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Tough Love
On these pages you will find selected stories about cats that have come through our program. To see other previously adopted cats, search for their ID number on the Siamese Available page.
Dinah-mite (VA3809)
Patience and lots of it - progress was daily in little baby steps. Just to
be able to make eye contact and not have her hide was big. Then to see her
eat - she comes running to the dish! I remember the first time she started
to purr while playing with the wand toy. I thought "Someday I will be able
to pet her..", well that day is here, even though it took a couple of
months! She will stand on my lap to be petted and will put her nose to mine
for a brief moment then jumps down. I kept Dinah-Mite in isolation in my
bedroom for about 5 weeks. I never sought her out; she did do a lot of
hiding. I did read out loud to her, she is well versed in the Quarter Horse
Journal and Optics (probably bored her); however she does know my voice. Now
that she has the run of the house, she never hides. Most of the time she is
in the same room as I or soon comes running when I call her name. The
strange thing is I can only pet Dinah-Mite in my bedroom while sitting down
and holding the wand toy, she will run off if I try to pet her in any other
room. However, when food is involved she will take it from my hand no
matter where I am in the house. She loves coffee ice cream and will jump in
my lap to have some.
Adopted 2/26/06 by Linda Lachapelle
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Curry (VA2848)
Curry was terrified of humans and I thought with enough love she would
immediately blend in. Well, it also required time - almost 15 months now.
Many a day in the beginning, I spent on the ground talking to her under the
bed, and nail trimming sessions were a severe undertaking.
After 6 months or so her own little Tortie personality has come shining
through. Now I know why they named her after a hot spice! She tears
through the house playing and will purr and rub against anything in sight
during feeding time. One day when she was chasing a fly and forgot to be
scared, she ended up hanging on the lace kitchen curtains, swinging back and
forth as the fly quickly moved away - but she was able to let me pick her
off the curtains so she could continue her chase.
I am just so darn happy when she lets me pet her soft fur or when she
bellows (boy, is she LOUD) for attention. I am brought to tears when she
rolls over, purring and shows me her belly. For her to show that type of
trust is amazing.
With patience and continued playing time, I know she will become the cat she
was meant to be.
Adopted 4/11/05 by Bethann Flannery
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Toby (VA3232) and Titus (VA3231)
Titus is really a mush in all ways, and not exceptionally bright. He uses
his stomach to think, and when he came to us he was terribly anxious about
food. He cried for food continuously, would jump onto the counter and grab
it from your hand, and ate until he would have horrible diarrhea. He also
has to climb onto the highest surface in a room, but is not terribly
graceful. He takes a fantastic leap, nearly falls, and then clings and
scrambles until he pulls himself up. All the furniture is getting
scratched. The good news is that he has no physical reasons for his food
issues. So with much experimentation we have him on a feeding schedule that
keeps him regular, and he has settled down into a much lower level of
anxiety about starvation. In all other ways he is a joy. He is playful and
goofy, and wonderfully entertaining. Also he is good at adoring anyone with
an available lap.
Toby is the real challenge. He is a grumpy old man in every sense of the
word. He is cranky and unpredictable. We suspect that some of this is
allergies, as he has puffy eyes, itchy ears, and grooms like it's his full
time job. Currently his belly and legs are pretty naked. We have him on
prednisone and are seeing some result. If he does not gradually get better
we will have to try another med. But like all difficult children he is the
one you love, just because. He is such a mess, but he will sit aggressively
on your lap, glaring up at you, daring you to try and move him, while
purring like a buzz saw. He even purrs aggressively. We call him
velcro-boy, because his claws are always out and he grabs on if you try and
move him. And the children are convinced that he has the cutest meow of all
our kitties.
The good news is, that for all their quirky behaviors, they seem happy and
content. The children love them, and they seem to enjoy the children too.
They are durable creatures, and don't seem to mind being carted around or
played with. They are wonderfully devoted lap sitters, and quite the clowns
as well. The reality is that they have enough bad habits and issues, that
there are times I wonder why I am still dealing with it. The answer is of
course obvious...we love them and they are part of the family. But not
everyone would feel the same, or be willing to accommodate their special
needs.
Adopted 9/8/05 by Patricia Vietri
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Pebbles (VA3816) and BamBam (VA3815)
Having adopted 3 rescue kitties (Pebbles, Bam Bam and Marley) and one kitty
from a feral family (Rowan) adopting me in the past 4 years the one thing I
can say for sure if that no two are alike. Each will react to things
differently and you can't expect them to be like previous animals you have
adopted. Pebbles and Bam Bam came from the Siamese Rescue and it was much
different experience then Marley who can from a different rescue. I was
able to get much more information from their foster mom then I received on
my previous rescue kitty Marley. Pebbles and Bam Bam were fighting ringworm
when in foster care and their foster mom made sure I understood what was
going on and kept me informed of their progress. I was impressed with all
the information I was provided on each of them as was my vet when I took her
a copy of the information for their files. Marley who was adopted from a
different rescue had a really bad URI they gave me very little information
on how she was doing and when I picked her up she was still fighting it and
spent the first few months with me on meds trying to get over it. She also
had a congenital heart defect they did not detect even when she was spayed
and when my vet heard the murmur they downplayed it after a trip to their
vet and told me she should not have complications, it turned out it was a
major defect even with the best care I could give her and weekly visits to
my vet her she was with me for only about two years. I would do it all over
again don't get me wrong I loved her and she was a very special kitty With
Pebbles and Bam Bam I knew upfront I was adopting two project kitties and
their foster mom made sure I fully understood what I was getting into.
