My Kitty's Announcement and Story

My Kitty's Story

I do not remember my birth mother or whether or not I had any brothers or sisters.  I am told that I was born in the Spring of 1998 and somehow came into the hands of the humans at Second Chance Adoption in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.  I was placed in a foster home and bottle fed.

In September of that same year, I was moved to a new foster home with one cat, two kittens and a rat.  (Yes, the foster family had a rat in a big cage as a pet.  They were a little odd.)  I was only there a week when my new family-to-be arrived to see me.

My mom (Kathy Ruble) was wanting a cat for some time.  She teased my dad (Stan Yordy) off and on for quite a while with hints and pleadings for a kitty.  But Dad is allergic to cats.  He even went and got some new tests to make sure.  Besides, he had had a bad experience with a cat before that was forced upon him by an evil roommate and had no desire to repeat the experience.

So Mom was resigned to being kittyless unless Dad died before her.  (Then she could have as many cats as she wants!)  But she wasn't wanting that either.  And so she remained disappointed and tried not to bring it up too much so as not to upset Dad.

But one day in October, Mom and Dad and Greg went to a place called Goebbert's Farm in Hampshire, IL to look for Halloween pumpkins.  Up in the refreshment area of the barn, my Dad (for some reason) pointed out a tiny gray unnamed kitten that was wandering around the grounds:  "Look Honey, a kitty!"  To this day, my dad cannot understand what possessed him to do this as he should have known what would happen.

Lucky for me, this kitty (though not as cute as I am, of course) was used to being picked up by strangers and my mom was able to hold her for a long time.  She looked at my dad with very sad and happy eyes and he says that he "knew it was all over."  I think he means that he realized that they would soon have to have a cat.

My mom was very, very sad after meeting this kitten and she pined for a kitty of her own.  She kept telling my dad that she knew she couldn't have one because he was allergic, but that she really wanted one.  Until finally, one fateful day, he asked her directly, "Baby, do you really want a cat?"  Unable to restrain herself, she blurted out, "MORE THAN ANYTHING!" and hid her head in the bed pillows crying.

Of course, this broke my dad's heart.  One of the last things that he wanted was another cat in his life and have his allergies revived, but he just couldn't refuse.  He told me later that he would do ANYTHING to make her happy.  So he did.  He told her that they could look for a cat.   But he quickly warned her that if it made him physically ill, they would have to return it.  My mom could not believe her ears, but cried for joy.  My dad admitted later that he knew once a cat was in the house, he would never be able to return it and break his lover's heart again.

So the search began.  Stan started calling shelters and kennels and pet stores in search of the perfect pet for their home.   They went to visit some cats in shelters but didn't really find any that they liked enough.  Mom found one in a shelter that she liked, but it was newly found, and could not be considered for adoption for another week.  Lucky for me!

Then Mom found the Second Chance Adoption web site with all kinds of pictures of wonderful cats and kittens.  The first cat that they wanted was named "Peepers."  But the foster parents wouldn't even let them see him unless they would agree to adopt more than one cat.   This was NOT a possibility, and they were disappointed.  Luck was in my favor once again!

Then my picture was posted on the site.   My Mom dreamed of a gray kitten with little white paws.  And here I was with a gray coat, but no white paws to be seen.  Stan called and made appointments to see me in Wheaton and some other kittens in Arlington Heights.  There were no gray cats in the other place.

When they showed up, I was scared and ran away with my friend.  I hadn't really seen that many people yet besides my two sets of foster parents.  But I listened to them talking and snuck out to have a look.   Stan caught me peeking around the corner looking at them and I knew I had his interest.  From their conversation, I figured that he was the key to my getting a good home.  If I could convince him that I should be their pet, then I was in!

So I let him pick me up and didn't fight or claw or anything.  I think Mom was a little jealous because I was still scared and didn't stay in her arms as long.  They left and I had to wait, unsure of their decision.

I found out later that Mom and Dad had a long discussion in the car ride back to their home.  There was a pet show coming up that Mom wanted to go to, but Stan thought that I was perfect for them.  My Mom loves me so much now that I can't believe that she  wanted to look at other cats after seeing me that day.  I am surprised, but I'm not mad at her.  But I was surprised to learn that it was my Dad who had to convince her that they should look no further because I was the "purrfect" kitty for them.

They arranged to come get me a few weeks later.   In the meantime, they went out and got all the stuff they would need for me and did lots of research on what they needed to do to take good care of me.  Aren't they so sweet?  I was scared on the ride there.  I don't like to be in carriers or in cars.  But Mom sat in the back seat and talked with me the whole way.  So by the time we arrived at my new home, I liked her an awful lot.  I think she fell in love with me that day!

Inside the house, I came out of the carrier slowly to check out the scene.  It was HUGE!  I couldn't believe all of the space and places to go!  They followed me as I wandered around the house, upstairs and down.  They showed me to my new litter box in my own bathroom, which I used right away so that they wouldn't worry and think about taking me back.  But then it was too much at once and I found a nice quiet place under something called a futon and stayed there most of the time for the rest of the week.  I liked it here and didn't want to leave!

Though I did find a hiding place under the stereo shelves the very first night and made my Mom frantic with worry when they couldn't find me.  Greg found me after about an hour of searching.  I thought they would be mad and take me back, but they weren't.  They were so glad to see that I was okay and still in the house that Mom cried and cried for joy.

Well, I figured that if they wanted to keep me after that, I wouldn't have to worry any more.  And Dad's allergies stopped bothering him after about a month, so it looks like I get to stay after all in the best house with the best family in the whole world!

- My Kitty -
August, 1999