I have always said that I don’t go looking for a cat.  My cats have always found me.  Reba, my 13-yr-old calico, was one of a liter left abandoned in a box when the Parking office was at the old Campus Inn on Apache with DPS.  For years I felt that one cat was plenty for an apartment dweller.  Around about Spring of 2002, I was going through a rough time personally and thought a new kitten would be just the thing to perk me up.  I kept this thought mulling around the back of my mind until an article on Mildcats appeared in the Insight.  I thought I would see what kittens they had available, knowing that I specifically wanted a short-haired female to be a companion to Reba.  At the time, all that were available were a couple of males desperately in need of a loving home.  I agreed to stop by and look at them, but did not intend to adopt a male. Barnaby (who was going by another name at the time) had other ideas.  His wide-open expression of innocence and curiosity captured my heart and I delightedly agreed to take him home.  Coming from a feral family, Barnaby hid from me for a couple of days, but then one evening he came out of hiding and proceeded to climb all over me before settling down on my lap for some much needed attention and a bit of a snooze.  He’s been Daddy’s boy ever since!  Did he help me come out of my doldrums?  You bet!

Gary B.

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Copper

By Deborah Hurth (Chandler, AZ)
As a Mildcat foster volunteer, I was able to place 2 kittens into a loving home. When my third foster kitten arrived, Copper, he quickly adopted me and my home for himself. It didn’t take long for me to decide that he was already in his new home. Copper now spends his days lying in the sun, purring on my lap, playing with his toys and chasing his 2 new friends, Cassius and Chloe. Since I grew up with 3 cats I am very happy to now have 3 of my own.

[L - R] :: Copper, Chloe, and Cassius

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Phillip & Terrence

By James Allen
When my wife and I went to the mass trapping at the trailer court little did we know we'd be bringing home TV celebrities!  We were given a chance to help two adult cats that turned out to have already been neutered.  We named them Phillip and Terrence, after the farting cartoon characters on South Park as Terrence farts when he gets nervous or scared, and he was nervous and scared a lot the first few weeks with us.  Phillip has tripled his weight and Terrence doubled as they ate constantly the first two months with us.  They now have become integrated with our other cats and hardly ever fart.

[L - R] :: Phillip and Terrence

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China Doll

Mickey

"Our Excellent Experience with ASU MILDCATS"  By Laura Frost  (July 2005)
I have always believed in rescuing adult cats rather than kittens, as adult cats are the most difficult to adopt and they deserve a fighting chance.  Our current “brood” contains two rabbits (Beemer and Mercedes), and three cats:  Whitney, 14, Sealy, about 20 months, and now Mickey, almost a year, who we received from ASU Mildcats. 

Whitney has traveled the country with me, after every job change.  She is the “queen” of the household and rules the roost.  She is the first to object to a new member and the last to accept them.  Sealy (the “princess”) is a feral cat that I rescued from the dam at Lake Natoma in Folsom, CA, a little over a year ago.  One day, as I rode my bike by, a little cat ran along the chain link fence, inside, yelling at the top of her lungs.  I noticed an empty cat dish and returned several times to try to catch her.  Finally, hunger won out and she ran into the carrier (her siblings, sadly, weren’t so lucky – way too shy).  It took her six months to warm up to us, and fortunately, I did not give her away during the most difficult and trying times – there were tearful moments when I was sure it wouldn’t work out, but patience won the battle.  Whitney finally accepted her, and she became number two in the pecking order.  She is now the most loving, attention-demanding of the three.

Once we moved to Arizona in January, I started to notice that Sealy went on what appeared to be wild rages through the house on many occasions, panting and twitching.  I looked up the symptoms and thought that she could possibly have hyperesthesia.  However, the doctor was unable to confirm it through blood work, and I began to think about her environment now vs. what it was when she had all her siblings to keep her constantly occupied.  So, on a whim, I began to surf the net for local pet adoption services.  That’s how I found ASU Mildcats.

The first cat that looked intriguing was “Sprout.”  He was used to being Number Three in the pecking order, which was important.  Also, we weren’t looking for a lap cat – we’ve already got one, and Whitney is enough!  We needed a younger cat that would entertain Sealy – and be entertained by her.  So, we called his foster parent Sara and went to see him.  He was definitely afraid of us at that moment, but he seemed to fit the bill from her description of him.  So, our next step was to bring him home and have him introduced.  I did what worked best in the past – put up a baby gate for “his room” so he could come and go as he wanted.  The other cats didn’t dare to go in there themselves (well, Whitney can’t really jump that high), as there was another kitty in the house, which made them nervous.  Slowly, he warmed up and got used to being chased back in. 

As of today three months later, we are one big happy family, each cat with their own distinctive personalities.  “Mickey” (the “court jester”) and Sealy romp and play at least twice a day – wild, silly play.  He luxuriates on the satin duvet cover on the master bed (but only after the queen and princess are napping), often sliding off because it’s too slick!  He is quite the talker, as well, and when he hasn’t seen either of the “girls” in a while, greets them with a meow and bumps up against them purring, practically knocking them down due to his exuberance. 

He couldn’t wait to be allowed to join them for their wet food at night, and once he decided that he would be accepted in the ritual, he began to lead the parade to the back room to eat, strutting with his tail flicking forward all the way.  He purrs when I set down the bowls, staring at his food while I pet him.  I think he’d been desperate to be part of the group, and now he’s just so happy that he doesn’t really want to eat, he just wants to be there. 

Compared to the girls, he’s definitely a klutz, which makes us nervous when he walks the railing in the loft, but so far, no injuries!  And he often instigates the silly play with Sealy.  The bug-catching thing is also a bonus (!).  To us, it’s a perfect match!

We were so happy to have found our Mickey.  He is the sweetest boy.  We truly appreciate the love and support Sara provided to him.  She is an excellent foster mom, and we thank her from the bottom of our collective hearts.

Mickey