This past fall I decided it was finally time to get my 1 year old cat Arthur a friend, and so I drove to HSHV determined to leave with a sibling for him. I had a specific idea in mind for what I was looking for in a second cat. I wanted an older cat (I got Arthur as a kitten and as cute as they are, I know older cats have a harder time getting adopted and wanted to give one a home) and they needed to be extremely friendly/social to match Arthur’s energy. I looked through the rooms at all the different cats, and finally one of the employees pointed me to Claude (now renamed Henry). The first thing I noticed was that Claude was a BIG boy. As I held him while he purred like a motorboat, the employee told me that he was 5 years old and that they had found him as a stray. When they brought him in they discovered he was microchipped and after weeks calling the number linked to the microchip, finally learned that his family had moved out of state and left him behind. My heart broke as I heard this story and I immediately knew that Claude would be coming home with me.

On the car ride home I assured him that he’d never be abandoned again and that he would always have a bowl full of food, a lap to lay in, and all the head scratches he could ever want. It took some time for Henry to get comfortable and for Arthur and him to warm up to each other, but now the two of them are best friends. I think Henry finally realizes that this is permanent and he can feel safe here. He’s constantly dozing in my lap, yells at me in the morning until I get up and give him breakfast, and loves wrestling with his baby brother. Henry has brought even more joy into my life than I thought possible, and I love knowing that he finally has the home he deserves.

Claude now Henry