Say “Konnichiwa!” To The Meow Place’s Newest Addition: Izumi!

Izumi has joined The Meow Place! Wow, that makes four cats now. You'll never guess how she found us. Tap the picture to find out!

Izumi mysteriously arrived in our yard on a cold January day. How do these cats keep finding us? Keep reading to find out the full story.

Do you ever suspect that someone has put an invisible sign above your house? It would read something like this:

ARE YOU A CAT? DO YOU LOVE BEING SPOILED AND TREATED LIKE ROYALTY? COME ON IN! THE WORLD’S CRAZIEST CAT LADY LIVES HERE! THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE! THERE’S FOOD! THERE ARE TOYS GALORE! YOUR TICKET TO A LIFE OF LUXURY IS HERE!

Izumi has pretty much confirmed that sign is there.

Izumi Arrives At The Meow Place

It was January 21, 2018, and my sister was taking out the trash before we left for church. As she walked back toward the house, a strange cry reached her ears.

I was upstairs putting my makeup on when Mandy ran up the stairs.

“I think there’s a cat outside!”

“What?” I mumbled. Sure enough, as I followed her outside into the yard, I heard the distinct fussing of a kitten. There was a black and white kitten stuck up a tree! I ran to get a neighbor (we don’t have a tall ladder), but the kitten had made its way down from the tree by the time I got back and was warm in my sister’s arms.

“What Do We Do Now?”

Izumi-chan made herself right at home. We wanted her to stay, but how could we afford to take in a fourth cat? What was going to happen if we couldn't find her a good home? Would she survive in the shelter? Keep reading to find out what happened to this adorable tuxedo kitten. #adoptdontshop
“YAAAAWW-NNN. So when can I move in?”

God bless my mom. I don’t know how she puts up with us.

While I was bothering my neighbor, Mandy had walked up to the door of the house with the shivering bundle of fur in her arms. My mom took one look through the glass window and mouthed “NO”. Thankfully, she still let us take her inside out of the cold.

We put ‘Oreo’, as we dubbed her for the time being, in my upstairs office. After several dozen pictures and plenty of chin scratches, the real work began: finding her owner.

Izumi’s Owner Was A No-Show

Most states have a law that basically says found or abandoned cats need to be claimed within a week. After a week, they are eligible for adoption.

We printed posters; called the local animal shelter, police station, and veterinarian’s office; and went shop-to-shop on the main street of town asking around about an adorable tuxedo kitten. Nobody claimed her or knew of anyone looking for her.

It’s sad, but I suspect that someone abandoned her. It was frustrating and heartbreaking, but abandoned cats are commonplace in communities all over the United States. We decided to give her a good home with us and name her Izumi, which means ‘climber’ in Japanese. She was found up a tree, after all!

The Reason We Decided To Keep Izumi

Our kitten Loki has a much better love life than any of us. He and Izumi are so attached to each other that we couldn't give Izumi up. Say hello to the latest addition to The Meow Place! But seriously, we can't take in any more cats. #adoptdontshop
The moment of realization that you’re not single anymore.

I had mentioned on Twitter that we didn’t have the money to keep her. This is what I thought at the time, but after taking another look at our budget, I knew it was possible.

Surely we could have just found her a good home though, right? The only problem was that Izumi and Loki had bonded. They spent all their time together, chasing and playing and grooming each other. I knew I couldn’t separate them.

Loki And Izumi Are Totally Dating

Izumi was the perfect match for Loki. Loki is only a few months older than Izumi, and they keep each other busy. It’s easy for kittens to burn all of their energy when they have someone else as active as they are. Misha and Tippy are secretly grateful that Loki isn’t bothering them anymore.

My siblings and I are always joking that Loki and Izumi are boyfriend and girlfriend now. We’re planning for a summer wedding. lol

Watch Izumi And Loki Grow Up Together!

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Has a cat ever ‘found’ you? Tell your story in the comment section below!

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12 Thoughts to “Say “Konnichiwa!” To The Meow Place’s Newest Addition: Izumi!”

  1. Beautiful cats! So glad you got to keep Izumi!

    Purrs xx

    Athena and Marie

    1. Thank you! Izumi and Loki are very photogenic. I’m happy that Loki has someone his age to play with now. 🙂

  2. Sometimes animals just sense a safe place.

    1. Or they can smell the delicious food we’ve got. XD

  3. oh what a sweetheart and I am so happy you kept her! That is how I found my Angel Bobo many, many years ago (I found him on a bitter cold day) and like you, did everything to try and find his owner. Bobo ended up being with me 18 years and he was my soul kitty. I wish you the same 18 beautiful years that i was blessed with and even longer!!

    1. Thank you so much, Caren. She’s such a little sweetheart that I can’t imagine how anyone could abandon her. There are just some heartless people out there, I guess.

    1. Konnichiwa! Hajimemashite!

  4. I am so glad you adopted her.

    1. We’re glad too. She will be well loved in our house. 🙂

  5. Izumi is such a lucky kitty! She is a beautiful kitty. I’m glad that she found you and your family. Cats do seem to know which people are good people. 🙂

    1. They definitely have a good eye for people. I’m not good with humans, but I’m great with cats! hehe

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