Turns out Bam Bam who we thought would be the big project has come around
really fast and is a love bug. Pebbles is still a work in progress. I
highly recommend the Siamese Rescue. The amount of information, the
thoroughness of the evaluation process of both the cats and your home
environment and the availability of advice from the Siamese Rescue is
priceless. I just wish all rescues where like the Siamese Rescue.
Adopted 1/14/06 by Courtney Wright
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Princess (VA3281)
1) I think the first thing it's important for people to realize is it takes
a lot of patience. Animals have memories just like people, and sometimes
it's very hard to overcome whatever experiences they've had. I couldn't
even pick Princess up for over 2 weeks, but now she can be very loving and
enjoys nothing more than nesting on my chest, wrapping herself around my
neck, or joining me in front of the computer.
2) Rescue the animal that speaks to you. I know it may sound like she's a
terror, but I am sooo crazy about this cat. I see the gratitude in her eyes
on a daily basis, and I really believe that fate brought her to me. I lost
two cats within 1 year, and had them for 12 year. I had waited to get
another animal. But when I started looking and came across her write-up, I
just felt a connection. She needed a specific type of home that I could
provide, and it's worked out great. Every time she makes her little chirpy
noises, it just makes me smile!
3) Establish a safe environment. Place a new animal in a very limited
space until they make it clear they are ready to explore. Then introduce
them to other areas in small increments and keep doing so in small increments.
4) Don't force a relationship (back to patience). You need to give them
some power in determining when and how the relationship progresses. That
means allow them to sit with you or on you when they want to, no sudden
moves, and low soft voice. For the first two weeks, I would sit down on the
floor, but didn't even reach out to her. I needed her to understand that
she was in control, but that she was going to get all the basic care she
needed (I guess a little of Maslow's hierarchy of needs)
5) Do establish consistent expectations, rewards, corrective actions.
Example - Princess got highly agitated with any movement when she first
came, and would growl/hiss, and sometimes attack with no provocation. Since
she was the only animal in the house, there were no excuses for her
nastiness. I got a small water bottle, and anytime she did that, she got a
quick shot of water. It was harmless but also let her know that it was
unacceptable behavior. At the same time, when she would rub on my leg or be
affectionate, I would praise her softly, play with her favorite toys, and
give her treats.
6) Find out what rewards they like, what makes them happy. Princess loves
to play, loves Feline Greenies, and to have her forehead stroked/rubbed
right above her nose. She doesn't like her rear feet messed with, or much
attention near her tail. Respect that, and appreciate the positive things
about the animal.
7) Accept that you may never "love" them into an "ideal" pet. Princess
made herself sick the first time I went away for 2 days. I had a friend
coming over to feed her and give her fresh water, but it just stressed her
out. I spent Christmas night in the emergency vet clinic. She's gotten
better (no more sick spells) but her other nickname is "The Beast" because
she throws such horrible fits when other people come to the house (howls,
growls, hisses, etc). I know now that when company comes, she has to be put
in a room so she doesn't feel threatened, and also to ensure she doesn't
hurt anyone. She's also never going to be a cat that I can love on constantly, she has to call the shots.
8) Rescue/adopt for the right reason. Because you want to provide a safe
loving environment for an animal that may have never known that, because you
have the time and money to invest in keeping them safe & well, and because
you enjoy just watching and interacting with them. Appreciate their unique
personalities and play to their strengths just as you would with a child.
Teach them the basics, but let them be who they were meant to be.
Adopted 10/23/05 by Mary Kaye Bennett
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Mel (VA4027)
This guy was a stray found in the VA Beach area of VA, and it was obvious he
was an older gent. Scruffy can not really describe the extent of his
appearance - his coat was very sparse, very coarse, lots of sores along his
back/haunches area, very dehydrated appearing. His few teeth were in very
poor condition, but his appetite and attitude was good. This was early March
of 2006 when he came in, weight was good at almost 11 pounds, but he really
looked crappy.
We did all our normal things, and then some. He had a bath and we ran a
ringworm culture,we did an ivermectin injection, depomedrol injection,
fluids, xrays, bloodwork, a dental after a few weeks, and so on and so
forth. Bloodwork showed all organs in good shape. Xrays showed that many of
the verterbrae had fused together, causing severe spinal and back leg
arthritis, possibly due to Lyme disease early in life. He had some
difficulty walking (pronounced stiff gait in back legs), soreness around the
back spinal area and back legs (manifested in nipping at you when touched
back there, and pulling of his fur out in those areas when he's feeling
discomfort).
Personality? Absolutely a great guy. You would not know this guy is in much
discomfort, other than from watching him walk. Active, he climbs up on
things without a problem, although I cringe as I watch him try to get down
(sometimes he stumbles). He plays and uses the scratching pads. He ADORES
catnip. He bats mice and balls around and yes, he just adores that banana
and bunny kicks it until there is no end in sight. He seems absolutely fine
with the other cats.
He loves to lap sit and can do this for hours on end, however, he will get
overstimulated and react to touching the back part of him, and sometimes
even the front part of him, with mild nips. But he waits with a look of
total expectation of anyone and everyone who walks into the Rescue Center,
hoping above all that they will sit on the floor just long enough for him to
clamber in and look completely pleased with himself.
Mel was with us for a year and five days. He was passed over again and
again, I guess because of his age and his nips. And then one day, after a
good breakfast and a great game of ping pong, Mel had a heart attack, and in
the blink of an eye, he was gone.
We mourn his loss, and we feel awful that we couldn't provide the one and
only thing this cat really wanted - a lap to call his very own. Don't let
another 'Mel' get away. If you can do it, take on a cat less fortunate.
Sure, you'll be sad when they pass. But think of what you could provide for
them - something as simple as a lap to call their own - something that,
without you, they might never have.
Died of heart attack on 3/10/07
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