Touley was betrayed.

This is how it happened. After nearly a decade, her family got a puppy. Not surprisingly, the puppy threw Touley’s world into a tailspin, and out of fear and confusion she began peeing around the house. So what did her family decide to do?

Why, get rid of her, of course.

They’d had Touley since she was a kitten, and yet these people concluded that she was disposable, like garbage. The husband, in fact, wanted her to be euthanized because she was “ruining the furniture.” When I suggested they rehome the puppy, they said, “Not a chance.”

Not a chance. That is exactly what these people gave Touley, after so many years: not even a chance. All I can say is I certainly hope the new puppy doesn’t pee on the furniture.

As one of my brilliant Instagram friends commented, “We need to be licensed to drive a vehicle, but anyone can take on living beings and have 0 accountability. Something is broken here.” I agree! Many things are broken when it comes to our connection to animals. But there was nothing “broken” about sweet, gentle Touley. The entire time she was with me, she was perfect with the litter box, was always eager to cuddle, and loved her toys…and I loved spoiling her with a new one every day. But Touley got her second chance anyway, no thanks to her cruel family.

Touley heads home with her wonderful new mom, who has adopted only adult cats. How special is she?

It’s still kitten season, of course, and my house is filled with adorable nuggets who need loving homes, and my Instagram is filled with beautiful kitten adoptions. But this month, I decided to dedicate my blog to my adult fosters whose resilience always moves me so deeply.

To be honest, every adult foster takes a piece of my heart. In fact, I bet that when Touley got to her new home, her little head was still damp with all the tears I shed as I said goodbye to her. Fostering or adopting an adult cat or dog is always so meaningful to me, and anyone who has rescued or fostered an adult animal knows what I mean. Their eyes say thank you every time they look at you.

Coco Chanel is another adult whose story breaks your heart. Imagine passing away and your family members dump your beloved 20-year-old cat at a shelter. Granted, it was North Shore Animal League America, so it was a wonderful no-kill shelter, but still…she was so confused and sad. I posted her story and photo on June 10, and as I was about to pick her up to foster her one of my IG friends emailed me to tell me she would love to welcome her into her heart and home!

When I hear stories like Touley’s and Coco’s…or read the 50 or so emails I get every day from people who want to surrender their cats for often the most trivial reasons…or learn about cats left to wander outside and get injured one way or another…I get so angry, and I am not an angry person. And then I get sad, thinking of all the ones I can’t help. I sometimes don’t know how I do this.

But then I think of all the fantastic adopters who make my work so gratifying, people who adopt adult cats without hesitation. And recently it seems there have been many of these inspirational adoptions.

For one, there was 10-year-old, super affectionate Chyna (photos above), a lovely, magnificent chunkette whose human sadly passed away leaving no one to care for her. In my opinion, Chyna is one of those kitties who is actually a person. (I bet some of you know what I mean.) In addition, she is perfect, but for one thing: she’s diabetic and needs daily insulin shots, which anyone who has ever had a diabetic kitty knows is very easy. It didn’t take long for the applications to pile up for Chyna, so many people were vying to be her forever family! We chose one (above right), and they are incredibly lucky.

No matter what, I always foster-to-adopt with adult kitties, and Snoop-Kitty is a perfect example of why this is so important. A gorgeous 4-year-old Persian, he arrived near the end of May. Not surprisingly, given how gorgeous he is, he had a lot of applicants, and we thought we’d chosen the best. But it happens sometimes. Even though he’d been a good boy, the adopter quickly realized she wasn’t ready for the responsibility, and so we welcomed Snoop back with open arms. I was so sorry that I’d picked the wrong adopter for this sweet kitty. But then, on June 13, this patient guy went home again, this time to a fantastic family. His name is Sam now, and he’s the monarch of all he surveys.

Splendid Sam in his new home with a view.

And I’ll never forget Mama Petunia and Mama Porridge, young adults whose babies all found great homes. Then it was their turn. Petunia (below left) had a very difficult delivery and lost one of her three nuggets. Things went more smoothly for Porridge (below right), who was found on the street very pregnant. She had her six perfect nuggets, and was then adopted by the compassionate young couple who found her to begin with. A perfect circle.

I was also thrilled to coordinate four fantastic adult adoptions in Florida, including Snaps (below), a special-needs one-year-old kitty who was born with no eyes but whose personality and gumption are unstoppable. His lucky adopters adore him.

Also in Florida were 6-year-old Mia (Russian Blue, left below) and 10-year-old Cuddles (Tonkinese, right below), both declawed. OUCH! Their owner passed away and they were confused…until an awesome adopter took them home and renamed them Jacqueline and Onassis! They don’t mind their adorable new names one bit!

Jacqueline (above right) has made herself at home; Onassis is shier but making progress.

Body language says it all! Below, at left, is Sofia, a declawed (OUCH!) Florida foster who was shy and tentative after her owner passed away and she had nowhere to go. And yep! That’s Sofia, too, below right, after just a few days with her new adopter and her brother, Jaspurr. Quite a beautiful transformation.

Adult pets often have such heartbreaking backstories that they can make me wonder what is wrong with human beings. Then, just when I’m filled with doubt, other people show up with open arms and hearts and my faith in humans gets a second wind. Bottom line, doing animal rescue gives me insight into the worst and the best in people, and overall, I must say, the best far outweighs the worst.

xo
Beth

P.S. I imagine you’re wondering about my recent boyfriends, Bubba and Jerome. Well Bubba has moved on and has probably forgotten me: that’s how happy he is in his new home. And Jerome? Well, that boyfriend’s back. But we’re working on finding him a family who will help him get over me once and for all.

P.P.S. Oh, and guess who had a birthday on June 10!? It’s not too late to say Happy Birthday to Pebble, my beautiful birthday girl. The naughtiest kitty in the world and I love her with all my heart.