Donate
Juniper the magnificent

Juniper the magnificent

michael-and-juniper1

Much as I’d like to, I can’t take credit for the epic title above.

You’ll know he’s an AwesomeAdopter as soon as I tell you: Juniper‘s own Pa was calling her JUNIPER THE MAGNIFICENT within approximately 8 seconds of adopting her.

Juniper two days after adoption. All photos courtesy of her Pa.
Juniper two days after adoption. All photos courtesy of her Pa.

With all due respect for protozoa and jellyfish and miscellaneous mollusks, some things are genuine no-brainers: Battleship is not going to win Best Picture. It’s okay that Downton Abbey and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo are on at the same time, because that will only cause a conflict for their zero mutual fans. Mumford and Sons will win All The Things at the Grammys this year.

And Juniper’s dad – JuniPa, if you will – was an AwesomeAdopter before he’d even chosen a cat.

We know this now, even if we couldn’t have seen the full unfolding of his fantasticity when JuniPa first graced Tabby’s Place’s door.

But in the interest of “show, don’t tell,” I’ll let this prizeworthy Pa shine for himself:

Juniper proves she is a megablessed cat in that she's growing up in a house of books.
Juniper proves she is a megablessed cat in that she's growing up in a house of books.

“Juniper has been a member of my family for over three years now, though it is hard to imagine a time before her.

“On my first visit to Tabby’s Place, I had come to look at a cat that had been adopted earlier that week, but I had seen Juniper on the website and was also interested in meeting her. When I went into the suite to meet her, she was hiding in a cat tree nook, but when I slowly put my hand in she started licking me and I quickly fell in love.

“When Juniper first came home, it took her about four hours to come out from hiding under a chair in her intro room, and a day or two for her to figure out how to break out and explore the entire house. She has also shown herself to be the perfect cat for our house, never jumping on the kitchen counters, staying off the table and only occasionally opening the kitchen cabinets, though rarely actually going into them. She’s not a particularly athletic girl, being on the chubby side and suffering some lingering affects from a torn Achilles tendon in the 2011, so she generally stays close to the ground.

“When Juniper, first came to live with me I was just giving her dry food as she had some problems with the ‘Big D’ – diarrhea – and I wanted to her have a simple diet. But after observing her reaction whenever a can was opened, I finally relented and gave her some wet food for her first Christmas in the house. Somehow, she managed to turn that one treat into a morning ritual that persists even now, where she shows up in my bed around 4:30 am and begins scratching my pillow and eating books until I wake up to feed her. After several more Big D episodes, Juniper is now on a prescription diet. She’s definitely taken over the house.

Juniper rocks post-tendon-repair fashion.
Juniper rocks post-tendon-repair fashion.

“Her favorite spot to sit is on a radiator in front of a window where she can see the street and a holly tree. She enjoys watching the birds and squirrels and sometimes gets very excited over mourning doves. As with most cats, though, she is not averse to seeking out any sunbeam that may be shining in through a window and glorying in its warm presence. She has also taken to stretching out behind my laptop, where she can absorb the heat from the exhaust fan and keep an eye on me at the same time. She’s sitting there as I type this.

“I have Tabby’s Place to thank for helping me find Juniper, but I also have Juniper for helping me to find Tabby’s Place. As my first cat, she has been a bit of a learning experience and everyone at Tabby’s was very helpful whenever questions arose. This was so much the case that I’m now proud to be a Tabby’s Place volunteer myself. I’m grateful both to Juniper and the supporters and staff at Tabby’s Place for giving me such a blessing.”

But JuniPa, the blessing is all ours. (Well, except for the part which is yours. Which would be Juniper. But…never mind.) Juniper the Magnificent indeed. 🙂

Stuffed animals, the other essential ingredient for a happy life, surround Juniper.
Stuffed animals, the other essential ingredient for a happy life, surround Juniper.

5 thoughts on “Juniper the magnificent

  1. Hi Juniper the magnificent! What a purrfectly cool name. You’re a very lucky kitty ’cause you have JuniPa the magnificent to be your furrever family. My momma and poppa volunteer with JuniPa and they agree with Ayla – our group IS awesome!

Leave a Reply