02/24/2025
The Timid...The Terrible...The Terrific...
Part One
Jude's story
The tale of a tiny, scared, sick and angry kitten.
Originally written 2/21/22.
Hi, my name is Jude. I moved in with my foster parents, Beth and Drew, when I was almost 3 months old. The very first day I met Beth, I was so terrified! She tried to put me in a carrier but I was so scared I scratched and bit her, and it took her twenty minutes for her to get me in.
She didn't think a kitten of my size could do that kind of damage. She took me home with her and there I met Drew. I stayed in my little tent in their bedroom the first night but I was so scared, I just cried all night. They kept trying to give me kisses and hugs but I wished I would just dissappear.
This went on for over a month, but little by little I learned to trust them and actually started to like them. I enjoyed being warm, safe and well fed and they did give excellent chin scrarchies.
Life didn't seem so bad and it only got better! I graduated from my kitten tent to the kitten room where I had friends my own age. Beth said I took a few steps back once I had more freedom because I started hiding again but after watching my friends, I came back around. They, too, liked Beth and Drew and would always sit on their laps and play with them but I wasn't ready for that so I sat at a distance and worked at my own pace.
Just when I thought life was good things took a turn for the worst. I got sick and we had to go to the vet! I hated the vet, and because of Covid, Beth wasn't allowed in with me and I was terrified. The vet tech, Miss Jessica, was very nice but I didn't know her so I scratched and bit her like I did to Beth the first time we met. I was diagnosed with several different things and just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I needed a medicated bath, ended up having an allergic reaction and my hair fell out; times are tough! On top of it, I had to go to the vet weekly for a month and Miss Jesscia said I wouldn't be adoptable with my bad attitude.
I was a good boy but I was just so scared; however Beth had faith in me! Finally, after months, I was all better and well socialized and it was time for adoption. I am a handsome boy, if I do say so myself, and so I got quite a few applications, however, when Beth spoke to the applicants, they said they thought I was cute but they didn't want a kitten who was so sickly. Beth explained to the applicants that many of my ailments were things that many kittens go through and because I needed socializing the stress did not make the situation better.
People also didn't want a kitten who was shy and when people came to meet me I would revert back to my old ways and run away and cry. Beth told them what a good boy I was and told them that I just needed more time but no one wanted to adopt me. Christmas was coming and I still didn't have a home and I was one of the last fosters left. Beth had tried everything to help me find a home but nothing worked.
Beth and I had become very close during this time and we had a great relationship. I couldn't be picked up and I didn't like to sit in laps yet but Beth saw how much I had grown and knew one day I would become that kind of kitty, I just needed more time. It was a week before Christmas and still no applications. Drew and Beth came home one night and told me they had an announcement, I was home!
Beth and Drew were officially my mama and daddy! I couldn't have been happier; they trusted me and I trusted them and they had always given me the benefit of the doubt.
Fast forward to a year later in my forever home and Mama will tell you I'm a changed boy. I have become the most affectionate kitty. I can be picked up, I love sleeping with mama and daddy in their laps and on their bed, I come when called and I have a huge personality. Oh, and I had my annual vet visit and Dr. H says I'm healthy as an ox, I've grown out of all my kitten ailments as most kittens do! They call me hurricane Jude.
Of course I still run when we have company and I will never be the kitty who greets guests at the door but mama and daddy tell me all the time I am the best boy, their sweet baby Jude, I was worth the wait!
My mama and daddy have adopted lots of kitties and doggies like me; the incredibly shy, the sick, the disabled, and she says though it is always a rough start, all of us were worth the wait. She says we are the most loyal, affectionate kitties and she could tell this story ten times over with a different munchkins name.
Mama has friends who also adopt kitties like us and they always say the same thing; the kitties who are the hardest to find homes for end up being the best adoptions because we are so grateful! The wait is worth the reward!
My best advice to you as you search for your forever friend...
1- Take a second look at the kitty who hissed at you, maybe they are scared or having a bad day. Haven't you ever had a bad day? Would you want to be judged based on one experience?
2- Kittens have weaker immune systems, with age we are usually perfectly healthy. If we don't grow out of all of our ailments, is it really that big of a deal? Maybe we need to get our teeth cleaned more often, maybe we need to be on a special diet. Would you choose to not have a friend who had an allergy or a bad genetic disposition?
3- Please don't look away because of our color. Cats who are black and white, Grey and white, black or tabby with no distinct markings are the least likely to get adopted because they are not "pretty enough".
Many of my siblings are these colors and they are the coolest cats around.
4-Lastly, don't assume foster parents will foster fail their foster cats. Many foster parents are foster failing kitties who become unadoptable. If fosters continue to foster fail cats then who will be left to foster? Who will continue rescuing kitties?
Do your part in the community and consider adopting a kitty who is Timid or terrible at first but will become a terrific best friend!
Take a chance!
Consider a best friend who may not be a candidate for an herbal essence commercial but who may be as loyal as they come.
Would you have adopted a kitty like me?
Check out part two of my story to meet my friends who still need homes.
