The question of beauty as a determining factor in cat adoption has recently
been discussed in another thread. Once again, this gave me grounds to ponder
my adoption of Duffy. (Of course, I freely admit that *it doesn't take much*
to provoke me into talking about Duffy and Holly. ;>)) I saw Duffy's picture
on the Petfinder web site about a year-and-a-half ago, and it just broke my
heart. He was blind, and he looked like a very old cat in the picture. The
caption noted that he had been at the shelter for several months. I called
the shelter to ask why he had been left there and was told that the woman
who had adopted him two years earlier had told them that he was "a wonderful
cat" but she couldn't keep him because he had learned to get to her pet
birds and killed one and that he was also "teaching" her sighted cat to get
to the birds. <Yeah, sure!> I was surprised to learn that he wasn't an old
cat - he looked old, but his age was estimated by their vet to be between 3
and 5 years. I decided to drive to the shelter (in a neighboring town, about
35 miles away) to "look" at Duffy (but "just happened" to download and fill
out the adoption application before I left). When I arrived, little Duffy
was thin and scrawny and looked scruffy and shabby. *But,* he pounced on me
like a magnet. He stayed on my lap the entire time I was there, purred up a
storm, headbutted me and rubbed his little head against my face - and I fell
in love with him on the spot. I handed over the adoption papers, was
approved on the spot, and was told I could pick him up two days later (which
I did). Shelter staff told me that he was usually shy and afraid, and I
learned that they were telling the truth. Somehow, he trusted me from that
first instant, but he originally was so afraid of other people that he would
hide under the bed for an hour or so if he even heard a doorbell. All of
that has disappeared. He is now a little glutton for attention, and he heads
for any visitor and demands some petting. The woman who abandoned him at the
shelter (a kill shelter, so she surely knew it could have been a death
sentence) is the lowest of low creatures, in my opinion. On the other hand,
this became a great gift to me because of the tremendous joy Duffy has
brought into my life - and I like to think that also was a great day for
Duffy because he truly is a happy, active little cat.

My point is that Duffy had been bypassed at the shelter for several months,
and anyone looking for a pretty cat probably would not have considered him -
blind, thin, scruffy, and scared. The irony is that he is now completely
transformed. Once he had received good-quality food, lots of attention,
grooming and put on some weight, he became one of the prettiest cats I have
ever seen. Most important, of course, he is an adorable, loving little guy.

Here is a set of "before and after" photos to show what I mean. The first
one is the photo from the shelter that led me to adopt Duffy; the second
photo is an "after" photo showing him on the bench in front of my desk. To
me, he hardly looks like the same cat.

http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320/476350/1636692/19233823.jpg
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320/476350/1916528/41680392.jpg

**There are no ugly cats. All cats are beautiful**