Pets have an uncanny ability to work their ways into our families. They are our companions, confidants and co-conspirators. And when they pass away, we mourn the loss and still think of them often. Sometimes, they find a way to reach out from over the Rainbow Bridge to let us know they’re okay, and that they still think of us, too. And so it was with Maddie, the calico cat who was a part of Jeanette’s family until she passed away at the age of 18.
Jeanette and her husband and their daughter went to the APL in the fall of 2017, to pet and play with the kittens. Having recently lost Maddie, they were not looking for a new kitty, just hoping to spend a pleasant day petting and playing with the APL cats waiting for new homes. As they entered one of the group playrooms, they saw a gorgeous white cat perched high on the cat tree, observing everyone and everything around her. Jeanette describes what they saw: “we watched as couple after couple, person after person, drawn in by her beauty, would go up to pet her only to get hissed at, hands batted away, with one man even saying, ‘She’s beautiful but I can’t get past that attitude!’”
The aloof cat’s “cattitude” didn’t faze Jeanette, her husband or her daughter, as Maddie had had a similar disposition. Even after Maddie settled into family life, she retained her spunky demeanor. She had a funny habit of reaching out and “smacking” Jeanette’s husband’s face, exactly three times, perhaps to remind him who was “the boss.”
So, Lumpkin, as she was known then, and her sassy ways didn’t intimidate them in the least. As Jeanette looked up at her, their eyes met, and, Jeanette says, the beauty “stared into my soul.” Her husband got closer, and, suddenly, Lumpkin reached out and smacked him in the face, exactly three times! It seemed as if Maddie had found a way to reach back, and let her family know they were still in her heart. That act, which might’ve put some people off, sealed the deal for Jeanette and her family. This gorgeous, slightly-standoff-ish feline had found her humans.
Lumpkin got a new name—Mei Mei—to go with her new home. And slowly but surely she settled in, just as Maddie had. Jeanette’s husband plays piano, and when Mei Mei hears him, she races to the piano and lies on top of it to listen. She exchanges nose “kisses” with her feline siblings. She loves to play “fetch,” and watch the birds at the bird feeder. She even puts her head up for a pet when she wants some affection. Jeanette explains, “she has become a core member of our little family… She’s learned to trust and has blossomed into a confident, happy, sweet, and energetic cat. She is much loved.”
Thank you, Jeanette, for giving Mei Mei such a wonderful life, and thank you, Maddie, for your help with this match made in heaven!
Information about the Cleveland APL
To meet the adoptable animals at the Cleveland APL, visit our adoption center in Tremont at 1729 Willey Avenue in Cleveland or our PetSmart Charities® Everyday Adoption Center in the Parma PetSmart® store at 6870 Ridge Road. To view all of the animals who are waiting for loving homes online or on your mobile device, visit
www.ClevelandAPL.org or download our free adoptions app on your iOS or Android device.
Our Facebook page is called “Cleveland Animal Protective League”. Here is the link to it for your reference:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cleveland-Animal-Protective-League/29396512928
Our Twitter handle is @Cleveland APL. Here is a link:
https://twitter.com/ClevelandAPL