took her to the Oakland shelter, where her chances of survival where very slim.  Luckily, she was rescued by a volunteer from Maine Coon Adoptions.

Our biggest challenge of now having two cats, was figuring out how long that it should be before they actually could be together.  Annie made it quite clear that she was not interested in meeting Andy.  She also was declawed, so very possibly was concerned for her safety.  She would growl and hiss whenever she saw Andy’s shadow under the door. Within a few days, she stopped hissing at his shadow.  At this point, we put a large piece of Plexiglas in where the door was, so that they could see each other. Again she growled and hissed at him, causing him to walk away meowing and forlorn.  

Finally, three weeks to the day that we had gotten her, we cautiously took down the Plexiglas.  Prior to this, we had taken it down for short periods, allowing Annie to explore the rest of the house and Andy to come explore her rooms and smells. They passed each other slowly in the hall, with no altercations!  The hissing and growling continued to go on during the next week, but less and less.  They now watch for each other, Annie especially hiding in wait.  When she sees Andy coming, she waits for just the right moment and pow!  Out she jumps, running towards him with her back arched and tail high.  He runs away crying mournfully, then turns around and comes after her.  I wouldn’t say that they are best friends yet, but they do enjoy each other’s company.  Andy has taught Annie to play with her stuffed mice and she is the perfect example of a well mannered house kitty. 

Stephen and I feel so blessed to be the guardians of these loving, energetic and beautiful kitties.  We know that Kitty is watching over us all and very pleased.  She would be proud.  We so much appreciate all of the efforts of everyone at Maine Coon Adoptions, whose hard work and long hours of dedication make stories like these possible.  -– Stephen & Renee