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Happy Tails - Recent Stories
2024-01-01 Chester & Olivia
Hi there! I wanted to send an update about our two kitties we adopted this last May. Chester and Olivia got along within the week of moving in, and are now inseparable. They are definitely two opposing personalities, like Ying and Yang! Chester is a typical orange cat - he’s naughty, energetic, fearless and snuggly. He’s a momma’s boy for sure. Olivia is sweet, vocal, loves her belly scratches from her daddy, and plays fetch with her favorite toy, springs!
In July, Olivia was diagnosed with FIP. I found FIP Warriors on Facebook right away and we started treatment for 84 days. After multiple trips to the vet for blood work and daily shots, she entered observation in mid-October! She’s completed 2 of 3 bloodwork checks during observation so far, and in early January we hope to have a cured girl. These two are my first babies and I never truly understood what it meant to fight for them until experiencing FIP. Here is a picture of the day she was diagnosed - Riane
2023-12-27 Wonder & Eddie
To the great people of KAR,
I wanted to write you with an update on our July Adoption of Athena (now known as "Wonder" - full name "Wonder Woman Girl") and Blaze (now known as "Eddie" - full name "Edison McFishsticks").
These amazing cats settled into our home and our family practically overnight. They are affectionate beyond belief, great companions and playmates for our young children, and the very best of non-littermate family to each other. In fact, it is rare for them to be in a different room than their fur sibling.
Both cats have already been known to wear custom tutus courtesy of a crafty Nana, chase balls and laser pointers with adventurous children, and cuddle up on the sofa, bed, or in the arms of family, friends, and even the occasional veterinarian.
They and the rest of the Lonbergs have formed a deep bond, and we are grateful to all of you volunteers who help to create families.
Our best best to all of you,
Brian, Rachel, DeForest, and Dorothy
2023-08-20 Shelby & Grover
About a month ago we adopted 2 cats from Kalamazoo Animal Rescue. They were on display at the Chow Hound Pet Supply store. We have been married 58 years. When my husband proposed he promised me cats. He never had a cat himself but knew I did and he found out he loved cats too. We raised two kids who also loved our house cats. They grew up and had their own kids and cats. We were once again just us two and our two older cats we had since they were kittens. One cat named Lexi was 18 years old and the other cat Lukie was 16 years old and they were bonded. They slept together and played together. When they ate their canned cat food they sat next to each other and ate half and then they traded and ate the last half of the other's bowl. Then the 16 year cat got sick. We found out he had a large tumor on his liver and it was fatal. He died and the 18 year old would not eat. We took her to the vet and tried pills and syringe fed her to get her to eat. She died of a broken heart and the vet said she was also very old. It was the first time in 58 years without our cat pals.
Our daughter wanted to show us something to think about. She took us to Chow Hound and we saw two cats (Ravenpaw & Hufflepurr) that were bonded and up for adoption together. We knew they needed to be together to be happy. It was love at first sight and we were able to adopt both. We made out a will for them and money for veterinary support in event they out-lived us and our daughter will take them. But we plan to live a long time with these cats. They are perfect! They play, eat, and sleep together. We have 3 cat trees and plenty of room for them to chase each other through the house. Both cats are boys ages 1 and 2 and they like to wrestle but never hurt each other. When we watch TV in the evening one gets on each of us. We have renamed them Grover & Shelby and they are smart, loving, and very happy. We are very happy too and give thanks to the foster mother that nurtured them!
2023-07-05 Gunther
Gunther adopted him from you in January. He’s doing great! He loves his home and his toys and he is the sweetest and most polite guy around. We love him so much and are grateful for the joy he brings us! Thank you so much for taking care of him before us and giving us the opportunity to adopt him!
2022-03-08 Chuck
Chuck is a now I believe 11 (almost 12?) year old big grey tabby cat. My dad adopted him from KAR in about 2016. My mom had passed away in 2014 and my dad moved into an apartment all by himself and was lonely so I offered to pay for him to adopt a cat to keep him company. He found a then 6 year old Chuck on KARs website and decided that was the cat he wanted, because he reminded him of my Tiana (formerly known as Ginny Weasley, whom I adopted in October 2011.) I went with my dad to an adoption event at PetSmart and helped bring Chuck to his forever home with my dad.
My dad LOVED Chuck! Every time I would call him on the phone, my dad was always talking about Chuck. I would go visit my dad and find that he has made "beds" for Chuck in the closets, because Chuck likes closets. My dad would keep a container of Cheetos for Chuck, because Chuck likes Cheetos. Chuck was my dad's boy, and they were quite the dynamic duo!
My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in around April of 2019 and passed in Hospice the following June.
