It's been a little more than a year now since my parents found me at the Mount Vernon PETCO and brought me home. I wanted to send you a note to say thanks for giving me the chance to live such a charmed life with my new family.
When you rescued me, I was an unwed teenage mother known as "Dixie" living with lots of other cats in a home out in the county somewhere. You took me to your shelter, cleaned me up and renamed me "Raven."
My new parents met me on March 13, 2010. They weren't really looking for a cat, and I wasn't feeling super sociable. My mom told me that when she first saw me, I was laying in my litter box swatting at the cats in the cages next to me. She liked my spunk, and my dad liked how I purred when he picked me up. It must have been fate, because the next thing I knew, I walked out of my cardboard kitty box into my new home.
The first few weeks were interesting. My two doggy siblings weren't quite prepared for a cat to take over their house. Fortunately, they learned that I wasn't a squeaky toy – and I learned that they're actually pretty fun to spend time with (when they're not trying to sniff my butt, that is).
My new house is great. My parents are growing me catnip in the backyard, and I have tons of fun rattly toys to swat around in the house. I have lots of windows to sit in and two cuddly fleece beds to curl up in. When I get bored, I like to attack the big stuffed dog toys – and sometimes the dogs. I like to chase them up and down the stairs and around the house. I've even found new foods to enjoy – like cantaloupe, yellow pepper and tortilla chips.
When I'm not pestering my parents to try new foods, I have a pretty easy life. In the mornings, I make sure to jump on the bed to wake up my mom so she isn't late for work. Then I head downstairs to make sure she feeds my doggy brother and sister. She gives me a couple kibbles so I don't steal the dogs' food when they're not looking. I greet my dad when he gets home, then spend most of my day napping, either in my bed or with my dad in his bed. He works at night, so I have an excuse to spend most of the day sleeping. Of course, I make sure that I wake him up in time for work, too.
When my mom gets home from work, my brother and sister and I greet her at the door. We all get lots of hugs, and then we have dinner together. At night, after mom goes to sleep, I play with my toys for a while until I get tired – then I head upstairs to snuggle in my parents' bed.
I don't know what my life would have been like if you hadn't rescued me, but I can't imagine what life would be like without my great family. Thank you for giving me a second chance.
Love, Raven
