Jasmine arrived at the Homer Animal Shelter in November of 2006--thin, dirty and starving. Someone recognized her as a cat that had been missing from her home since March. But her people didn't want her any more. She hadn't really been their cat. They had just taken over her care when her elderly owner died. Jasmine was fifteen years old.

She had been on her own, scrounging for food and shelter, for eight months at what is considered a geriatic age for cats.

At that age, she isn't a cat that most people would be willing to adopt. So she spent a year and a half at the Animal Shelter, where I got to know her. She was a quiet, unassuming cat. She got along well with all the cats roaming free in the big cat room at the Shelter. All she needed is a place to live out the last few years of her life.

So she came to join us here at the end of March, 2008.

I was hoping there would be a minimum of hissing and bruised feelings. She was such a laid-back kitty at the Shelter, I was hoping that equilibrium could be maintained in our multi-cat household.. There were several wonderful cats at the Shelter that I would have gladly brought home, but they needed to be the star of the household--and our household already had several stars...

But Jasmine is happy to fit in. She isn't timid--she took a spot on the foot of the bed and regularly sits on one of the three chairs upstairs to watch the daily doings. But--perhaps because of her age and experience--Jasmine doesn't feel she has to push herself into any situation where disruption might ensue. She just takes her place with confidence and lets the household's routines swirl around her.

We can tell she is very happy to be part of a real household. She is still adjusting to the idea that she can have as much to eat as she wants. When I think of all those months when she had to scramble for food, all the nights she went to sleep hungry, I am happy to provide a place when she will never need to go to bed hungry.