Happy Cats got a call last Fall from someone who said they saw a mother cat and some kittens living in the garden center at Walmart. We immediately called Barb, our TNR consultant, who trapped them and brought them to her house. She named them after the people who helped her. Mama cat got the supervisor’s name: Jeanette.
At around around 5 months old, the kittens were already past their window of socialization, too feral to tame without months if not years of volunteer time. Jeanette, however, had been someone’s pet. She was thin and a little bedraggled, having taken care of her babies as best she could.
Her kittens went on to a very safe barn home, while Jeanette came to Happy Cats just before Christmas. Having been forced to fend off who knows what to protect her kittens, Jeanette wasn’t thrilled to be living with other cats. We knew her loving side, but she had a tendency to stay up on the catwalk and got passed by because of that.
Then along came Natalie. It was her 5th anniversary and she and her husband Michael had decided to celebrate it by adopting a cat. Jeanette must have known it was a special day. For the first time, she met someone at the door, ready to show Natalie what a sweet kitty she could be.
It worked! Natalie gathered her up and off she went to celebrate with Michael. And Jeanette.
Jeanette is now Dutchess, because she looks so royal, according to Natalie. Apparently, Michael had been unenlightened about cats before Dutchess came into their lives, but it didn’t take long before she convinced him that cats could be just as wonderful as dogs.
Dutchess is quite the love bug, who never gets tired of being loved on. According to Natalie, “She will purr as long as we continue to pet!” We had guessed she was a very young mother, confirmed by her love for play, especially with her feather toy.
Natalie says, “We can’t thank Happy Cats Haven enough for rescuing and taking such good care of her while she was waiting to be united with her family! She’s so good with people who come over and she is very friendly to everyone. We talk all the time about how we were missing something before we found each other!”
As a baby mama forced to make her way in a big scary store, Dutchess knows how lucky she is to have found Natalie and Michael. We hope you all have many many more happy anniversaries!
Natalie is my daughter, & het dad & I just love Dutchess! She is the sweetest cat we have ever been around. When Natalie & her sister were little girls, we bought a cat, this was 1995, his name was Bandit, a tabby. They grew up with him and loved him very much. Bandit passed awat last year 2 months before his 17th birthday. So Natalie knew what wonderful pets & family members a cat could make. She & Michael are so good to het & have spoiled her with love & affection. Dutchess is truly a very special cat, & im so glad they found each other. What a wonderful article, everyone loves happy endings. Maybe due to Dutchess story more people will consider adopting a pet. Thank you for taking such good care of sweet Dutchess.
We are so thrilled to have been able to match Dutchess with your Natalie and Michael. She had her share of hard knocks and came through them with her loving personality intact, ready to share her life with them. Thank you for raising such a wonderful, caring daughter!
Well thank you, Natalie has always been very special, & very sweet…I’m proud of the young woman she has become. Oh, and Michael is awesome too!
Natalie is my cousin. She lives pretty far way from us so we only know Duchess through photos.. It is quite obvious that Natalie and Michael adore their pet though because Natalie constantly posts picture and statuses online concerning Duchess. 🙂
We’re thrilled that Duchess was able to find such wonderful adopters in Natalie and Michael. She went through a lot and has earned her great life!