At TEAM Cat Rescue, we do our best to screen applicants, and match them to cats who suit their personalities.
One of the most accurate ways that we do this is by having our fosters invite cats into their homes, so that we may get a sense of the personality of the cats we pull from high kill shelters. Their personal relationships with the cats become crucial in discovering what makes our cats happiest, and what their furever homes should be like. Such was the case with taking in Professor Puddinpop (aka Puddin), a quirky guy with a “serious face and patchy fur”.
We'll let you tell his adopter's Happy Tails' story: "I grew up with cats and I knew I'd get a cat as soon as I got my own place. No sooner were the papers signed that I started looking online for an adult cat, mostly because I knew it would fit my lifestyle better and they're harder to adopt out. I came across TEAM and you made such a great impression on me. Your rescue is so organized and you knew your cats so well. I had expressed interest in certain cats and was told they wouldn't be a good fit. To be honest, my first furry loves were rats so finding the right cat wasn't as obvious as one would think but TEAM was right there to work with me to help find the right fit.
Along came this ridiculously named Puddin with his serious face and patchy fur. I excitedly talked at great lengths to his amazing foster mom, Krista. I was fairly certain he was the one; my boyfriend drove me to meet him and we played it cool by leaving the carrier in the car, pretending that I wasn't already head over heels.
Puddin was a sweetie. He was shy and unsure but still let me see how charming he could be. The carrier was retrieved from the car and home we went. He yelled most of the drive from Peterborough to Toronto, and then hid for three days. Within a week he had gained confidence in his new home. He adapted well, watched the birds and played with his favourite mouse that his foster mom had made sure we took with us. I'd planned to rename him but Puddin suited him too well.
It's been almost three years has such big accomplishments. He's made friends of all our visitors. He has a relationship with each and every one of my friends and family and charms all for belly rubs. A photo Krista shared was published in the Cats of Instagram book, and he was in a commercial for Cat Con LA which included me getting a large thigh tattoo of his face. He's well loved by all.
I couldn't have imagined a cat I could trust better with his rat siblings. He's so good with them and I know he would never hurt them. So you see he's the perfect cat for me and I have TEAM and Krista to thank for that. Without their thorough adoption screening and amazing foster families, I wouldn't have this wonderful boy in my life. Thank you, TEAM! You did really well.”
