THREE WAYS AGAIN

Hogan has officially been here 1 week tomorrow, and yes the picture above is taken from my livingroom. Just as we suspected initially, this devilishly handsome boy wasn't having too much of being sequestered in his guest room - his litterbox habits continue to be perfect so we decided to see how his stress level handled some feline company.

Thankfully our boys have been doing this almost as long as we have so they quickly sense when there is a guest that requires a wide berth and Hogan is just such a guest. I'd say right now that he appears more scared of other cats than hateful of them, and although he hisses and growls when either Rocky or Silly get too close, overall he's doing okay and so are they. Presently his time outside his room is very limited - first thing in the morning until we leave for work, and again when we get home until we go to bed..............and so far it's working for everyone. Hogan actually purrs when I put him back in his room at night and is quiet as a mouse for the duration until alarm clock time the following morning. Already, you can see that he's discovered the front window and is memorized by the squirrels, birds and dogs within his view. He's also already discovered what treat time is and comes readily to be included when those are distributed :))

We still have 1 more week to go before his quarantine is up and he can be placed on the website for adoption, but it's time that will be well spent as we continue to get to know him and further determine if his litterbox issues in his last home were environmental related. He's been very sweet and affectionate with both hubby and I...........he enjoys lap cuddle times, goes nuts for toys, and has a great appetite so if need be, his future forever home may require one without other kitties, but in return he will be one darling of a friend for that lucky someone.

Time will tell.

GRADUATION!!

Smartie's new parent's have been kind enough to stay in touch these past couple of weeks to let me know how our little guy was doing as he settled in at his new home. I commend them, they took his integration into their family really slowly and didn't pressure him, his new feline housemate Tiggee, or themselves, to have it all sorted out over night. We were so pleased at how well Smartie coped with yet another change, and like they say, the proof is in the pudding.....

He went from this:

To this:

As of yesterday, he has full run of the house and so far, things are good. I'd say our SmartieBean is pretty grateful for his second chance.....

CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC

Hogan came to stay with us last night here at Safe Haven. Yes, I did say last night as in not even 24 hours ago.......

He had been surrendered to the shelter for inappropriate elimination all over his owner's house and it had evidently been going on for quite some time. They had another cat, a dog, at least one child, and on top of all those, they were also letting Hogan outside (which is horrible for any cat but one that's declawed?!). He's three years old, one of those tall, strong looking males with a really thick, plush coat, and an adorable bib of white down his chest and on the tips of his toes. I was slightly worried about the lack of litterbox use, and so when I placed him in his guest room last night and went back to check on him, I did so holding my breath somewhat as to what I would find..............imagine my delight when I found that he'd used the litterbox almost as soon as he arrived! Since then he's used the litterbox overnight, and again today while we were at work; he's got a great appetite, LOVES toys, and just before I began typing this he sauntered over and laid half his body across my lap so we could have a really good love session!! He goes crazy for attention, hasn't made strange at all, and has been purring up a storm. Initially the boys presence outside the door appeared to be making him a little nervous, but already that seems to have subsided considerably. Of course the real test here will come when it's time to let him have full access to the house; both in terms of his feelings about other cats in general, and his ability/desire to continue to use his bathroom facilities (and I don't mean the ones he chooses) :)).

The only tough aspect of this so far has been that he kept me up all night crying in his room - and I do mean ALL night. Hopefully, he does abit better tonight since he's had the day to become acclimatized but I suspect that he's a very social boy and won't be all that patient about hanging out in his guest room for too, too, long.

So far, so good. Oh I almost forgot to share the other photo I took.............he likes to roll around, look at your upside down and isn't shy about sharing his belly for your viewing pleasure.

FRECKLE FACE FAREWELL

At about Noon time today, it was official - Smartie has his forever home. We had a lovely couple come out to meet him on Saturday, and they really liked him. Smartie himself was somewhat nervous for the meet n' greet (which we expected and I had forewarned them about), but overall he did great considering where he was just afew short months ago. They came back today to complete paperwork and pay the adoption fee, and will return this Saturday to take him home.

This check out from the Safe Haven will be hard for me. The ones that come struggling and then bloom so much while here, always are. I feel so protective of him and I've done my best to ensure that his new parents understand his adjustment to their family will take time. He will share his space with an 11 yr old male kitty, and I hope that he is kind to our boy and that they get along.

Perhaps it's fostering au revoir time............

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT

Yes, there has finally been an adoption call for SmartieBean that has made it through the inital round! I spoke to the wife of the duo this week in length, to discuss Smartie in abit more detail and to ensure that she realized he would not be an "instant pet"; if the adoption were to move to the final stage. She seems VERY nice and her husband will join her at tomorrow's meet n' greet, they have always adopted rescued kitties and currently have an 11 year old male that is super lonely after the loss of his good friend who passed this past June from cancer.

I have no idea how Smartie will react to the visit but we'll know soon enough. I've only thought briefly about the possibility that this could be it, one, because I don't want to get my hopes up and two, because I would then have to think about how much I'll miss him................neither warm me so I'm simply going to cross those bridges when I get to them.

We shall see.............