Thursday, January 31, 2013

for the love of Hershey

It's official, Hershey has found his forever home!!! Yahooo!!

The first time I saw Hershey on
 the back porch, Oct 20, 2012
I knew giving him up would not be easy. He's the first animal that I have ever given away by choice (the other's left me through death). Even though I only had the blessing of being with Hershey for a little over three months, my heart was quite attached to the little guy. As I told him, he will forever have a piece of my heart.

This little cat has spirit and lots of personality. He can be feisty and incredibly lovey. He's curious and bold. And oh my is he fluffy!

I wanted to send Hershey off with some special toys. I bought him some rattly mice, a nip nanner, kickeroo, and Da Bird toy. I especially wanted the interactive toy that would give his new human plenty of opportunities to play at a safe distance from Hershey's teeth.




I brought the Da Bird toy home on Tuesday night and had to give it a try. He LOVED it! I remember other bloggers saying how wonderful these toys are, but I kept putting off buying one due to already having a house full of cat toys. Now, I know, these toys are definitely amazing!


I tried to celebrate Hershey in the last night we had together.  We played LOTS of Da Bird toy!!












And we celebrated some more on Wednesday, our last day together...











In the end, I think he had a good time of play! Hershey so loves to jump and pounce. This is the perfect toy for him to get out lots of energy. A bigger play surface would be better, but at least the soft bed cushioned his wild jumps!

After a long snuggle break from all the crazy play, it was time to leave my house for the last time. I'm thankful Hershey was a good sport about it because I was an emotional mess. I'm also super thankful that Laura was able to go with me so I didn't have to face this alone.


As I sobbed on the drive down to Hershey's new house yesterday, I feared Hershey would feed abandoned once more. Of course I told him what all was going on, I also prayed that God might help Hershey understand that I'm not abandoning him but rather giving him a chance at finding a forever home where he can get much more play, loves and attention than what I could offer. 

The worst nightmare about leaving him that I imagined involved seeing him hiding under the bed, all scared in a strange place, giving me those eyes that say, "What are you doing to me? Where are you going? When can we go home?" 

Thankfully, none of that happened. Hershey was a rockstar. He came right out of his carrier and started exploring his new place.



After about 30 minutes of checking everything out, he was home.


Mike, Hershey's new human, bought him lots of stuff and was ready for Hershey's arrival - he got a scratching post, several soft beds, a cardboard scratcher, and other goodies! He's also working on getting the right cat tree.







No hiding under the bed for this boy! He got right to work owning the space.


When we left Hershey, I felt an intense mix of sorrow and joy. I'm thrilled for Hershey that he got a good human that will take great care of him. Mike will enjoy Hershey and spoil him rotten! Even with that joy in my heart for Hershey, there remains also the sorrow of not getting to see and love on Hershey on a daily basis. It does help knowing he will be well. Coming home to a house without Hershey was hard. Even with five cats, it feels somehow empty without Hershey.

Of course, I'm now eager to hear from Mike to see how things are going with Hershey. Mike generously offered me visitation rights, something I hope to do sometime! I often drive by the apartment where Hershey is living so I will always be reminded to pray for him and send him positive thoughts.

Thank you Hershey for sharing your fluffy self with me, you are a delightful soul. Thanks for showing up at my backdoor and being such a great cat. Take good care of yourself Hershey and know that I will always love you. 

23 comments:

  1. Hurrah for Hershey!

    Love those airborne photos, they're great. I hope he has a long and happy life with Mike, am so glad he's got a forever home.

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  2. I miss him already, and I never even met him! It looks like he will be the center of attention in his new home, which is what he needs.

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  3. It can be SO hard....and yet you have to hold on to the satisfaction that you saved him and got him his OWN home. You did a wonderful job with him and then did him the greatest favor by letting him go. We are SO happy he has his own home and cat dad. You got him started on that path..... good job. :)

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  4. Oh geez...I'm bawling here. I feel for you as I have also done this for a stray I took in but I didn't have him for 3 months. I admire that you had the strength to carry it through. I've always known that just because we save a cat from starving doesn't mean we are to live with it forever. Finding a good home was a wonderful thing for you to do and it was your love for Hershey that got him to this point in his life. God love him...I hope his life is full of love and happiness.

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  5. Hooray for dear Hershey! Those photos are incredible!

