Purrfect Friends

I've had quite a few bad experiences with cats in my life, cats and I just didn't seem to get along. I first learned about the "birds and bees" from cats. When I was three years old my mother's cat gave birth at my feet, on my bed. My mother, having a soft spot for cats, would take in the local strays. One stray bit my younger sister, who was two at the time, and she was in Children's Hospital for a few days. That was the end of the whole stray thing. We then relocated from Northern Kentucky to Ohio, and cats were not permitted, so cats were out of my life for a few years.

My next experiences with cats were less than pleasant. In middle school, we moved again, and this time cats were permitted. So my mother adopted a new cat for my younger sister, almost ironic, and the thing was completely psychotic. See, my mother adopted the cat from some of her friends, and these friends had pretty much allowed their children to abuse an entire litter. The children would pick the poor kittens up by their tails and toss them, they no doubt found the whole thing extremely amusing.

So, it's no surprise that the new cat completely hated children/teenagers, and would torment me to no end. She would do things such as claw her way up my daybed's dust ruffle, and scratch me while I was trying to sleep. I could go on and on about the things the cat did to me, made me miserable, but I'll just end it here, my mother got pregnant, had a baby, and thankfully, that cat went on to a shelter.

Now not all cats are bad, but from my various experiences with my own cats, and the cats of my friends, I was pretty determined to keep them out of my life. But then my husband came across a cat at our local pet store. He's usually the one who runs up there to pick up our dogs food, and apparently he had seen the cat up there a few times. Having had good experiences with cats, her started to take pity on her, often walked up to her cage to pet her, and visit her.

Of course, when he brought up the subject of adopting her, I was completely against it. I explained to him, in detail, almost all my bad experiences with cats, and told him plainly, cats and I just don't mix, ain't going to happen. But he was persistent, and really wanted me to go up and see her, and I agreed, thinking he's going to witness me and the cat not mix. But low and behold when I get up there, and I see her living in a ferret cage, and how not mean to me she was, my heart started to bleed. We didn't exactly click right away, but we didn't rub each other wrong either.

Madison, the cat, was being put up for adoption by a local cat shelter, Purrfect Friends. The lady offering Madison, agreed to let us "test" her out for a week, to see if she would get along with our dog, a Shih Tzu. It was unknown if Madison would get along with dogs, but it was known she doesn't get along with other cats. Madison was left outside by her original owner, and taken in by a neighbor. The neighbor had other cats, who ended up attacking Madison, and now if she sees another cat, she fuzzes up and hisses, and that's how she ended up with Purrfect Friends.

To keep a long story from getting even longer, things have worked out, in fact, Madison and I have grown quite close. She doesn't have a problem with our Shih Tzu, and our Shih Tzu doesn't have a problem with her. Occasionally they'll get a little irritated with each other, the dog will try to bark her off when both our vying for my attention. She's a sweet, little cat, weighing only about five pounds or so, and she and I snuggle quite often. It's nice how pets can make you feel very important.

If you live in the Cincinnati Area, and are looking to adopt a new cat, I highly suggest checking out Purrfect Friends, you can even browse the cats they're trying to place on the internet at Petfinder.