Today marks one month since we adopted Bella from a local cat charity. After I lost my beautiful 14 year old Sooty to a mouth tumour the month before, I knew that I wanted to rescue another cat. Sooty had been such a big part of our lives and for so long and I loved how close she would be always be to me. If I was working, she'd be on the back of my chair or in front of my keyboard just under my screen. If I went and sat in the garden or on the sofa or in bed, she would appear and just stay close. She wasn't a lap cat but she didn't have to be, she just enjoyed being in our company. It was so hard to say goodbye to her and in my mind it made sense to try and soften the devastating blow by giving a cat in need a loving home, just like Sooty had had.
MK Cat Rescue are a charity that I've followed for a while now and have donated to a few times before. They are run by volunteers and they have no official centre, so the volunteers foster rescue cats in their own homes. When they told me about Bella, it was the day we were returning from our trip to Billund. We went straight from the airport to see her and I knew instantly that she was perfect! A beautiful calico-tabby girl who was so affectionate and playful. She wasn't nervous around the boys either which was so important for her sake and for theirs. The fosterers told me she had been abandoned on their doorstep that morning. I couldn't and still can't understand why anyone would do that especially without making any contact with the charity, but all I will say is that it's their loss as she is such an affectionate cat - I feel very lucky to have her!
We picked Bella up after returning from Cornwall 2 weeks later. The timings worked perfectly as she had to be spayed before leaving and we were away anyway. I went and visited her again before we went to Cornwall as it was hard to stay away and I wanted to see her just one more time before we went! Logan, bless him, made her her own cardboard box house with space to sleep inside and also a section for her cat toys.
We picked her up the same evening that we returned from Cornwall and she settled in instantly! She was off up the stairs exploring just minutes after we brought her home. She had no issues getting used to her new litter tray and she loved exploring the entire house. The other cats were a little dubious about her when they first saw her, which I knew from experience was totally normal. But within the next few days, they'd actually really taken to her! In fact it's been a month today since we brought her home and she's already been snuggling with both Charizard and Rosie whilst asleep on the beds. It's made me so happy as you always hope that when you bring in a new cat and introduce them to an existing cat that they'll accept each other, but if they actually bond, it's amazing! I think it helps that the three of them are quite young as Rosie is only 2 and Charizard is 1.
When I say that Bella is affectionate, she really is affectionate. She love-bomb's everyone and just wants to be held like a baby. She has the loudest purr I've ever heard and she is the snuggliest cat! She's also super cheeky and tries to get into everything, our breakfasts, lunches and dinners are not safe when she's around! I'm so happy that we got her and can't believe how quickly and well she has fitted in! Adopting from MK Cat Rescue was such a pleasure too and such an easy process. I definitely recommend them if you are looking to adopt a cat and are local to them!
Thank you for reading. Alex xo
