Louie and the Tidlands: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“I’ve had cats all my life, and until several years ago, a goofy black Lab named Ruby,” says Tammy. “I used to joke with my two kids that when they left for college, I would replace them with a kitten. Kind of a joke … because I did.

“Loki, our lynx point Siamese, has been with us for seven years and was tightly bonded with Ollie, whom we adopted as a kitten in 2015. My kitties typically live between 14-16 years, so when we lost Ollie in May of 2025, I was devastated. I didn’t want to suffer that kind of loss again, and after accumulating a great deal of debt in our heroic attempts to save Ollie, we focused on that and on helping Loki adjust.

“Then, in September, as I was scrolling through Furry Friends’ available cat photos, the face of my Ollie stared out at me. It was Louie, who was being fostered and would be at our local PetSmart adoption event that Saturday. My husband and I showed up early and waited for him to arrive. He was more timid and scared than I’d expected but that made me want him even more.

“I put him in our extra bedroom, and while he spent the first few days needing to be coaxed out from under the bed, he warmed up to me when were alone together. I had brought him home with several toys and slowly introduced toys used by Loki to familiarize him with Loki’s scent. The boys then spent time on either side of the closed door, slowly getting acquainted. After a few weeks, we started leaving the door open, and while there were some hisses, they eventually grew more comfortable in each other’s presence.

“Now, after five months, Louie and Loki have bonded as cuddle buddies! Although Louie is still very skittish around people other than me, he’s slowly learning to trust my husband and even comes out when we have a house full of visitors to watch from a distance.

“His cheap little fuzzy rainbow toy with a bell and feather that came home with him remains his favorite toy. He carries it around and drops it at your feet to play fetch. Surprisingly more vocal than Loki, he loves belly rubs, is absolutely voracious about kitty treats, and while he looks like the beautiful Ollie we still miss and love, he’s brought his own quirks and personality to our home. He wakes me up each morning by loudly demanding breakfast, flops at my feet, rolls over and ‘attacks’ anything that moves.

“Louie has brought so much fun and presence back into our home, and while we’re away at work, I know Loki has someone to snuggle with, play with and occasionally teach how a good cat behaves. We love our boys and look forward to many more years with the love they bring to our family.”

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.