My shelter moggy Snow White’s 2nd anniversary
by Finn Frode
(Copenhagen, Denmark)
Sunbathing
Today is Snow White's 2nd anniversary with us. Eight months earlier we had lost our wonderful young Somali Ivanhoe to FIP and as we came to realize he was irreplaceable, the logical thing to do was to find a totally different type of cat to keep old Norwegian
Milly company.
So we started looking for a mixed breed domestic, 3-5 years old and preferably a neutered male as they usually get on better with other cats. One of my brothers had adopted cats from shelters before, so I knew what great cats can be found there.
The two nearby shelters didn't have any suitable candidates, or rather the ones that seemed suitable to us were labeled for adoption to homes with garden only - and at the time we still lived in a third floor apartment. We cursed their rigid policies and started checking the websites of other shelters.
A shelter out in the country (Grevinge Dyreklinik) seemed promising with many adult cats, so my wife and I got on the train to see for ourselves.
The shelter was run by a young female vet and appeared well managed in every way. No small cages - most of the cats were in one large group with access to an outdoor cat run. I was a bit surprised to see 20+ cats living together without apparent aggressions and stress, but it really shows how adaptable cats can be. Much more social than often believed.
One by one the cats came up and greeted us by rubbing their chins. There were two great looking orange toms, both very social, but this was not to be their lucky day, as they reminded my wife too much of our family's first legendary cat, orange Rudolf. And another one seemed friendly enough but unfortunately blew his chance by snapping after her hand. They were fine cats anyway and must have found new homes with somebody else.
The adult toms were all huge and we were getting a bit worried that maybe Milly's position as No.1 cat could be challenged. And so we switched our attention to the smaller females. A very special tortoiseshell was considered for a while, but then a rather plain looking black and white tuxedo cat caught our attention.
She had probably been asleep when we arrived, but now she sat on a shelf looking curiously at us. She responded well to our advances and purred as we petted her. It was my wife who had first spotted her, but I instantly fell for that cute black and pink nose. Two days later I returned and picked up our Snow White...
So instead of the young male we found a 8-9 year old alpha-female. And as I have described in other pages about her, she is a really good cat - and in my biased eyes of course perfect in every way. I take her for walks, my wife plays with her and even old Milly likes her although she still pulls her rank sometimes.
The irony is that during her first months with us Snow White sometimes snapped too when she got overexcited. I soon had her stop that habit, but had she attempted snapping at the shelter, my wife would certainly had ruled this wonderful cat out. Yes, sometimes little things like that changes history... 😉
Other Snow White pages on Pictures Of Cats:
Don't Forget the Elderly Shelter Cats
My Snow White is Not a British Shorthair
Walking an Old Cat on the Leash
Seasons Greetings From Denmark (2009)
More pictures at Finn Frode's Fat Furry Feline Friends (page opens in a new window)
