Our daughter had secretly been harboring a desire to have a cat of her own, but didn’t think it was possible because we have long been planning to get a dog after our elderly cat passes away. She needed something to love, though, and our elderly cat wasn’t ever the cuddly type. Once I learned that she wanted a cat we decided to come to NEAS on the recommendation of a friend.
We made the mistake of coming on a busy Sunday, and waited hours to learn that the cat our daughter had chosen wasn’t likely to be a good fit for a household that already had another cat, especially one that’s elderly and not in the best of health anymore. That was a big disappointment but we were asked to come back a couple of days later when it would be less busy and a lot of new cats were expected.
(Pro Tip: Do come on weekdays, and call ahead to ask when new animals are expected. You’ll have less waiting and a much better chance of finding the perfect pet.)
That was fantastic advice because with the new cats came a calico that caught my daughter’s eye right away and who was said to be very good with other cats. Soon thereafter we were taking home Candy, who would be renamed Spy in short order (which actually fits her personality pretty well at times, even if Candy was a better fit for her coloration).
We took our time introducing the two cats but it turned out to be about as easy a process as could possibly be hoped for. Spy is gentle and gave our old cat a wide berth, and our old cat is no longer aggressive as she was when younger. While the two still seem distrustful of each other there haven’t been any problems at all.
Meanwhile Spy has bonded very well with our daughter, sleeping with her every night, and is proving to be playful and friendly (especially upstairs in “her” domain, versus downstairs in our old cat’s area). While her breed is well known for attention on their own terms, her terms are pretty good: She’ll walk over to you for initial petting then flop down on her side and roll over for extended belly rubs. The whole family seems happier with her around.
It’s hard to overstate how happy we are with Spy and with the care in which NEAS helped us with the adoption process. Thanks to everyone!
