Last Fall, we had to put our precious, almost 19 year-old, cat “Baby” to sleep, after she became very ill. She was the sweetest, most gentle and loving black cat there ever was and lived a good, long life indoors. She snuggled, she played with my daughter, and they had grown very close in their years together. 
Her passing left a giant hole in our hearts and an absence in our home and we miss her every single day! Baby the Cat was our “person”. 
As Thanksgiving neared, I realized that this would be the first holiday season in 19 years, that we would be pet-less. My daughter has been extremely emotional about the loss of our cat and began asking for another cat, specifically a kitten. I even overheard her ask Santa for one. Luckily, Santa told her that a kitten was a gift that she’d have to ask her parents for. 
I couldn’t see any reason NOT to get another cat and I really wanted to adopt one because there are far too many animals sitting in shelters and rescues that need a good home. I’ve always taught my daughter about the importance of animal adoption. 
If you are looking to get a new family pet, there are numerous shelters and pet rescues to turn to. I would definitely say that it’s not easy or quick to do a pet adoption, but it’s totally worth it when you do! 
We were so blessed to find “Mrs. Donner” in our local animal shelter, right before Christmas. She was found on the streets as a “stray cat”. We knew she was the one because she “talked” to us through her cage when we walked by.
She has the cutest voice and is definitely a talker. She also has the most beautiful green eyes, don’t you think? What we didn’t know at first was that she had recently delivered a litter of kittens. (that’s a whole other story) 
After we put in our application to adopt “Mrs. Donner” we had to wait a couple of weeks to be able to bring her home until all of her milk was dried up AND until she was spayed. We continued to visit her in the shelter on a daily basis though. We spent time with her in one of the rooms because we wanted her to know us and our scent. We wanted her to know we were now “her people”. 
On the day we got to bring our new kitty home, we showed up with a cat carrier to take her home. She was a bit skeptical and still doesn’t prefer loud noises but I swear she was smiling once we got her home! Actually, she smiles a lot! I think we really lucked out because she doesn’t use her claws AT ALL or bite. If she does grab on, it’s so gentle and just to play. 
We renamed her “Lucy Belle” and her nickname is “Luz”, which means “light” in Spanish. She’s adapted really well in our home in just a short amount of time. 
I don’t know if Lucy realizes what the internet even is, but I love to post lots of pictures of her on my Instagram because I’m so proud to be her owner! We want Lucy to be an example of how much potential a shelter cat has and hopefully inspire others to adopt. She also has her own Instagram and Twitter accounts because we want her to be a face for the animals who need homes since there are way too many! 
It wasn’t easy to adopt a pet and it definitely wasn’t a quick process. However, adopting an animal is the right thing to do and anyone wanting to get a pet should give one (or more) of these homeless animals a place in their heart and a place in their home!
Have you ever adopted a pet or considered doing so? It’s the best!
Love it, Wendy!! We adopted our cat Kula from the Humane Society in Fairfield, CA almost 12 years ago! About a year later, while living on Travis AFB, I took in a stray cat while my husband was deployed and, oops, she was pregnant! She had 4 kittens, 2 who we gave to loving military families, and 2 we kept, Lucy and Fez, who have both unfortunately gone to kitty heaven, though Mama cat lives happily at my in-laws house!
Thank you for bringing awareness to adoption!
Xo, your friend Rachel