There are days when your inbox is full of grumblers and mumblers, Nigerian lottery announcements, and people inviting you to see their fun webcams/buy their fun Rolexes/try their fun pharmaceuticals.
But then there are the days when every color of your inbox fluoresces – and not because you’ve been trying fun pharmaceuticals.
I’m talking about the red-letter days when you get emails like the one I received yesterday.
It’s been nearly nine months now since the final Dessert Kid was adopted. In that time, it seems Strudel has birthed a life beyond our wildest dreams for him. But don’t take it from me. Savor the sweetness straight from his family:
“We adopted Strudel in February because our existing kitty, an aging but very outgoing Bear, really wanted a feline friend. Our big concern was that the new family member would not dominate our slowing-down Bear, who in his past outdoor life had ended up the subject of one too many (and one is too many) cat attacks by some ferals.
“Something about Strudel’s sweet face caught our eyes. When we learned about his past, we knew that even if Strudel was shy and never became a human’s lap cat, we had to bring this gentle guy home.
“Bear was so anxious to meet Strudel. It took many quiet hours over several weeks of sitting and reading to Strudel — and learning that he finds tech-talk podcasts simultaneously interesting and soothing — before he started to open up to his new humans, but Strudel and Bear took to each other very quickly. Bear found a store of new energy and couldn’t wait to play and wrestle with his new buddy!
“By emulating our King-of-the-House Bear, Strudel slowly came out of his shell (and out from under the couch) and, at last, within petting range. Strudel began revealing his oh-so-endearing personality and learning how to share his enormous heart full of love. Like when he leans in to head bump his humans while we’re on hands and knees. And his wide paw-toe-stretch when he rolls belly-up during a petting session will always melt our hearts.
“Sadly, Bear left us this summer, leaving Strudel (and us) a wandering, crying mess without his feline friend. We could never replace Bear, but we could honor him and continue the legacy of his work with Strudel by opening up our hearts and home to another boy.
“Enter Beecher. That sweet, sleek, acrobatic, ball of hunting energy who flings his entire body through the air in chase of a wand toy like nobody’s business. With young Beecher, Strudel is learning new playtime tricks and is beginning to totally get that it’s okay to snooze on their humans’ furniture — even when they’re around to see you do it.”
Fluorescing with delight yet?
It’s clear that Casa Strudel/Beecher out-sweetens any bakery. No icing required – this is unvarnished whole-heart goodness. If Bear can see his sweet protege from heaven, I do believe he’s very proud of his Strudel…and his wonder-humans, too.
Thank you, wonder-humans, for giving these tabby boys the beauty of love as it was meant to be. Please do keep us in the loop, and wrap both of those boys in your arms like the center of a cinnamon roll for us.
I’m sorry for the loss of Bear, but so grateful that they took in such wonderful babies as Beecher & Strudel. Strudel had a place in my heart as soon as he hit TP with the other dessert kids. So happy that he and Beecher are so loved.
I had the wonderful fortune to be one of Strudel’s socializers for the years he was at Tabby’s. I totally fell in love with him and miss his sweet face everyday. I had the great fortune of running into his adopter at my yoga class last week. She saw the Tabby’s magnet on my car and asked me if I volunteered there. Then she told me that she had two Tabby’s Place kitties. When she told me she had “my” Strudel I just started crying and I hugged her even before introducing myself. She must have thought I was nuts! It was a beautiful experience and one which I’ll treasure forever. It is so gratifying to see a kitty that you have loved so fiercely and wished the best for to be adopted into a great family and to be doing so well. I love you Stru! Heads snuggies and tummy rubs from me. Thank you to the wonderful people who have you and love you. I’m thrilled!
This maketh my spirit to smile. That is all. 🙂
Not much to add to our other bloggers — but my heart is so full with love and gratitude!
This makes 2 articles this week about long term Tabby’s Place loners (Beecher & Tanya) who found furever home snugglefests with homes already containing at least 1 current Tabby’s Place alumni (Brando & Crew & Strudel)
I’m so happy to hear about Strudel! Thank you for giving him such a wonderful home. I do the weekly thorough cleaning in Suite B, and have a special place in my heart for that sweet boy. I’m sorry to hear about Bear.