By Scott Weston
One of the last things my brother Eric shared with his whole family before he passed was an extended ride around the Bay Area in a Zeppelin. 6 1/2 years later, a few months after my 17 year old cat Shadow crossed over, we heard of a foster in need. Already familiar with Cat Town and not yet ready for a new cat, this cat's need for a safe place seemed too important to pass up.
Zeppelin at the shelter before heading to our home.
Enter Zeppelin....what are the odds of that? Zeppy had a tough time before we came along — a black cat, declawed, given up at some point, in the shelter for an extended period and tagged as a biter. He had issues with trust and developed a way to defend himself.
Other than a pocket door for the bathroom, our building has no interior divisions. Once out of the carrier, Zeppy had the run of 3 floors. He hid in the shop and under the bed at first but made himself comfortable pretty quickly. My wife, Petra and I, being retired, are around the house most of the time and it wasn't long before we realized Zeppy was usually pretty nearby.
After several weeks of us all getting used to each other I said to Petra that since welcoming Zeppy into our home, making him feel happy and safe, I just couldn't imagine putting him back in a carrier and sending him off, like we were fooling him all along. So we adopted him ourselves!
It's been just over 2 years since Zeppy got here and he gets more love and attention each day. We've all settled into our daily routines — he used to get me up by 7am for breakfast, now I wake up on my own. Mornings are with me, on my lap in my chair, getting brushed. At night he climbs on Petra's chest and purrs and purrs. He loves to come running upstairs, jump on the bed, walk across me right up to Petra...a quick sniff, jump down, run back downstairs...just to check on us! And though Zeppy’s not a fan of other cats, he does have a step-brother, Jack the turtle.
Jack and Zeppy exploring the house.
We feel the spirit of our old cat, Shadow, often. She's happy with Zeppy here and we're happy, too! We’re so grateful for Cat Town, bringing happy families like ours together.
This piece was originally submitted as part of the Petco Foundation Holiday Wishes campaign.
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