Today marks one year since we brought Bumble home. In that time, he has completely transformed. He still has a long road of mental recovery ahead of him, but even if he weren’t to improve any further, I’m convinced he’d live a happy, fulfilled life. 

Before I jump into Bumble’s story, I want to say that King Street Cats (KSC) is fabulous. They are an extremely successful and well-regarded shelter specializing in “difficult to adopt” cats — like those that are shy, older, or have mobility issues, among other things. Anyone looking for a cat in the Washington, DC area should look into KSC. They rely on volunteers and donations, and you can easily help support them by setting KSC as your charity on AmazonSmile online and by setting up your Amazon app to shop using AmazonSmile. I’m not affiliated with KSC in any way, I just believe that strongly in their mission.

Back to Bumble, he was a rather damaged cat when we adopted him. He’d been through some horrible things in his life, and that’s just what we have proof of. It’s amazing how far he’s come in just one year. I’ve never known a sweeter cat, nor one more desirous of affection (though scared to ask for it). I hope he’ll continue to improve and flourish. My goal is to turn him into a lap cat — we’ll see if that happens. Regardless of what the future brings, I want to share his story with us so far.

I’ve included lots of photos and videos to break up this super-long post. Make sure to turn up your audio so you can hear what’s going on in the videos.

Grab a drink and a snack for this one, it’s long. But my boy has been a part of my life for 10 years now, and he deserves a proper story. What follows is a recounting of some of the major events of my life as a cat mom, including some of the unique things my little boy has done.

Fair warning, I’ve included a few sad bits, so you may want a tissue or two. I tried to title everything in such a way that you can tell if the section will be fun or sad.

The Meeting

Ten years and two days ago, I went to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington to look at cats. The plan was to window shop, see what kinds of cats and what ages were available. I’d never had a cat before, but I’d always wanted a marmalade — orange and white — tabby.

Once at the shelter, right near the front of the cat room, I found a beautiful marmalade tabby, seemingly pulled right out of my dreams. I eagerly asked to take it to the meeting room but the shelter worker warned me that several people had played with the cat already that day. It had only arrived at the shelter a couple of days before and hadn’t settled in yet. The poor thing cowered in its cage and hissed at the shelter worker when she tried to coax it out. She didn’t push it, instead advising me to try again early the next day before the cat had been in and out of its cage several times.