Tom's Forever Girl

Tom's Forever Girl

By Tom Poston

What was it about Xena that caught your attention?

When Erin and I arrived at The Dancing Cat, we noticed all the cats that were in the main room, but Erin was immediately captivated by Lulu, a very friendly tan tabby who was in residence at the time. Meanwhile, I noticed a rather scraggly-looking tortoiseshell in one of the cat-trees, struck by the fact that she looked like she had hardly any whiskers. Of course, this was Xena, who had been at The Dancing Cat a couple of weeks after her time at the San Jose Animal Care Center. Ann Chasson, co-founder of The Dancing Cat, told us a bit about Xena’s story, and while Xena wasn’t especially social, she was interesting and I could see the beauty of the cat that was lurking under fur that was still growing back after her bout with scabies/feline mange.

After our visit, I started noticing many of the absolutely gorgeous photos of Xena that had been taken by regular The Dancing Cat photographer Rachel Corrales. Rachel’s images showed off Xena’s beauty but also her feisty personality and captivating golden eyes. I started thinking more and more about Xena, and the possibility of adoption started creeping into my thoughts, just a little.

How did you decide to move forward with Xena's adoption?

I watched The Dancing Cat’s Instagram account for photos and news about Xena. After about a month, I decided I would take a trip down from San Francisco (where I was staying by then) to see her again. Xena was looking healthier, and although she wasn’t really into being petted or picked up, she LOVED playing. We spent an hour together and I really enjoyed it. Ann gave me more information about Xena’s ordeal, including the Tails of a Shelter Vet video about her that could be seen on YouTube.

I couldn’t say exactly what it was about Xena that grabbed me so strongly. I have known other beautiful cats, and other cats with sad stories. They say the cat picks the human, and I think in this case that’s totally true. I KNEW that The Dancing Cat would find an awesome home for Xena - just like they do all their cats. But I came to realize that if she was placed with anyone else but me, I would never see her again, and I was just not OK with that. After one more visit to The Dancing Cat, and another chat with Ann (who thought I would be just the right sort of person for Xena, who didn’t get along all that well with the other cats), I downloaded the adoption application, filled it out, took a deep breath and submitted it!

I could NOT be happier with my decision to adopt Xena. She’s definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made - I love my warrior princess and am glad she is my Forever Girl!


Editor's Comment: This is the fourth of our series of "SVPP Adopter's Stories" about how their adopted pet came into their family and changed their lives. We encourage all of our adopters to share their stories with us by contacting us at info@svpetproject.org.