Briana, the calico cat.

Briana, the calico cat.

I first saw Brianna at the animal shelter where she was in a cage with her 4 kittens. I go to the shelter most every week to take photos and then help the shelter publicize the pets so they can get adopted. At that time, the cat room was full to bursting with both young and old cats of all colors and especially new momma cats with babies. They were desperate for room so I broke my self inflicted promise of “ NO MORE FOSTER PETS” and took Briana and her kittens home.

Installed in my studio, they all soon became very much at home. No longer were they in a cage but had room to roam and play . Briana was a good momma and made sure the kits did not stray far from the little nest she had made for them- under the kitchen sink. I have noticed this is always the favorite place for cats and especially mommas with babies to go.

I estimated the kittens to be about 4-5 weeks and they were soon playing and having great fun. As I remember and this was about 4 years ago now, they were fluffy light colored kittens with calico coloring and so cute I knew they would find homes quickly. They went to new homes just as Briana was getting very tired of them so it was the right time.

Then it came to Briana's turn to find a home. She was all ready to go. Fully tested with her shots and spayed ,she was socialized and loving but still not really a lap cat. She liked to play and would rather do that than be petted. I guess she was only about a year old herself. We were about to go on vacation so I arranged for her to stay in the cat condos at Petco and hopefully get adopted. When I put her in there , I felt this probably would be the last time I would see her as I felt she had an excellent chance of being adopted before I came back. It's always kind of sad when a foster pet goes as you get very attached to them but you realize you can't adopt them all and the point is to get them a good home.

When I came back from my vacation after 3 weeks I was told she was still at Petco waiting patiently. I went and got her out and brought her back home and she soon was back to her old place and enjoying running around again.

She went into the the condo for 2 more times after that and still was not finding a new home . Each time it got harder to leave her there. So after the third time I said enough I would continue to try to adopt her from home. She was too active to keep solely indoors by herself in the studio so gradually I let her out and she started to run around the yard and before long found the doggy door and was in the main house.

Four years later she is still here. In the end we decided to adopt her . She is a lovely cat with an playful independent nature. Most mornings she is the cat that will meow at our bedroom door to come wake us up and to sit on the bed while we drink out coffee. She also has an evening routine where she will walk with Mike every night right around the yard and will be quite upset if he doesn't go. She is still not really a lap cat but has lots of personality

Someone missed out on a GREAT cat and we are glad they did.