Readers who have been following the story of Lila, the injured kitty rescued by Thundering Paws in October, will be delighted to hear the happy news of her adoption. Lila was adopted by Melinda, a long-time friend of Thundering Paws. You may recall that Melinda adopted Fabio from Thundering Paws several years ago; he was also a special needs kitty. And Melinda has a three-legged cat already, so she is all set up with everything that Lila needs.

We are all so happy for Lila!

Skylar, a tiny orange tabby kitten, came to us last summer from a feral colony, along with his brother and three sisters. All five were newborns when they were rescued from under an abandoned house. Luckily, their mom was easy to trap and they all came to Thundering Paws together.

Dexter napping

Dreyfus, now called Dexter, came from a feral colony managed by Thundering Paws. He let us know that he thought he might want to be a tame kitty, so he was brought to the Sanctuary. We guessed he was less than 2 years old.

Charlotte has used up several of her lives. She lived with a woman and her little boy until they had to move into a motel that wouldn't take cats. She had just had five kittens and the woman, over the little boy's protests, took her and the kittens to a high kill shelter. Sometimes that is the best a person can do. I appreciate that she did not leave her on the streets. The shelter contacted Thundering Paws and we took them out. All the kittens got adopted, and Charlotte was spayed. She grew into a large, healthy, black cat with a lot of energy.

Jackie, a black-and-white cat, was homeless for at least 5 years. She lived outside, with a group of cats not socialized to humans. At Thundering Paws, we often assist in caring for feral cats, helping with trapping, spaying and neutering.

Jackie acted like she wanted to be friendly, coming near to us and "talking," but was just a little too afraid to be petted. Being afraid is not always a bad thing -- it kept Jackie out of trouble all those years!

Milenko came to Thundering Paws from Town Lake Animal Center, as detailed in our September 2008 newsletter. She was a delight to us during her stay at Thundering Paws. Milenko was adopted in November 2008, and we received this update in January 2009:

In the summer of 2006, a boat arrived for delivery in Austin with a surprise inside: a litter of seven kittens -- all tabbies. We took them to the vet, and one of the kittens was fostered by an employee of the vet clinic and quickly adopted. The other six were fostered by Thundering Paws volunteers and lived together for several weeks.

Isabel, a beautiful classic tabby, was the next one adopted, in January 2007. Two years later, we received this update:

This past year, I gave myself a remarkable gift: the gift of feline companionship. In late August, I adopted Peter from Thundering Paws -- by far the best decision I've made in a long time.

Peter enjoying a warm spot at home

Rasputin, a long-haired black kitten, was dumped last night, Monday, at the site where we feed feral cats in Dripping Springs.

Whoever dumped him there knows we come there every day. He is four to five weeks old and was left in a box that a blender came in, along with a tiny empty nursing bottle.  With a cold front with rain threatening on the horizon, he was awaiting the night, when coyotes and other predators could easily kill a tiny kitten like him.

The story of Fabio, our FIV positive kitty, was chronicled on our website before.

We wanted to find him a home where he could be out of the cage, so we took him to many adoption events. Several times we ALMOST got him adopted. But we would still have to keep him caged, and take him out when we could. It was sad.

Turns out, he was waiting for Melinda.