[If you love to spoon and hence are interested in possibly adopting Spoons!, the senior rescue cat, please send in the body of an email to philocetete@mailbug.com your answers to the questions asked in this
description box and well get right back to you - thanks! If you are reading this, he has yet to be adopted.]

Recipe for bliss: Lie back against the wall with your legs stretched out before you. Take up one Spoons! in your arms and place his back against your chest so that his belly faces outward. Stroke his belly as he adoringly wedges his head under your chin. Sink your head back against the wall. Feel your heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure lower. Enjoy soothing joy with your kitty!

Spoons! is one of those crazy-loving kitties who gets under your skin. You can pick him up over your head and nuzzle him face-to-face (you never have to fear that when your face is close to his he might swipe out at you, for he is a gentle loving cat) or cradle him in your arms with his belly-side up so that you can rub it and make him work ecstatic air-kneading paws. If you love being able to really hug a cat and rock him in your arms and squeeze him (such good therapy when youve been having a bad day), Spoons! could be THE cat for you.

This description will outline good and worse things about adopting Spoons! - please dont forget to answer the questions at the end, if you are interested.

WONDERFUL SPOONS!
1. Hes mildly talky, in an amusing way. What things make him say "meow"? Waking up from a nap. When you stop petting him and he turns around to see why. When you have left the room youve closed him in (he does stop meowing after a short time) or when he hears you doing things outside the closed door.

 2. His body reacts very gratifyingly to your petting him. He writhes and raises his back and makes those darting presses with his head and neck back into your hand as he feels it stroke him, wriggling his butt in pleasure when you stroke down his back.

3. He is a very loving lapcat. Sometimes he prefers not to be ON your lap, but curled up in front of you or at your feet, but he also gives you good laptime. And hes always ready to be picked up and given a good long squeezefest and being rocked in your arms. Purrr! I would not call him a "Velcro" cat; he often prefers to sleep at the end of your bed rather than right on you or beside you - this might be a plus for some people, who need a better nights sleep than a face-sitting kitty provides.

4. Hes very purry, purring almost all the time. He even purrs when you stick a needle in him, as long as you are holding him.

5. He has a good energy level for a kitty of 13 years; he likes to explore and can jump from the ground to the top of a five-foot cat tree. He is excellent about using the litterbox but he does like to scratch on the door like a doggie if he does not want you to close him in there.

6. He is so gentle with people that he would be a good choice for a home with an infirm adult person or a small child, someone who would not want to be lashed out at. Since he appreciates a good hug, I think he would welcome one from many different types of people.

7. He can be alone for long periods of time. In fact, horrifying to say, he was rescued from a situation of spending SIX MONTHS in the house his person had abandoned, with NO human interaction whatever, and only an older "sibling" (they were not biologically related) kitty who growled when Spoons! got near. He was rarely given food or water. I do think this period has had both social and physical repercussions for him, but anxiety about being left alone is not one of them. He loves perching on windowsills and looking out of windows in order to entertain himself. But he is also happy to watch a movie with you! 

DOWNSIDES OF ADOPTING SPOONS!:
1. He is a senior and he spent the last 7 months in a state of immense neglect. The 501(c)3 charity who took him away from that situation does have his lifetime vet records and did take him for one or two checkups themselves, with bloodwork (all these vet records would, on request, be passed along to an adopter). But his adopter would need to be prepared for issues common to senior kitties who have eaten exclusively dry food, including dental/oral problems.

2. I myself, on whom Spoons! was again abandoned, this time by the 501(c)3 charity, cannot get him to eat anything but, very sparingly, dry kibble. This is a concern, though he would certainly come to his adopting home with the cranberry powder I would recommend sprinkling on the food he does eat. This alone, however, will not stave off urinary tract disorders if his person cannot get him to eat some canned/wet food.

3. Initially in a new home he is (though always, even at first meeting, purry and loving and always up for a belly rub and other affectionate and compulsive messing-with-him) withdrawn and he will hide for days (perhaps in a hidey-hole on a cat tree, but perhaps in a more annoying place like in your drywall) if you do not keep him initially in a confined space that lacks places he can hide from you. I think inside all that purring he is a rather sensitive nature, one traumatized by the recent abandonments in his life.

If interested in trying a trial adoption of Spoons! in your home, please write in with your answers to the questions below. If we think that based on the answers he and you sound like a good match, we will ask to exchange references and to arrange a time/day for him to come to your home. Everyone who answers the questions is guaranteed to receive a prompt reply! Thanks!

1. What diet/nutrition would you feed Spoons!? Please be specific about what brands of dry food (if any) you would feed him, what brands of canned food (if any) you would feed him, and what brands of raw food (if any) you would feed him, providing the approximate ratio of dry to wet (canned or raw/homemade) food you would offer. If you would let him graze overnight or during the day, please mention that too. Thanks!

2. What are your views, pro or con, in declawing?

3. What are your views, pro or con, on neutering/spaying?

4. Under what circumstances, if any, would you consider parting with him? (We are 100% no-kill and would ask to take him back if for any reason at any time you no longer had him in your family/household.)

5. Would Spoons! be indoor only, outdoor only, or a mixture of the two?

6. What kind of water and what type/brand of cat litter would you offer him?

7. What kind of domicile would you share with him, (rented apartment, trailer, owned house, rented house, dorm, yurt, etc.) and what other humans and non-humans would live there with you and him?

8. It can be really helpful in determining a good match for us to know something about you - particularly interests/hobbies/leisure pursuits and your source of income (such as job or profession), since cat care can sometimes be expensive. You can also add details, if you wish, such as your previous experiences caregiving for cats, dog-sitting, volunteering; your age; and so forth.

9. If theres anything about Spoons! in his looks or his description that appeals to you, "speaking to you", please let us know what it is!