The night my dad was transported to Glenn Arbor in Battle Creek, I had to go retrieve Chuck from the apartment. This did not go well, as Chuck was obviously scared and confused, and also not my biggest fan. I had to leave Chuck alone overnight. The following day after visiting my dad in Hospice, I went back again to get Chuck. He was not happy at all, but that time I was able to get him in his carrier and bring him home to my apartment. My dad passed a few days after I brought Chuck home with me.
At first, I didn't think I was going to be able to keep Chuck. The apartment I lived in had a strict 2 pet rule, and I already had my Tiana as well as my dog Chloe (adopted from a different rescue.) I even contacted KAR at one point asking if I could surrender him, even though I didn't want to do that. From my understanding, Chuck had already been adopted and returned to KAR a few times in his life before my dad adopted him, and I really didn't want that to happen to him again. But then a few days after my dad passed, that apartment complex notified me that they wouldn't be renewing my lease and I had to move (long story, I'm not an irresponsible tenant, it was an irresponsible management company and I should have sued them. They no longer manage that complex as of last year.) I found an apartment where they don't care how many pets I have, so Chuck got to stay with me!
Chuck has lived with me, Tiana, and Chloe for almost 3 years now, and I think he's grown pretty happy with our living arrangement! He likes to play with Tiana, they chase each other through my apartment. He likes to sit on my lap and kiss/groom Chloe who is usually sitting right next to me. He still likes closets and has figured out how to open my hall closet. He has lots of toys now that he likes to play with too, and sometimes I catch him playing with his tail! He's a senior cat, but in a way it's almost like he's a kitten again sometimes. He's a very sweet, happy boy. I know he was very happy with my dad (how could he not be happy with all the Cheetos he got to eat?) but I think he really enjoys his life now too.
Chuck did find his forever home with my dad, because my dad had him for the rest of his life. Literally death was the only thing to separate them, and I'm very grateful to Chuck for being such a great companion for my dear old dad in his final years! But Chuck now has a 2nd forever home with me and my girls, and I'm so happy that he's so happy, especially after all he's been through in his life! I think Chuck may have been the best gift I ever gave my dad (I paid Chuck's adoption fees, and my dad thanked me all the time for doing so) but he's also one of the best gifts my dad ever gave me.
2021-10-13 Lisa now know as Rumor
Rumer's story.
We spotted Rumer aka "Lisa" on the KAR website in September. We decided to look for a kitty to add to our family after the tragic loss of our tuxedo girl Buttons to mega colon earlier this summer.
When we saw her picture and read she had been waiting for her forever home since April we were determined to meet her. Her surgical history didn't scare us because we have had numerous cats with special needs over the years. We visited KAR to say hello and agreed she was the perfect fit for our family.
She arrived at our home on September 28 and immediately crawled into a cat bed we provided to her. Within three days she was strolling the whole house and challenging her three cat brothers to play. She's been a delight and has filled a huge hole in our hearts.
2020-12-28 Bella Bea
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From the streets of Kalamazoo as a starving stray taken in by a kind samaritan and then relinquished to KAR, Bella (now Bella Bea) is now living her best dog life with her new found family who absolutely adore her. Bella was so skinny, needed to learn to be loved and house broken still as an adult dog. But her foster family was up for the task. With love, patience and a lot of snacks she was soon a completely different dog ready for her fur-ever home.
And find her fur-ever home she did, with Jena and Rudy. It was love at first sight during the meet and greet. Since living with them Bella has continued to thrive and has taken well to her life of a spoiled fur baby!
In an update Jena thanks KAR for saving her baby and picking them to be her family. Bella is just perfect for them.
KAR couldn't ask for a happier ending. This is why we do what we do!
2020-05-16 Roman (now Toby)
"He's doing great! He's fitting in wonderfully. Lots of running, walking, and couch lounging! All the animals are still figuring each other out, but all civil and hanging out! He goes off leash in the woods. He's very attentive to us always. He does great! He's such a good boy."
2019-10-18 Alice and Spencer
Alice Puff and Spencer Cheese have brought such joy to our lives. What funny, playful, smart, purring, curious, cuddly, sweet and soft additions to our home! Alice and Spence greet us at the door when we come home. They cuddle with us at night and make us laugh constantly with their crazy antics and total lack of fear. Alice, the Floofy Princess (with a tiny sweet meow when she wants something) is hilariously (dare I say demandingly) affectionate and wakes my daughter up every morning for school, marching back and forth over her purring loudly. Spencer, an elite athlete, perches on the highest point in every room, helps himself to every beverage, and is pretty sure he’d like to take a shower. The kitties’ very presence lowers the collective family blood pressure. I am pretty sure that when my son is away for college he misses the “kits” as much as he misses the humans. Every single day, Alice and Spencer remind us that life is good. We are so happy they joined our family!
2019-10-17 Lance
" He goes to bed now with Payden and after Payden falls asleep he curls up under the bed. 5 o'clock am rolls around and he jumps on me to wake up and play with him. He and Luna are playing chase off and on so their relationship is coming along slowly but surely "