Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week 2011

This is the first in a series. You can read Post #2 here.

It's that time of year again! Petfinder has designated September 17-25 "Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week." What makes a pet "less adoptable"? There could be many factors: special needs, blindness/deafness, FIV+, black coats, or advanced age. Sometimes, these pets linger in the shelter, waiting for the right family to come along and adopt them.

This week, I'm going to turn my blog over to some guest bloggers to help spotlight some different pets who are, for one reason or another, less adoptable. I'm teaming up with my pals over at A Tonk's Tail...err, Tale... and together we'll share the stories of pets who, on the surface, might not seem very adoptable, but once you get to know them, you will learn that they make great additions to the family.

Also, as a look back, you can check out my posts from last year's Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week. Last year I posted about both cats and dogs, but this year I will focus on cats because, well, there are a lot of "less adoptable" cats to talk about! You probably have a few "less adoptable" cats at your local shelter, too, so be sure to give them a second look if you're thinking about adopting.

My Adoption Story

This post is my entry into the BlogPaws Blog Carnival Contest sponsored by BISSELL Homecare, Inc.

I had been surrendered by my family to a Kansas City area shelter. They said I was an "attention hog". They said I was jealous of the other cats in the house. They said the recent move upset me.

I was lonely and sad living in the hug room at the shelter. The volunteers were very kind to me though. One in particular, named Cat, loved me a lot and was thinking about adopting me. Another volunteer had the same thoughts. That volunteer came back the day after we first met and told me she was taking me home with her! That volunteer is now my Mom. I felt a little bad, because Cat was so nice, but things have worked out beautifully.

See, Mom needed me as much as I needed her. She was living in a new city and was all alone. She didn't have any friends or family nearby. She works from home, so she didn't even have any coworkers to talk to. She was lonely and sad living in her little apartment.

When I moved in, we took away the loneliness for each other. She let me start my Twitter account and my blog. We started meeting people and anipals online. A lot of those online friends have turned into real life friends. Mom lets me know everyday that I am loved and I do the same for her. Life is much brighter for both of us now.

These days, Mom and I blog about adopting pets. It's more than giving a homeless pet a home. Sometimes it can really turn someone's life around. It did for Mom...and for me.

Featured Furry: Butter

I usually focus on pets that are harder to adopt or have been at Wayside Waifs for a long time, but this week I'm going to post about...

A KITTEN!

This is Butter. He is 4 months old and cute as can be. That's the problem. If he doesn't get adopted VERY SOON Mom is going to bring him home. He's the kind of cat she always talks about. She seems to think that orange striped cats are cool. She's also fascinated by polydactyl cats. Guess what? Yup. Butter has thumbs.

Thank goodness he doesn't have freckles on his nose; he would have moved in last night. So please, help me out here. Get Butter adopted quickly. I'm sure tons of families would love a 4 month old, male, polydactyl, orange tabby kitten. Get him out of Wayside before Mom does something silly and adopts him. I'm an only kitty type of guy. I can't share my Mom with Butter-I can barely share her with Dad!

Wordless Wednesday: Our New Neighbor

Tuna Juice!

Mom and Dad are going to the zoo today. In order to save money, they take a little picnic with them. Since Mom made tuna salad for the sandwiches, that means that I got the tuna juice!

I don't like most people food (which is probably a good thing since I have such a sensitive tummy) but I do enjoy tuna juice! I don't drink it all in one sitting, instead I drink a little bit then save the rest for later. (I do that with my Greenies treats sometimes too. I like to have a couple left to eat later.)

Having the tuna juice almost makes up for the fact that Mom and Dad are going to leave me by myself for a while today. Almost.

Product Review: CatIt Self Groomer with Catnip

Last month I posted about some gifts Mom took to the kitties at Wayside. Those toys came from Big Apple Pet Supply @BigApplePet and Steven Spitz aka @veganpetman. Because Mr. Spitz is such a cool guy and he knew I wasn't going to get to play with the toys, he threw in a little something for me! He sent me a self groomer made by CatIt.

It comes with the frame that attaches to any flat or corner surface (Mom picked a corner for mine), plastic bristles, sticky mounting strips and my favorite part of all, CATNIP!

Mom put it all together (with my help-that catnip smelled soooo good!) and put it on a corner between the dining room and the kitchen where I already like to rub up against the wall. There weren't many directions, but after looking at it for a little bit, she figured out where the nip was supposed to go and the best place to put a couple of mounting strips.

Let me tell you, this thing is great! I like to be groomed by Dad, but with my CatIt Self Groomer, I can get that feeling anytime I want. I love to rub my cheeks up against it and walk against it when I go into the kitchen.

Check out all the hair in the bristles! That's after having it up less than two weeks!

The CatIt Self Groomer is a really neat product. It's fairly easy to put together and mount. I love to use it and it helps get loose hair out of my coat. It doesn't take up much space and can be put in a number of places. I don't know how easy it's going to come off the wall though or if it will come off cleanly. I guess we'll find that out when it comes time to move. All in all, I (and Mom) would recommend this nifty grooming tool!

Disclosure: I received this product at no cost from Big Apple Pet Supply. All opinions expressed in this post about the product are my honest and true feelings about the product. The fact that I received the product for free did not influence my review.

Featured Furry: October

This week's featured furry is a sad little kitty named October. She is a 7 year old, domestic shorthair, dilute tortie. She has the saddest eyes I've ever seen on a kitty cat.

Poor October is sad because her family left her at Wayside Waifs as the result of a divorce. Unfortunately, that's something that people don't plan for and they really should. They work out custody arrangements for children, but pets very often are surrendered to shelters.

October is still in the back at Wayside and isn't on the website yet, but she should be available for adoption very soon. When she is, she will make a great addition to a family. She loves to be petted and really needs the attention.

Please send nice thoughts to October to make her time at Wayside Waifs short so she can move on and mend her broken heart.