Bo and Ms. Beanz (3 page)

Bo also likes the cats that live on our street. We thought Bo would like to have a cat of his own. After Bo lived with us for one year, we drove him to the pet shelter to adopt a cat. The pet shelter is a place that animals live because they don't have a home or a family.

The people at the shelter let Bo go into the cat room to meet some cats.

I sat on the floor with Bo. One by one, the cats were released from their crates. They all stayed far away from Bo. Then one cat went right up to Bo and they touched noses. They were instant friends! We adopted that cat and named her Ms. Beanz.

Why do you think she liked Bo so much?

Why do you think she wanted to be his friend?

This is Ms. Beanz. Sometimes we call her “Beanz”. Most of the time we call her “Kitty”. The vet thinks that Ms. Beanz was a year old when we adopted her.

We named her Ms. Beanz because she is the colors of coffee beans. What would you name her if you adopted her?

We don't know much about her past. We do know that she wasn't afraid of us at the shelter.

When we brought her home, she didn't hide under a bed or act afraid in any way. Ms. Beanz liked her new home, her new dog, and her new mom and dad right away.

Ms. Beanz is very friendly.

How can you tell if a cat is friendly?

How do you think we could tell she liked being with us?

Ms. Beanz has yellow-green eyes. She has a pink nose, just like Bo, but her nose has a little black spot on it.

One side of her face is tan and the other half is black. Two of her legs are tan and two are black. Her paws are white and the bottoms are pink just like Bo's.

Her tail has a kink in it. We think it might have been broken before we adopted her.

Ms. Beanz has the softest fur I have ever felt! That is my favorite part of her. I love to pet her while she sits on my lap and purrs.

Ms. Beanz has a very pleasant personality. She is curious and brave. She isn't shy. She likes to explore and play.

Do you have a cat? If you do, what do you like most about your cat?

Like Bo, Ms. Beanz likes to be near me. Wherever I go in the house, she follows me.

Sometimes, when I am working, Ms. Beanz will lie down right on my keyboard! She sits and watches my monitor so carefully it seems as if she is reading what's on the screen.

Ms. Beanz likes to sleep on my desk. Sometimes she sleeps too close to the phone. When it rings, it wakes her up and she runs away as fast as she can.

Do you have a pet that follows you around?

Like Bo, Ms. Beanz loves to climb. She likes to be up high. Wherever we go, if there is something she can climb, she will.

Ms. Beanz climbs onto big rocks and jumps onto stone walls. She hops onto park benches. She climbs onto fallen tree trunks and she even likes to balance on the fence in our front yard.

Ms. Beanz likes to be as high as she can be. She is the Queen of the Hill!

Have you ever seen a cat climb up high?

Ms. Beanz sleeps a lot. She dreams a lot, too. Sometimes she has bad dreams and she wakes up meowing very loud. When this happens, I call to her and she comes running to me. I pick her up and she stands on her hind legs and puts her front paws on my shoulder. I pet her and she calms down. Then she goes back to sleep—just like a baby.

Maybe she dreams that we will take her back to the shelter. We will never take her back. We love her. We are her family now. This is her forever home.

We are her friends. Friends stick together.

Do you have friends that stick by you?