Happy Anniversary Marcel!

Today is Marcel's fourth anniversary with us! June 4, 2000: Dick, Pete & I went to the San Francisco SPCA to visit the kitties. I had just adopted Claude a month prior, and Dick was thinking that it might be time to have a kitty in his house again.

We had already been to The SPCA's web site looked at all of the cats that they had info on online. When we were looking around all of the kitty-condos, we saw the one with "Marcel" written on the door, and said, "Hey - there's Marcel." We remembered him from his listing on the website.



There was an SPCA volunteer playing with Marcel in his condo. She saw that we had an interest in him, and invited us in. Dick sat down on the floor, and to everyone's amazement, Marcel immediately walked over, laid in Dick's lap, and started to purr. The volunteer was so amazed that she called in others to watch.

Dick wasn't absolutely positive that he was ready to adopt that day, but Marcel made quite an impression on him. We decided to grab a quick lunch to think about it.

When we returned, Dick told the staff that he was ready to adopt, and they were all so happy. They told us that they rarely see a cat take to a new person so quickly and easily.

As Dick signed the adoption papers, we learned a little more about Marcel's history. He was brought in the week prior by a man who had had him since Marcel was a kitten. The man had a job that required a lot of travel, and he didn't feel right about leaving Marcel for so long so often. The man was obviously heartbroken over leaving Marcel at the SPCA, and even wrote a 3 page letter to introduce Marcel to his new owner. He also left some treats, and some of Marcel's favorite toys.

The letter was so sad to read - it was very obvious that it was so hard for his old owner to give him up. Here's an excerpt:

Marcel is a loving kitty and I'm not around to be the best owner I can be. If you take Marcel into your home you must promise to love him. Pets require commitment, so if you're not sure, please leave him for someone who is sure. It truly is breaking my heart to write this let alone look at his little face. He has always been there to give me love when I needed him...

... Marcel and I thank you in advance for considering him as a potential addition to your household.


*sniff*

Needless to say, we took Marcel home, and would like to think that he's very happy with his new life with us. He's been such a wonderful, affectionate little guy, and we feel so lucky to have him here with us.

Happy Anniversary, "Big Cat"! :)