Time to share a little about me…….. The not so crazy cat lady!

I have been in love with and fascinated by cats from before the day I was born.  Yes, I said before.  When my mom was pregnant with me our cat Sandy slept on her belly and then in the bassinet after I arrived.  So I am here, literally, to tell you the myth is not true and cats don’t steal babies breath!  Over the course of my 48 years on this earth I have always had a cat or cats by my side.  There was Sandy, Jeremiah, Linus, Morrissey, Ferris, Harry and my beloved

Indiana.  My mother always said that Ferris was my familiar and who am I to say she was wrong, but Indiana was my very special cat.  He was beautiful, slightly aloof, smart as a whip and always there when I needed him.  His passing shook me deeply and was the beginning of my path in life changing for certain.  Brodie was his best friend and is now 12 years old.  He missed Indiana as much as I did.  So that led us both to opening our home and hearts over the past 6 years to Jonesey, Marlin and Finnegan.  The fabulous foursome!!!

They are all fabulous in different ways.  Brodie is the extrovert and everyones favorite.  He is the ultimate lap cat.  Next is Jonesey who healed my broken heart after Indy passed and I will always love him for that gift.  Marlin is the “Buddha cat”.  Not only is he shaped like Buddha, but he always keeps me calm and centered with his unconditional love.  Lastly there is Finnegan.  I call him “the happiest cat in the world”.  He spent his first few months in a colony then got sick and was brought to the shelter where I volunteer.  He almost didn’t make it, but he is a fighter and not only survived, but became my inspiration.  

Thanks to my friend Diana who asked me to keep an eye on Finnegan, then named Shiloh, I began this journey that led my eventually to starting my dream business of The Contented Cat.  Finnegan was completely unsocialized and quite afraid of human contact.  His only interactions with people prior to the shelter had been through feeding.  His colony had caretakers and that was his only contact.  By the time I met him he was living with other cats in a gazebo at the shelter, but no one could touch him.  This is when he became my project.  It took weeks of gaining his trust.  It was slow, but steady and with the help of treats we started to make progress.  First just taking a treat from my hand, then letting the hand touch him and eventually petting.  After a few months I was able to pick him up and actually give belly rubs.  (His favorite thing to this day.)  The thing was that leaving him there at the shelter every day got harder and harder.  He would watch me leave by climbing up to the top of thee tree to see me for as long as he could.  When I would arrive for my next visit he would race to the door to meet me.  I was a goner…..   

So here we are four years later with my fabulous foursome and my new business.  It had always been there waiting for me to see it.  My passion was always inside me waiting, but I wasn’t seeing the signs.  It took illness to knock me off me feet and out of work.  Being out of work eventually led me to volunteering.  Volunteering introduced me to hundreds of other cats who ignited the spark and started me on this journey, but it was Finnegan who challenged me to learn more.  So many cats at the shelter and in my pet sitting have challenged me and pushed me and guided me to where I am now.  I am living my dream and loving every minute of it!

(I have to give a special shout out to my kitty friend Pluto who challenged me and then trusted me and I will love him every day for that)  

www.thecomtentedcat.net

tcc.behavior@gmail.com