I have good news…and I have bad news.

Let’s start with the bad: our ride on the Gus Bus has been very short indeed.

But that’s because of some very good news: Gus has been adopted!

At Tabby’s Place we’ve learned that, when an especially amazing cat takes a especially long time to get adopted, there’s always a good reason: there is an especially spectacular family worth waiting for.

Although Gus was at Tabby’s Place for less than a year, we were all perplexed that he wasn’t adopted long ago.

Let’s review Gus’ glories. There’s the magnificent beauty, evocative of a Never-ending Story creature; the warmth he shines towards people and cats (and probably dogs and mice and mole rats too); and that big, beautiful love-soul that radiates from his every handsome pore.

Although every cat in Suite FIV and every human in his orbit wanted to get aboard the Gus Bus, no adopter was forthcoming.

Until they arrived.

It was almost closing time at Tabby’s Place when a fella we’ll call Pappy arrived with two little girls under the age of 5 (let’s call the older one Cute and the little one Cutelet). The family had loved and lost cats and dogs before, and were seeking a gentle, loving feline to rule their home with a velvet paw. Within five minutes of chatting with the trio, I had a feeling – and this feeling was utterly unrelated to the too-spicy veggie burger I’d eaten for lunch.

No, it was a magical kind of feeling, sweet and certain: They were meant for Gus.

II went through the motions of introducing them to all the crazy kittens in our nursery. Cute was smitten with the itty-bitty beings, and squealed with delight as Brian and Thorn sat on her feet. Cutelet, however, wrinkled her brow. She wasn’t so sure about these ultra-tiny cats, and made this clear as only a 1.5-year-old can do: crying in terror.

And so we went down the hall to another suite.

Suite FIV.
Gus’ suite.

Within moments, Cutelet was chanting – in the way only a 1.5-year-old can do – “Gus! Gus! Gus! Guuus!” Pappy was in love. Cute was in love. Gus was very much in love. We went out to the solarium to meet his suitemates, and Gus lumbered after us as quickly as Gus can lumber. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him move so quickly.

A few short days later, the fourth member of the family (we’ll call her Mamma) came to bring Gus home.

As for Gus’ FIV? This family of four special souls wasn’t daunted. They are happy to devote the extra vigilance and TLC to make sure Gus is happy, healthy and radiantly Gus well into his golden years.

The best is yet to come.

So although we’ll bawl and miss that Falcor-face glowing gloriousness at us from Suite FIV, it’s with joy that we step off the Gus bus one last time.

Besides, there are beans with which to be besotted…but more on that tomorrow.

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