Most of the time, certain shared experiences tend to bring people closer to each other and even spawn new lifelong friendships.
However, those friendships are not something only we humans get to enjoy. Believe it or not, our feline friends are no strangers to that special bond, either. Keep reading and the main purrtagonists of today’s story can (and will!) testify to that.
Meet Suzie Q and Anna – two adorable fluffs who share a rough feral background but a promising happy ending.
Suzie Q and Anna were rescued from the streets, thanks to the Ontario Feral Cat Project (OFCP).
OFCP is a non-profit organization with a dual mission: reducing the feral and stray cat population through the “trap, neuter, and return” (TNR) program and finding homes for these felines.
As we know, feral cats aren’t known for being social. They’ve spent their lives in the wild, lacking social skills and a desire to interact with humans. This can make it challenging to domesticate them and transition them into indoor pets.
Even though domesticating trapped feral felines is oftentimes a slow and complex process, with an abundance of patience, understanding, and love the transformation can be easily achieved. And Suzie Q and Anna are great examples of that!
Suzie Q was trapped and brought to OFCP as a 9-month-old kitten. She came with her mom and her littermates, who were rescued soon after.
She was a very lovely kitty who loved to play with humans and didn’t mind when they attempted to pet her.
However, despite her loving nature, she definitely wasn’t the biggest fan of being picked up and carried around.
The shelter volunteers thought that Suzie Q just needed some time to adjust to human contact; they believed that once she settled in her furever home, she would undoubtedly let her guard down.
Suzie Q was friendly with both humans and other fellow felines. By no means was she afraid of people who came to visit the shelter, and she loved to stick her purrfect paw out of the cage, expecting a curtsy and a paw kiss.
Anna, on the other hand, has been dealt a completely different set of cards. Unlike her bestie, she was trapped and brought to the shelter as a 7-month-old kitten without her mommy or litter members to rely on.
Although she had been alone, her socialization process had not been compromised.
In fact, because of her unpleasant circumstances, Anna quickly adjusted to the kind human acts and the beauty of living in their world. Which, amongst many things, included cuddle sessions, too.
Her friendly personality and love of cuddles made Anna a purrfect feline companion and gave her an advantage in the adoption process.
When shelter workers decided both kitties were socialized enough, Suzie Q and Anna were enrolled in their first adoption event.
Soon, Anna’s adoption papers were signed, and she was off to meet her new family. Suzie Q wasn’t as lucky as her, but shelter workers knew her time was only coming.
However, not a day passed, and Anna was brought back to the shelter. According to the family, upon her arrival, Anna attacked their dog and showed genuine dislike towards him.
Just to be clear, this aggressive outburst wasn’t Anna’s fault. Introducing any feline – especially a formal feral one – with a resident dog (or cat) should always be done slowly and carefully.
Anyway, OFCP gladly took Anna back and resumed their search for a loving home. They promptly posted the update on their official Facebook page, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
After seeing Anna’s picture, a nice woman named Julie had immediately contacted them, expressing her genuine interest in adopting her.
Julie had already been a proud cat momma of two adorable felines, B.S. and Gremlin, so she was no stranger to raising furbabies.
Julie had a small inconvenience, though: she was supposed to leave town for a couple of days.
Luckily for her, the OFCP found Anna a foster mom, Kerri, who was supposed to carry out the adoption and continue Anna’s socialization.
According to Kerri, Julie was beyond excited about the new addition to her furry family. However, a crazy but brilliant idea came to her mind.
“I texted Julie yesterday to confirm she was picking her up at PetSmart today, she was very excited about Anna joining their family. I jokingly said you should adopt Suzie Q too… Four is the perfect number!!”
One woman’s witty but harmless joke turned out to be another’s light-bulb moment. When Julie saw Suzie Q and Anna together, she knew she had to adopt them both, thus making them best friends fur-ever.
Julie shared several pictures and videos of the girls settling nicely in her home and getting along with B.S. and Gremlin. They were truly a purrfect fit for her family! And we couldn’t agree more!
What about you? Do you have a feral-feline-turned-indoor-fluff story to share? Feel free to comment below.
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