Terrance & Panda Thank All TCR Volunteers!

During June’s Pet Valu National Adoption Weekend two lucky cats found their forever home with visitors to the High Park Pet Valu. It was a beautiful summer weekend so traffic into the store was slow. However, for Terrance (pictured) and Panda, it was the best weekend they had had for a long time! Both are black, domestic short hair cats who luckily escaped euthanasia in London and made the trip to Toronto courtesy of Toronto Cat Rescue.TERRANCE, in his youthful, two2 year old exuberance, was out on a leash exploring the store when his new dad, Craig, arrived Saturday morning to buy cat food for his resident cat, Henry. Henry is a nine year old, formerly feral cat who had always relied on his recently deceased feline companion to be the brave one. Craig and his partner hoped that a friendly, outgoing cat would take on the brave role and bring Henry out of his shell once again.Craig clearly fell in love with Terrance and thought that he might be able to help bring Henry out of his shell. He went home and came back shortly thereafter with his partner, who ultimately agreed the two cats might be good together. He then left to get the cash adoption fee while Micheline stayed cuddling and walking Terrance.TCR’s Post-Adoption Support team is available to support adopters through the transition period that every cat goes through when they move into a new home. The transition can be difficult not just for the TCR cat, but also any resident cat (or dog) in the home. Fortunately Craig and Micheline contacted our support team and Micheline has been kind enough to give us an update one week after the adoption:“The introductions are progressing slowly… VERY SLOWLY.  The hissing has stopped and they both are well acquainted with each others smell (spending time in each other's territories). We have had one or two successful co-treat sessions, but Terrance's youthful exuberance leads him to chase Henry - we distract him with play and treats for both.  So far we are up to three 10-minute sessions a day.  Sometimes Henry retreats to the basement sometimes he is present. It’s going to be a long process. Terrance seems happy enough in his safe rooms (we transfer from day to night) and we’ve got Feliway spewing expensive pheromones in every room which has helped things quite a bit.”PANDA is an eight year old cat. His new owner, Heather, visited the store Saturday afternoon and spoke with our screener Katie. Heather also has a nine year old cat, Gus, and had been thinking about getting him a companion, but this is a decision not to be rushed. Heather arrived back at the store late Sunday afternoon just as TCR Volunteer Arlene was finishing the adopt-a-thon clean-up. They talked for quite some time about how to introduce cats, and then Arlene gave her space as she considered the decision. Arlene then saw her pick up a litter box and she knew Panda was being adopted! A second carrier and some treats (Panda loves treats) were also purchased. Given Panda’s age, the standard adoption fee was waived, but Heather went to the ATM and donated the standard fee to TCR!According to Heather: “Panda is settling in quite well and the two of them seem to be getting along fairly well. Panda is no longer hiding and is out and about fully now. Gus and him seem to be fine together so far. A little bit of chasing happening, which I cannot tell if it is play or not. They are both eating and doing all the normal functions, so that is good news as well.”Thank goodness TCR has such wonderful and patient adopters. Meeting the cats and their new families, and hearing their stories makes volunteering so rewarding!