Sophie Makes A Lasting Impression: Her Adoption Story

Sometimes when I hear adoption stories, they go something like this: A person comes across a CH cat, falls madly in love, and within moments the cat has been adopted. And sometimes it takes a little longer than that. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months.

Thankfully, CH kitties know how to make an impression, and that definitely worked to Sophie’s advantage when Emily and her husband met her! Here’s their story:

“My husband and I are frequent visitors of PetSmart on the weekends when they have the cat adoptions through the local animal societies. Back in November of 2012, we went to visit the kitties on a Sunday afternoon, and as soon as we walked in the door of the cat adoption center, we were greeted by Sophie. She was tumbling and running around with what looked like a huge smile across her face.

We could immediately tell that something was different about her – she was walking strangely and fell over a lot, but I had never heard of CH and had no idea what was wrong. I fell in love instantly.

My husband and I sat in the cat adoption center for at least two hours watching her run and play with the other cats, falling over and not even noticing or caring that she was “different” from the others. We laughed and enjoyed ourselves so much watching her play.

Then my husband picked her up and she started purring almost immediately. She fell asleep, and he held her for about an hour while we discussed adopting her. We talked to the woman in charge of the adoptions, who also happened to be Sophie’s foster mom, and she explained that Sophie had CH and what that meant.

We definitely wanted her, but we already had two other cats that we had previously adopted, and we were unsure of whether our financial situation would allow for a third cat. We were also nervous about how our other cats would react to having a new sister.

When we got our second cat, Sampson, our first cat Delilah took a long time to adjust, and we didn’t want to disrupt the balance. Sophie’s foster mom assured us that we could take our time in making a decision, as the chances of Sophie being adopted by someone else were fairly slim.

She also told us that when she first took in Sophie as a foster that she was advised to put Sophie down because of her CH. I couldn’t believe my ears – how could someone put such a fun-loving, adorable, and sweet cat down just because she walks a little funny?!? Luckily, Sophie’s foster mom didn’t follow that advice – she was taken by Sophie just like we were.

We didn’t go home with Sophie that day. We decided to think about it and make sure that we wouldn’t be getting in over our heads financially by getting a third cat. A few months went by, but neither of us could forget Sophie. We thought about her often but just didn’t feel like we were ready. Finally, back in February of this year, we went to visit PetSmart on a Sunday to get some litter and food for our other two cats.

And Sophie was there. We played with her for a bit and fell in love all over again. But even still, we didn’t take her home that day either. It didn’t take long to make up our minds though.

We called Sophie’s foster mom the next day and told her that we wanted her. Unfortunately, Sophie’s foster mom lived too far away and only came in to town on Sundays for the adoption days, so we had to wait an entire week before we could get her!  It was one long week, that’s for sure!

Sunday couldn’t come soon enough, but when it finally got here, we rushed over to PetSmart. We couldn’t wait to take Sophie home. She was there waiting for us, and her foster mom had made a special litter box for us because Sophie kicks litter and makes messes.

She had bought one of those big plastic Rubbermaid storage bins and cut out a square hole in the front of it – the high walls would help to keep the litter in the box better than a regular littler box. Sophie’s foster mom was sad to see her go (she and her husband had become attached – how could they not?!?), but she was also happy that she would be going to a home that could give her more attention. We promised to send her pictures and videos and to keep her updated on how she’s doing.

We were excited to get Sophie home, but were nervous about how Delilah and Sampson would react. Sampson took to her right away. They started playing and wrestling almost immediately, and to this day they are great friends. Their favorite pastime is chasing each other through the cat tunnel that we got for them – even in the middle of the night!

We have had to close our bedroom door before at night to keep out the noise of Sampson and Sophie rough-housing. Sampson has also made it his purpose to make sure that Sophie stays clean – we often find him bathing her profusely.

Delilah took a couple of weeks to warm up to her, but we have found the two of them cuddling together as they nap. We’ve only had Sophie for about a month and a half, and the two of them get along better and better every day. It is only a matter of time before they are best friends too!

Our little family feels complete now that we have Sophie. She has been such a blessing to us. Our evening entertainment often consists of laughing and watching her, Sampson, and Delilah wrestle, run around, and chase each other up and down the hallway. And at the end of the night we all climb into bed – that is, if my husband and I can find room for ourselves amongst the three fur babies! We sure are thankful for the three of them every day.”

Thanks for sharing, Emily! Click here to read more adoption stories.