Soon after, I saw a sweet little face of a kitten named Baby that just called to me on the Meant 2B Loved website. We reached out and scheduled a time to go meet her. When we arrived, Baby’s foster asked if I’d like to hold her. “Of course,” I said. And as soon as took her in my arms, Baby just cuddled into me. I was done….and though he had his heart set on a short-haired all grey cat, my husband knew as soon as that happened there was no way we were leaving without her. We brought her home and renamed her Suma.
Maus was less than thrilled with Suma’s arrival and made it quite well known. We tried our best to keep them separated until they could both adjust but we live in a very small house which made that challenging. It wasn’t long before Suma discovered how to jump over the baby gate we used to keep her in the bedroom. Over time, they learned to co-exist but Suma wanted more than that. She wanted someone to play with. One day a neighbourhood kitty showed up at our garden terrace door. Suma was fascinated and was trying to play with this cat through the glass. The other cat eventually went away and Suma was so sad. She sat in front of that door most of the day, looking for her friend to come back. It broke my heart.
Knowing Suma was desperate for a friend to play with, and recognizing that Maus was too arthritic to be that friend, we began discussing the possibility of adding yet another kitten. One evening while checking the Meant 2B Loved website again, I showed my husband a picture of Rafiki, an all gray short-haired kitten. As soon as I saw his face, I was pretty sure we’d found our third cat. We did a meet and greet with Rafiki and once again, the meeting ended with us bringing a kitten home and re-naming him Dax.
And boy, Dax came in like a wrecking ball. He’s always on high alert, has high energy, and is a daredevil. His presence did not make Maus any happier with the situation but Suma loved having a new playmate.
As time goes on, the kittens and Maus have grown closer. Dax and Suma like to sometimes snuggle up and nap together. We even had a miracle the other day when Maus crawled into bed with Dax. That would have been unthinkable just weeks before.
(Side note: Maus is now receiving treatment for her arthritis and is more active and less grouchy than before).
Now, after a few weeks together, Maus is more accepting of their presence and Suma has found her playmate. They can often be found wrestling if they’re not tearing through the house like their tails are on fire.
The folks at Meant 2B Loved made the process of adopting simple and we’re forever grateful for the two little gremlins they brought into our lives. In addition to Maus cuddles, we now also enjoy the gentle, sweet nature of Suma and watching Dax sleep with his tongue sticking out, as he often does. Every day they bring light and laughter into our home, even during difficult times. We’re so grateful for Meant 2B Loved, for the good they do for our communities, and for helping us to complete our family.
D & J Dux
