Our Cativersary!
On June 1, 2017, I brought home a tiny ball of fluff from the San Diego Animal Shelter. She smelled rather awful - not only like the shelter but also of her poop that she had rolled in post-op. Her name is Buttercup.
About six weeks earlier, I had to say goodbye to my previous cat best friend, Kitty. My dad told me that I should look at it as an opportunity to give another homeless cat a nice place to live. Sometimes, my dad is very adept at getting through to me because there was no way I could feel sorry for myself instead of trying to do my part to get a homeless cat off the streets!
The Saturday before Memorial Day 2017, I went to the shelter “just to look.” There were tons of animals there and it was so heartbreaking to hear the dogs crying and all of the cats (aside from the kittens) looked completely perturbed.
I was looking at each cat’s name tag carefully and was thinking that I would never find one that caught my eye until I saw this:
LOOK at that hilarious face. Photo by Ranger Holly.
I loved that her name was Buttercup, for one, I thought it was funny and two, because buttercups are my favorite East Coast wildflower.
Also, I thought the picture of her on her name tag was hilarious. She looks so weird and bug-eyed. I could tell she had some personality.
I was watching her eat and she stopped for a second and looked me straight in the eyes and meowed then went back to eating. I knew in that moment I was going to come back for her.
She wasn’t available to take home that day because she was picked up as a stray and the shelter holds strays for 30 days in case anyone comes to claim them.
The day she was available I was first in line to meet her. I went in to the cat cage area with a very nice shelter worker. As soon as I stepped inside Buttercup started meowing like crazy. None of the other cats made a peep, but Buttercup was welcoming me in with open paws.
I cautiously started to meet her and pet her and after a few minutes of chin scratches she started to purr and I told her that she could come home with me.
Buttercup just stole my heart the instant we met. I think she looks like a tiny dictator here. I am fine with her bossing me around. Photo by Ranger Holly.
She needed to be spayed and microchipped, so I came back to get her on June 1. As I was waiting to pick her up after her surgery, I was mildly panicking that this was a terrible idea. What if she’s insane? What if she claws things or poops in my shoes? Some cats are jerks, and I really did not want to bring home a lemon.
Well, despite the fact that she rolled in her poop after she had her spaying surgery and I had to drive a very smelly cat home, she was absolutely no lemon! Buttercup hopped into my lap and snuggled up to me right away AFTER I cleaned her up.
I have felt so completely lucky this entire year to have my little Buttercup. Every day she makes me laugh and every day she does something cuter than the day before. She loves attacking her toys but only if I put them on strings of yarn for her. Every night she sleeps on top of me or snuggled right up against me. No matter how much I move around, she will stay glued to my side.
I was very scared to adopt a pet from the shelter but I think that adopted pets are very grateful to be rescued. Buttercup has been my little shadow for the past year and she is a fantastic companion. Maybe sometimes I need to talk to more humans, but she is always there and hardly fusses when I pick her up and carry her around, dance with her or smother her with my love.
I highly recommend adopting your next pet especially since there are SO MANY cute homeless animals out there. Bypass the kittens and puppies and adopt an older pet because they are often not wanted. Buttercup was about 1 ½ years old when I got her. She was still very much a kitten in personality and features but overlooked because she didn’t look like a newborn.
Finally, I would like to say thanks, Dad, for helping me to find my new best friend. You always know what to do.
Buttercup a few months ago in her little bed! Look at that sweet face. Photo by Auntie Sadie.