In it for the Squee

Life has a funny way of paying us back for what we do – like getting a "package" from a customer when you're a delivery driver and meant to be the one delivering goods. 

Off on the road, a long list of addresses ahead of you to dispatch the respective goods at homes who have ordered something. We all know the joy of receiving a package after making an online purchase, but in the story below, the deliverer comes out with a surprise gift. He delivers a certain package to a home, but before he can drive away, he notices a little kitten right under his car. He tires to get her to budge, but it's no use. He speaks to his customer, and she gives him the thumbs up to take the cat and enjoy her. He comes home with a gift himself, a little kitten to love furrever. 

Gaining the trust of a stray cat is hard. Gaining the trust of an abandoned asthmatic 8-year-old cat is way harder. 

Abandoning a cat is a terrible enough thing to do. Abandoning an asthmatic 8-year-old cat after you were the ones who caused his asthma in the first places… we could not hate people like that more. We could never imagine doing that to an animal. And yet, despite how unthinkable it is, some people actually do it. Some people decide that these innocent, adorable animals are more trouble than they are worth. And instead of looking for a different home for them or for someplace to take them, they just abandon these cats, leaving them to fend for themlseves. 

Gaining the trust of cats like that is no easy feat. And still, some people - some genuinely good people - try. They work hard, for months, to slowly coax these cats close, to get these cats to trust them. And then they work even harder to get them used to living indoors. They do it because they know it is the right thing for these cats, that it will give them the best chance at survival. They do it because they know these cats are worth it - every second of it. 

Every cat has their own weird little habit. If you haven't encountered your cat's yet, then you will. 

This is true for all cats. They all have something weird that they are obsessed with. You might not know what it is yet. Heck, maybe they don't even know what it is yet. But they will eventually, and so will you. One day, during a completely normal moment, you will bring something into your house, or you will make something, or you will drop something, and a dormant part of your cat's brain will awaken. Without any warning. 

You might find out that your cat is obsessed with snap peas, and it will thenceforth be your duty to constantly buy them. Or maybe you will find out that your cat loves sitting on puzzles, and will not give up any opportunity to do so. Maybe you will find out that your cat loves to watch The Grinch, and will demand that you turn the movie on over and over. Or maybe your cat will do what this one does, and every single time that you open the fridge door, they will sprint - at top speed - toward it, sit inside, and screaming. Maybe. You don't know until you know. 

We asked, and you delivered. Your "that's the one" cat stories melted our hearts.

If you've been here long enough, you know that there's nothing we love more than a heartwarming cat adoption story. Whether it's a cat who surprisingly appeared by the meowgic of the Cat Distribution System, or a cat who helped someone just as they helped them, if a cat is adopted into a forever home, a loving family, a safe space - we always want to know about it. It's the purrfect recipe to warm our hearts during this cold winter.

So we asked you over on our Facebook and Instagram to describe the meowment you knew that "This cat is the one. This cat comes home with me. This cat is mine, and I'm theirs." You made us laugh, you made us cry, and you thawed our souls like no other thing. We love our online feline family, and we love every single one of your cats. You're ameowzing.