Wednesday, August 22, 2012

a year of Mr. Oliver!!!!

Guess what today is? It's Mr. Oliver's 1-year gotcha day!!!! One year ago today he started making his way into my heart. Before he told me his name, I called him BK for Black Kitty.


On this day last year I saw Mr. Oliver, sleeping under the cover of a bench and tree to stay dry from the rain. Knowing he was homeless and seeing him there stirred my heart to take action. I realized I probably couldn't bring Oliver inside my house so I needed to find another solution.
August 22, 2011
Six days later, I built him his first house.



Then in another six days came the Dining Hall.


Nine days after that his original house was converted to a guest house and I built him a larger fully insulated house just for him. He took to living in his house right away. He had to wait until mid November to get the heat installed, poor guy. His big house sits right in front of the bench swing I saw him sleeping under.
Guest house is on left, big house on right
It took a long time before Oliver was willing to stay in the yard when I came out. Over time the distance he would create between us kept decreasing. Forever etched in my brain is the memory of the first day that Oliver climbed into my lap and melted into a puddle of purrs. It was October 20, 2011. This boy was so hungry for human touch.

non-stop loves and purrs
At the end of December he finally told be his name was Oliver!


It didn't take long for him to invite his family over to share his wealth.

Dining Hall filled to capacity
Oliver takes the roof and gives his family the house
In February 2012, he got his first chance to walk inside the house and explore!

Wheeeeee...
In March 2012, I built him his special loft on the back porch, which he immediately took possession of.


Sometime over the summer of 2012 Oliver talked me into having a daily morning snuggle time on the human bed. He meets me at the door, I carry him inside and we have our morning snuggle time.


Oliver is an extremely affectionate cat, probably even more affectionate than the indoors cats. He loves to play and to be close. If it wasn't for his insistence on urine marking his possessions, he would certainly be an inside cat.

Today it's time to celebrate Mr. Oliver's 1 year of gotchadom!!!

To mark this special occasion today, Mr. Oliver gets his official collar and tag to tell the world that he has been gotcha'ed!!!!!!

I got proof! I'm not homeless cat anymore!!

He proudly wears his new collar, however he's not a big fan of the hanging tag, so I'll be looking for the tags that go around the collar rather than hang.

21 comments:

  1. Awww...what a lovely story of a very special feline! :) Congrats!

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  2. I remember this journey, and celebrate with you both! Happy Gotcha Day, Oliver! You have the best of both worlds now, indoor/outdoor, with a pretty amazing, caring human. :-)

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  3. Concatulations Oliver on your Gotcha Day and great furever home!

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  4. Wow - a year already??? YEAH for Oliver and all of you for taking in this family and discovering what a lover he is. Can't wait to read about his ongoing adventures. :) Treats all around.

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  5. Happy Gotcha Day to all of you! Oliver does look very handsome in his collar.
    Jane x

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  6. You've come such a long way Oliver!!!! Happy Gotcha Day beautiful boy, we are so glad you found love :-)

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  7. Oh Oliver you are one special cat and one special guy gotcha!!
    hugs, Linda

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  8. I am so happy for you and for Oliver. I think of him many more times than you can even imagine and I wonder about his family too and how they are.

    Oliver darling, concatulations on one year of real and abiding care and love. Most of all love. If only only only you could cease with the spraying, dearest one. Please think about it. XXOO

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  9. Replies
    1. A whole year all ready. And a good year for you and Oliver. Congratulations to you both.

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  10. Oliver is one lucky cat! Like his collar--cannot remember if he is "chipped" as well. Everyone needs to know where he lives now--do not want him lost! Happy Homecoming to Oliver from me and "the Gang of 4".

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  11. Concatulations, Oliver! You are such a lucky boy to have people who cared enough to give you food and shelter. All the luvvins are icing on the cake :)

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  12. This is such a wonderful gotcha story! We're so glad you found each other. Happy 1st Gotcha Day, Oliver. And may there be many more to come!

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  13. Amazing story! I have a little girl black cat coming into my yard for the last few days. I'm wondering if she is homelss or not - I'm really not sure at this point. I'm wondering if perhaps I need to make a cat house as she's the 2nd cat who's coming around and I don't know if they belong to someone or not.

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  14. Happy Gotcha Day, Oliver!! You are such an adorable and special baby! I wish you a wonderful day filled with lots of snacks and toys and snuggles!!

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  15. Oliver that is a great GOTCHA story!!!

    purrs
    >^,,^<
    ✿•*¨`*•. ♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥✿•*¨`*•.

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  16. Mr. Oliver is one lucky cat. I think he should be Sir Oliver with all the real estate he has.

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  17. Happy Gotcha Day Oliver!! How blessed you are! Ohhhh your Daddy is sooooooo talented building a house like that! He should build them and sell them!

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