The Marilyn Monroe of Cats

June is adopt a cat month, and it turned out to be a really great month for Luna. Her journey of finding that forever home was finally realized on Wednesday.
Luna was originally adopted from Red Door in 2001 as a kitten, with 3 other cats. A few months after adoption, her and two of the other cats were unceremoniosly left in a box outside the shelter. It was a very hot day, the box had no air holes, and no one knew how long they had been there. The cats were dirty, greasy, and matted. Needless to say, Luna got back on her paws, and quickly found a home again, this time for over 10 years.
Sadly, Luna was returned to the shelter again late last year, this time due to inappropriate elimination. It had been doing on for several years, and her adopter had tried everything in the book, had numerous medical tests done, and nothing seemed to work for poor Luna. It was with a heavy heart that her adopter brought her back.
Upon being readmitted to Red Door, we ran comprehensive tests to evaluate Luna's condition. She was also being treated for arthritis, pancreitis, and liver disease. When the xrays came back, they showed a tiny minute facture in one of her vertebrae. Dr. Gia at Animal 911 came to the conclusion that most likely everytime Luna went to make a bowel movement in the litterbox, that the squeezing of her abdominal muscles and intestines most likely put pressure on the vertebrae to make it painful, enough so that Luna associated the litterbox to be a painful place to be. Given her current medical conditions, and the fact that she had lived in a home for over 10 years and was now back at the shelter, Luna's outlook seemed gloomy, and it was speculated that her physical condition might continue to deteriorate quickly.
However, Luna pressed on and took her more than 6 medications each day like a pro. She definitely wasn't happy being at the shelter, but she would never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her down in the dumps. Then one day, Luna's luck changed when a couple who had just lost their cat to illness came in looking to adopt again. It turns out they fell in love with two cats. After hearing Luna's situation, they decided to foster Luna for awhile to see how she would do in a new home. They fell in love with her of course, and this week they came in to finalize her adoption. They said they just couldn't imagine their lives without Luna, and they love her so much. As the adopters put it: "She's just so beautiful. She's like the Marilyn Monroe of cats!".
Some like it hot, and some just like to be loved.

Black Velvet

January was a great month for adoptions at Red Door. There were 9 cats adopted, and the biggest one of all was Velvet. For those who don't know, Velvet had been at Red Door for over 5 years. He was orignally living in a nursing home facility which then closed and Velvet had no where to go. Soon after coming to Red Door, Velvet was diagnosed with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and was prone to urinary blockages because of it. Once the problem was diagnosed, he was prescribed 2 different medications as well as prescription diet food.

Even though Velvet managed very well on his medications, had a very sweet & easy going personality, due to his special needs and age (7-10), he was constantly overlooked by potential adopters. Last winter a couple visited the shelter looking to adopt a pair of cats. They decided to foster Velvet to make sure he would be the right fit for them, and to be sure they would be able to manage his medications and special needs. Of course, they fell in love with Velvet, and could not envision their lives without him, and finalized his adoption in January. Velvet and his cute tounge-sticking-out antics will be missed by the staff and volunteers at Red Door, but of course it's most important that he found a great loving home to live his life with.