Today's Special: My Gotcha Day

Oh boy! Peeps gave me my very own blog as my Gotcha Day present! Just goes to show what one little housecat and alot of loud meowing can do!

So today is my Gotcha Day. 4 years ago, in a little shelter in Maryland, I met my peeps for the first time. I was just relaxing...paw stretched thru the bars of the cage...trying to look cool. On the inside I was really hoping that someone would come along soon and want me to become part of their family. I was 2 yrs old and up to that point, had spent my life on the streets...

One day in 2006 I was picked up and taken to a place I call the "bad place." There I was given a little cage to live in, in a room filled with lots of other cats. I was terrified. Some would be snatched from their cages never to return. From what I heard, they went to sleep forever. I didn't know what that meant, but I just knew I really didn't want that to happen to me. Then one day, different people came. They looked at all of us and picked a few to go with them. I was one of the chosen ones! At first I was scared b/c I didn't know what was happening, but after a few minutes I realized I was being taken to a place that didn't believe in making animals sleep forever. Don't get me wrong...I love naps just as much as the next cat, but this forever sleep thing just didn't sound like a good idea to me! So off I went to the shelter that would become my home for the next few months. I was treated really well and I liked it much more than the "bad place." I was even given a blue collar and my very own number! It seemed that most of the other cats were also given names, but for some reason, I just got a number. Anyway...sometimes visitors would turn up to look at me and the other kitties that were there. And sometimes we'd get held and played with by the visitors. And if they laughed alot and made happy sounds then usually one of us would leave the shelter for what I learned was called a Forever Home. And this Forever Home was definitely what I wanted...

So on 21 April 2006, in walked some visitors. They came over to my cage, played with me thru the bars and scratched my head. Then they walked away. I'll admit I felt a little glum. But then they came back! With the shelter lady! And the magic key! The cage door was opened, I was picked up and cuddled. Oh it felt so nice...I started purring right away. The visitors started making those happy sounds that I told you about earlier and I thought "Oh boy!! Could it be?" The visitors put me down on the floor and...as they discovered that day...when I get excited and happy, my tail shakes, falls forward and lays on my head! Apparently this was a good thing because they started laughing and I heard them say "he is just the cutest cat I've ever seen. Look at his tail. It's like it's on backwards." As far as I was concerned, my tail could be on forwards, backwards or sideways as long as these visitors kept making those happy sounds! And they did. And then it happened. I heard it. "We want to adopt this one. He definitely needs a Forever Home."

And the rest, as they say, is history. Herbie history. I was brought home that very day and my life as a pampered housecat began. And those very nice visitors became my very special peeps. They decided to name me Herbie because, as they said, "he really is such a lovebug." As I write this today, 4 yrs later, I know I really lucked out. I have a wonderful home, great brothers and sisters (to boss around), fantastic peeps, every toy imaginable and a food dish to call my very own. There's always a hand to pet me, arms to hug me, lips to kiss me and a soft voice to say "I love you Herbie." What more could one little street cat want?

xoxo