Happy Tails: Calloway

Calloway was brought into MRFRS as a stray at eight years young. Because he was found with a wound of unknown origin, we were required to quarantine him for four months.

He was very shy around people (but loved other cats) so we think perhaps he was out on his own fending for himself for quite some time. After seven months with us, he began accepting gentle pats and attention from shelter staff he grew to know.

After spending a year at the shelter, Calloway found the perfect match with a new human mom who was willing to give him time to trust her and a 12-year-old feline sister. Here’s an update on how he is doing, one year after he was adopted:

“Here is an update on Calloway, whom I adopted one year ago. I saw the post on Facebook that he had been at the shelter for exactly one year. I already had an adoption application on file; it had been six months since my 18-year-old cat passed away and [it was] time to find a friend for my other kitty. Although Calloway was shy and not the typical friendly, purring cat I would have normally selected, the staff at the shelter assured me that he loved other cats. My heart went out to him and even if he liked my other cat more than he liked me, he would have a calm stable loving home.

The first two weeks at home he hid under the guest bed and behind the sofa. He would slip out at night to eat and use the litter box, sometimes stopping to peek at us. One morning he meowed and just walked in my room where my kitty and I were awake but still in bed. Gradually after that he would socialize with us briefly in the morning, then again at suppertime, spending the bulk of the day in hiding.

Clearly, he was interested in my other cat, staring at her and following her around. She has done well in accepting him from the start. Although Calloway continued to socialize with us more frequently, he would run away if I moved suddenly. By now, he was venturing up on my bed but would immediately jump off at the slightest movement. Within the next couple of months, he became less skittish as I adapted my own behavior, moving more slowly around the house. When he began laying around in the middle of the kitchen floor, progress was made! The biggest surprise came when he jumped in the living room chair to sit with me and soon, he was in my lap. It was certainly cozy this summer, on the sun porch, when both cats insisted on getting in my lap at the same time!

He is a sweet and talkative cat who loves to be petted and will give head butts in bed at night. He spends a lot of time looking out the front picture window. He folds his big paws (he is polydactyl) up under him on the windowsill and looks like he is kneeling to pray. His prayers are occasionally answered when a squirrel appears in the window box. When I decorated the Christmas tree this year, he was the first cat to claim a spot underneath. Most of the day he spends curled up in either of his two cat beds (two, because the other cat does not do cat beds). At night he curls up on the bed with me.

He was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which we have under control with medication. When we first started treating him, he reverted to his skittish ways, but he is coming around again. Calloway is happy and very loved in this family. He has brought much fun and joy to us. It still makes me sad to think how long he waited to find a home. I am so glad that he found that home with us.”