I had just finished writing a story about my life at C.A.R.E. when something beautiful happened. Margaret, a volunteer at C.A.R.E., adopted me, and I became a member of her family. Don't get me wrong, I loved living at C.A.R.E., but finding a permanent home is every shelter pet's dream come true. Although I'd rather write about my new life, I want to tell a little bit about my past.

Before I came to C.A.R.E., I lived in a rental house with my keepers. As you can see, I didn't skimp on food but on exercise. When my family left for good, they left me too. I didn't bother to follow because I didn't like to move and preferred lolling. Luckily, someone found me, and I ended up at C.A.R.E., a wonderful and caring place.

Being born in 1998, I would have dwelled with the seniors in the cat facility of the shelter if I weren't overweight at 23 pounds. To control my diet, my caretaker, Gloria, kept me in her office, where I had a very comfortable soft bed and special food. Despite my reluctance to move around, the weight-loss program worked, and by the time I left C.A.R.E., I had lost 3 pounds.

The day after a rumor surfaced that I might become C.A.R.E.'s main office cat, I heard Gloria and Margaret talking about me. The only thing I got out of it was that my chances of getting adopted were slim because of my age and weight. I thought their talk was in regard to my impending function.

However, the next morning, Margaret came with her family, and they were all admiring me and telling me how cute I was. Finally, they put me in a carrier. I didn't like that very much. It was quite different from my soft bed, and I told them all about it when they took me on a car ride. Once I learned, though, I was on my way to a new life, my complaints quickly changed to a happy chatter, and I asked all kinds of questions about my new home. It turned out to be perfect. In the beginning, I had my own room so that I could adjust to my new life. My new mom sure made the transition easy for me, and I never felt stressed out. After a couple of days, my sister kitties visited me, and they perked up my curiosity. I slowly followed them out of my room, 10 to 15 feet at a time. Despite my weak hind legs due to my excess weight, I wanted to explore my new home. Practicing walking a little bit at a time helped a lot, and now I walk all around the house. I'm still not comfortable going into the enclosed patio with my sisters, but I like to sit at the patio door and look out.

I now have four sisters, three are cats and one is a dog, a dachshund named Luna. When I heard I had sisters, I wondered if they would tease me about my weight, but it was just the opposite. They were all really nice to me, and the best part is, one of the cats is a little chubby, too. Her name is Sissy. Lizzy and Zoe, on the other hand, are very thin. Maybe they encourage me to stay on my diet. I've gotten so accustomed to my diet food that I even don't try to grab a bite out of my sisters' food bowls.

I love having a big family because I always find someone listening to what I have to say, and I found out I like to talk. I'm very happy, and I enjoy the brushing I get, I just can't get enough of it. I'm on my best behavior, which comes easy to me, but I have to work hard to lose some more weight. At the shelter, the only exercise I wanted to do was pushing my food bowl close to my bed so I didn't have to get up to eat. Now I walk from room to room, strengthening my hind leg muscles, and no more lying in bed when eating.

I'll keep you up-to-date about my weight-loss program and experiences in my new life.

Your friend

Crystal