Mia and Judie Stanton : Furry Friends Fur-Ever
“My ‘boys’ chose Mia when she was just over 3 months old,” says Judie. “My ‘boys’ are Tag and Jax, two 10-year-old Yorkshire Terriers, and we were visiting PetSmart when they found her. Then named Maxine, she was in a carrier which her foster mom had set on the floor near the boys, and as she pressed her nose to the mesh of the carrier, Tag and Jax rushed over to meet her with their tails gaily wagging. She wasn’t at all afraid of them and they didn’t ‘see’ her as a cat.
“I haven’t had a cat in more than 40 years, but I had actually added a cat carrier to my Christmas wish list last year and received one from my grandson. Our vet suggested I get a kitty at least seven months old so that she would have learned some manners, but it quickly became apparent that we weren’t leaving PetSmart without Mia and a basket of supplies!
“Bold Tag convinced Mia that he would always be in charge within a few days of her arrival at our home. Initially, I set her up in the laundry room and put gates in the door so that all three pets could see but not touch each other. The second morning after she moved in, I couldn’t find her: she had made her way to the back of the clothes washer! After that frightening experience, I put her in a mesh playpen in the family room. She still sleeps in the playpen and goes into it when my ‘grand dog’ visits. During the day she sleeps wherever she wants and has several favorite spots.
“It didn’t take long for Mia to fit in here. She still likes to try and tackle my shy Yorkie, Jax, so we still have some work to do. Mia loves crawling under blankets and playing in, or getting into, a pan of water. She also loves finding small spaces to hide herself or her favorite toy: a small ‘pounce & play’ toy that looks like a piece of wrapped candy with a face on it. After she removes the wrapping, she chases the soft part all around the hardwood floor, hunting and then hiding it.
“While she wasn’t a fan of being touched in her first month with us, these days whenever I sit on the sofa, she’s right there hoping I’ll pet her. Now 7 months old, Mia entertains herself and has mostly learned good manners. She has livened up our household and makes me laugh out loud at least a dozen times a day! Who needs funny cat videos?”
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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.