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  6. Aw, yay for Hershey! I'm so glad he knew he was at home! I'm sorry it was so hard on you though, hugs!
    Da Bird is the most awesome toy! It can get even lazy cats up and moving, MOL!

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  7. It is so hard to separate from the kitties we foster. I'm not so good at it either! I am so thrilled for Hershey to have found his forever home. Love all the play photos! You will always have him in your heart! Hugs, Linda

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  8. Hershey and Mike are going to be a great team.It will get easier.
    Jane x
    P.S. The shots of Hershey in flight are fabulous!

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  9. If you had a camera on me you'd see all the tears falling down my face. How can I be happy and sad at the same time? Your love for Hershey is so strong, and only wanting the best for him it is so evident to see the difficult all of this is for you. I am sure Hershey knew that you were NOT abandoning him, only a short termer on his way to his forever and happy home. Job well done. You've made Hershey very proud.

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  10. Fantastic pictures! Hershey is so lucky to have had you to look out for him and find him a wonderful and loving home.

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  11. I almost cried myself! Great photos of his playing.

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  12. What a happy and sad story all at the same time. I hope you get to visit Hershey often and that Mike shares photos with you. Hershey has the most adorable and expressive face, we can imagine how hard it will be not to see him every day. Purrs and hugs from the kitties at www.thecatonmyhead.com, Lily Olivia, Misty May, Mauricio, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

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  13. You did one of the hardest things when it comes to cats, you became a foster home. You took Hershey in, you made sure he was healthy, and happy and well adjusted and you found him a home. Then you let him go to let him live the life he was meant to with his "True Spirit" in tact and blossoming. You did a fabulous job with him and he will not forget it.

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  14. I have to admit that I cried when I read this. I am very happy that Hershey has found his forever home. I hope you can update us on how Hershey is doing whenever Mike sends you pictures and updates.

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  15. Concats to handsome Hershey! That kitteh has some mad skills at playing with the feather wand toy. MOL! This makes our weekend a little bit brighter. XOXO

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  16. Oh happiness! I am so happy that Hershey has found his very own human, one he can have all to himself! It is clear that he crossed your path for a reason, that someone sometime had loved him. It was so wonderful that he wandered in to YOUR yard, a yard with a loving compassionate human who cares. You investigated, trapped, vetted, and upon finding he was not feral, offered him a warm place. He got good nums, and filled his frame out. His furs look fluffier after 3 months at Casa Four White Paws, and your heart grew a little too.

    I think sending him off with a care package was a wonderful idea, and the visitation rights sound like they would be right up my alley. Hopefully you will be able to visit from time to time, and Hershey can tell you fantastic stories about his new adventure with his new human.

    Also sincerely hope that when you get updates, you will share them on your blog. He (and Nahum) are both very much like one of our former boys, Marvin - and current boy Pim. Beautiful long coated brown tabbies, full of a bit of nonsense and a lot of love.

    Thank you on behalf of so many homeless kitties for being one who cares, one who made a difference.

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  17. OMG i have to stop crying. I swear if I had lived near you I would have adopted that boy. I named him and I never knew til I read this, that he turned up on your porch on MY birthday (Oct 20)...........I never realized that.
    Wishing Hershey a life full of happiness, he was blessed to have found you

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  18. The action shots of Hershey jumping and pouncing are so great - that boy got moves! You really must have infused him with a trust for humans as he felt so secure in his new surroundings. He sounds like such a big purrsonality and we wish him a great life with his new human. Yay for him for adopting a formerly stray!

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  19. Well, you couldn't have done any better than that for Hershey. You rescued him, gave him love and a home of his own. You did everything you could to make sure he will be a success in his forever home. I have never had to give up a cat I bonded with, and it must be very hard.
    Your action shots of him with Da Bird are wonderful. If we didn't already have too many cat toys here I would get one.
    Please do share future Hershey stories and pix when you can.

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  20. We are thrilled Hershey has a furever home. Between his new owner and your toy collection, Hershey had every reason to settle right into his new home :)

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  21. Hooray for Hershey! He has found a forever home with your help. You did well by him. I bet it was difficult giving him up.
    The photos that wee taken of him playing with Da Bird are priceless. He was a flying cat! They are great.

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  22. What an acrobatic cat! Wonderful
    He will be loved I am sure.
    Go Hershey Go
    Great photos too! How did you get them?

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  23. I am shedding tears for you as I type this. I can only imagine how hard that was to let him go. I hope he will truly be happy in his new home and you're right - he will never leave your heart.

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