My husband and I have adopted three cats from SAFE Haven throughout the years. First was Sweeney in May 2013, second was Horton in January 2015, and third was Finian (formerly Gallifrey) in February of 2019. Despite being Whovians, we agreed that all of our cats must have musical-theatre inspired names (Sweeney Todd, Seussical (Horton), Finian’s Rainbow).

Each has brought countless joy to our lives. When we adopted Sweeney in May 2013, we were both still dating and in college, wanting to adopt a cat to help de-stress (and from being used to having animals around before). Sweeney recently turned 7 and is as soft and sweet as when we first got her. She’s had to get used to two new brothers since then, but she’s glad to have them around.

In 2015, we adopted Horton. At this point we had graduated and moved on to full-time jobs. We wanted Sweeney to have a companion for when we were gone during the day. As soon as we met Horton, he put both paws around my husbands head and licked his face, so we instantly knew he was the one. Despite being a little snotty from an outbreak of feline herpes as a kitten, Horton is a big boy who is full of energy and love. He does not discriminate when it comes to laps (new or old). Horton is now 5 years old.

Finally in early 2019, we adopted Gallifrey (now Finian). Sweeney likes to play, but Horton likes to play a lot more, so we decided a third cat with the right temperament would relieve Sweeney from all of Horton’s playtime. Finian fit this mold perfectly. Adopted as a kitten, his energy quickly made Horton meet his match. And now, Horton has realized he is in fact now longer a kitten and has become the “papa” of the house. Finian, approaching 8 months, is a very sweet and loyal boy who has a keen eye for anything edible. He gets along very well with both Sweeney and Horton though, and all three easily adapted to one another. I don’t know where we would be without any of them!

We shortened her name to Priss. She is such a sweet beautiful girl, seemed to feel at home right away. Loves to sit at the window and watch the birds, the squirrels, the chipmunks, and the neighbors’ dogs. She greets us at the door when we come home, loves a good scratch around the ears. Sitting on the floor at my feet as I type this.

Lola became part of my family the day I went in to meet her for the first time. A beautiful tuxedo cat with vivid green eyes was only part of the story. She came to me, sprawled on my lap and proceeded to embark on 15 years as my beloved love noodle. She had long hair and the most adorable toe fur (also known as feathers). Lola met me at the door everyday when I got home and would follow me from room to room anytime I was with her.

There were two standing jokes about Lola. The first being a play on Will Roger’s line, Lola never met a lap she didn’t like. All visitors to her domain were required to pay the kitty tax upon arrival. The second was invariably upon hearing her name people would automatically assume Lola’s name came from one of two songs; “Copacabana” (B. Manilow) or “Lola” (The Kinks). I always said it told me a lot about people.

Lola made me laugh, let me cry into her fur and kept me from feeling lonely during 15 long years. At the age of 19 on Mother’s Day this year I had to let my sweet girl go. I miss the sound of her furry padded feet.

We suffered traumatic loss in our family in September 2014. Even though we loved our 2 sister cats, they were kinda of grumpy at age 13. After having our son’s kitten in the house over that Christmas, I felt like nothing would cheer me up like a young cat. I even drove to SAFE Haven on a day in January 2015 when everything was shut down due to snow! It took a couple of visits but we picked Oscar (our name), and he is the most affectionate cat we’ve ever owned! He trots after my husband like a little dog, and spends every evening snoozing in my husband’s lap. Oscar is better than any medicine!

We adopted Tater Tot on June 28, 2015 during a free adoption event. We dropped by just to see some kitties on our way out of town. My husband and I split up to walk around and when we joined back up, it turned out that we were smitten with the same kitten! So we asked if they could make an exception & hold her until we got back into town at the end of the weekend and they graciously obliged since she had been there for a little bit. She was originally named Milena but we like silly names so she was soon dubbed her Tater Tot! We were told she was a laid back girl who would be a perfect companion to our other cat who is chronically ill and couldn’t handle much activity at the time. That’s how it started off: laid back, chill. But as Tater started getting more comfortable, the crazy energy came out and let me tell you, we wouldn’t change a thing! She actually made the other cat more energetic and gave him a slight competitive edge to eating which was great since he needed to gain weight. We’ve had to pull several of her teeth which lends to some crazy faces. She is the perfect weirdo! She loves to dig in the trash, lick reusable grocery bags, chase her tail, the list goes on.

Her 4 year adopt-a-versary is right around the corner and she will be showered with treats, given very small pieces of bread (girl loves carbs) and she’ll get a brand new stick toy to chase. She’s in LOVE with the other cat. He gets slightly annoyed by how much she’s all over him but he allows it and secretly enjoys it.

She’s the best addition to our household and we fall more and more in love with her everyday.