Acquired: Rescue / shelter organization
Gender: Male
My American Shorthair came to me completely by accident. I had gone to the local animal shelter, hoping to find my cat that had gone missing. I saw what appeared to be my little black cat, and called his name. He immediately cried his long meow that sounded more like a sheep than a cat, and I knew I had found him. I paid the fees and took him home.
The instant that I let him out of the carrier, he meowed and it sounded completely different than it had at the shelter. He got in the sunlight coming through the window, and I noticed that his hair was a bit shinier than I remembered as well. Then he began to hiss at my other cats...
I had a sinking feeling as I realized that this cat was not my Loki after all. How did I not see the many differences at the shelter? Then he came to me, settled right in my lap, and began to purr. I knew that no matter what, THIS cat was meant to be here with me and that he had found his forever home.
I renamed him Zeus, and he has been one of the best pets that I have ever owned. There is something to be said for the bond that develops between a rescue animal and its owner. We are now completely inseparable, and I am as grateful for him as he is for me.