Fact: sometimes the eyes do not have it.
If they did, Tanya would have been gone from Tabby’s Place a long time ago. As it turns out, it’s a good thing the girl with the green platter-eyes wasn’t scooped up for her beauty…because she was meant to be chosen for her spirit.
For almost two years, it was an unwritten law at Tabby’s Place. On your first trip to Suite B, you were required to comment on Tanya’s eyes. And how could you not?
Green. Glorious. And roughly the size of two glassy Ferris wheels. Swooning was non-optional.
But our little calico was not about to be loved on a superficial level. We could rhapsodize about her eyes and her coat of many colors all day, but Tanya was not impressed. More to the point, she was not interested in letting us touch her, or get within 3 feet of her.
Bring out the wand toys, however, and everything would change in the blink of…well, a Ferris wheel-sized eye. In a flash the beauty became a huntress, unashamed to bounce off walls (and off Spike and Ace) and leap tall buildings cubbies after the elusive feather. You can see her in action starting at 0:36 seconds here.
Wand toy time was Tanya’s first hint that human beans could love her on her own terms…and bring her the megadoses of “happy” she craved.
And make no mistake: Tanya craved “happy.”
I recently read that researchers have found that 15% of felines are naturally, from kittenhood, more timid than the rest. They are more leery of strangers, less sweet on new situations, and an all-around cautious crowd.
The researchers found that the same traits are common in exactly the same proportion of humans.
It’s just the way they – felines and human beans – were made. But let’s make no mistake: even the most timid among us crave “happy.”
So the goal was never to change Tanya’s essence – not that we could do so, any more than we could make those glorious eyes purple. It was simply to find and stoke her happiness…and to find the family who only had eyes for a certain shy calico.
This past week, Tanya’s ultimate delivery of “happy” finally arrived. Our girl is now in her forever home…and Team Tanya is willing to spend however many eons are required to prove to Tanya that she’s safe, cherished, and loved for all that she is, inside and out.
I have a feeling it won’t be long before those legendary green eyes are closing blissfully as her human beans pet her silky fur.
But even if it takes time, Tanya is in the right hands and hearts. Team Tanya has the eyes to see all that’s glorious about their girl, and they love her just the way she is. What more could any of us dream of?
Its so refreshing to read all the good news coming out of Tabby’s Place! Congratulations to Tanya, Kim, Thai, and Sam and their respective awesome adopters. I wish them all many beautiful years together! 🙂
Another great ending, best of everything to Tanya and her new family. I’m sure that with a little patience she will develop more trust and then be prepared for a lot of petting and lap time. Have a great future.
It sounds like Tanya has been scooped up by just the right people. There’s nothing better than being loved and appreciated for exactly who you are, furry quirks and wand toys and all. 🙂
What a beauty! So happy she found a family that will let her be who she is meant to be!
What a gorgeous girl. She looks a lot like my Leia… those green eyes just take you over.
We are Tanya’s new mom & dad! Also in our family is “Miss Kitty” a white tabby that we adopted about 18 months ago. Tanya & Miss Kitty are not yet buddies but we hope this will happen in the not to distant future. Tanya wants to play with Miss Kitty but Miss Kitty isn’t sure she wants to share her home yet. Tanya is extremely comfortable in her surroundings, very curious, and we are thrilled to have her here. Thanks to Tabby’s place for taking such good care of her.