Adopting and the Wonderful World of Winifred Luna Johnson

I am officially a cat lady and proud to be one.

It's been almost been three weeks since I randomly (or maybe not random at all because the universe knew it was time) that I saw a grainy video of a black kitten that was in need of a home. She was about 10 weeks old and had been found in a Walmart parking lot. All hot and alone :(

Something about that video made me message the friend on Facebook Denise Todd, after checking to make sure it was ok with the hubs and boom, we had a kitten.

She was a little underweight, carried fleas, had tapeworms and her right eye was white like she could be blind...but good gracias she is beautiful.

We took her to the vet, Denise, was the kindest even putting together a care package because I had never owned a cat before.

Three weeks in she is running our house. Almost every morning I would say she slaps my husband awake around 5:00 am haha.

She enjoys her litter box a little too much. Like she uses it great but then after we clean it she wants to roll around it, a lot. She also is either letting us know she approves that we are cleaning it but she likes to be right there with her little paws touching everything. Kind of hard when you have wood floors and you don't want kitty litter everywhere but that's the struggle and it's not a horrible one.

She also has a weird fixation with the only house plant that has been with us since the beginning, almost 9 years. She slept in the first day, we thought it was cute but now she has been crawling in it and digging, flinging dirt around like crazy and then, of course, running across the couches so you can see where she's been and where she's headed.

I used saran wrap to cover but she tore that right off and currently I am testing out tinfoil. Maybe it will work and maybe not but I will keep you posted.

Last night I cleaned up her dirt mess-making after getting home from work, the hubs was asleep and I told her she was so lucky because she really went for it.

This morning she did it again and covered herself in the dirt. I was not impressed and grabbed her, wiping her off in the sink while explaining how not ok that was.  but after a little bit of alone time, she met me on the couch and I got the best cuddles I have gotten from her. Wrapping herself around my neck and trying to get underneath my robe. All the purs and head rubs. It was perfect.

My heart melted and it was such a precious moment, not having kids, this is as close as I get to taking care of something, or someone else like my husband and it got me thinking about how adding an animal to your crew really helps your mental health.

Yes they do things they aren't supposed to, on occasion can cost you more than you were expecting but the joy and calm they bring our lives are totally worth it.

I love the fact she hangs out with me while I work out and when we are home but she can't see us is the only time she meows and it's such a sweet little noise, not screechy or repetitive.

There are so many animals out there that are searching for homes so I wanted to highlight a non-profit called Southern Heart Animal Rescue located in Yakima. They are active on Facebook as well as Instagram. Nina, from Kids Club, has done a fantastic job of getting the word out, baking treats for your furry friends, that we share while passing out bags. Don't miss Wednesdays at 11 am in Valley Mall parking lot for just a handful of free kids activities are left.

Nina has worked in rescue for over 15 years, has a heart for helping and understands the care that animals need. She created Southern Heart Animal Rescue one and a half years ago. She is motivated and wanted to be her own boss and what a boss she is. If you are interested in adopting or fostering see below

The adoption fee for cats is $65, kittens $85.  Adult dogs $150, and puppies $250. All of my animals come spayed/neutered, vaccinated (age appropriate), dewormed, vet checked, and microchipped. All of the animals are cared for in foster homes so the need for fosters is HUGE!

The items that fees cover are pretty much everything you should be doing for your pet anyway. She loves all animals but cats are her passion.

There was such a need in this area when I moved here. The majority of the cats come from feral colonies where either I or one of the amazing other rescuers work to trap, neuter, release. We spay/neuter the adults that are wild and cannot be socialized down and then bring the kittens into foster homes and socialize them into friendly, loving house cats. I am blessed to be a Petco Foundation charity and our local Petco treats the rescue so good. We have the habitat in store so once everyone is friendly and vetted, they go to the habitat to hopefully meet their forever families! I am also a no-kill animal rescue.

I asked tips for welcoming a new animal into your home and she said it's really important to give them time to adjust, the normal amount is about three weeks, spending as much time with them as you can help you bond with them and especially for cats, real indoor plants are something they just can't seem to stay away from so make sure the plant isn't something toxic to cats.

I did a little research and found out also that citrus is not good for cats, I love lemon in my water so I really need to watch it.