06/02/2026
Lakeland Animal Shelter Amazing Adoption Update
I adopted Chute and Delores from the FIV+ room a couple weeks ago. They are doing well and I really think they are happy in their new forever home!
Delores was renamed to Onyx. It fits her because she is a beautiful gem! She warmed up quickly to her new surroundings. She enjoys playing "wiggle worm" on the floor in the mornings--taking in head, back, and belly rubs and loving every minute of it! Onyx has also become quite a lap cat in the evening hours when I sit down to watch television. I think she will cause new challenges when it comes to my crochet work though. I was able to get her to the vet within days of adopting her and, other than some meds for her ears and a salve to help heal the spot she had been excessively licking, she came out with a great report. She is fully confident in her new home.
Cheeto (formerly Chute) took a bit more convincing. He spent the first ten days in the basement, but I knew he was eating and using the litter box. I did not look for him (thinking he needed to feel he had the upper hand!) but I am sure he was under the couch, the chair, or perched on a box under the pool table whenever I was in that room. He had great windows with wide sills right at ground level so he could watch the wildlife in my yard and Onyx went down here and there to keep him company. When he DID choose to come up, I spoke quietly to him and made slow, gentle movements so as not to scare him. He is now on the main level the majority of time. He won't come up on my lap yet, but he does sit next to my chair so I can reach down and scratch his head or his back which he really enjoys. He even allows belly rubs now! He has a vet appointment next week.
The two are a great combination and I have seen Cheeto show such amazing affection to Onyx. He licks her head at times or sometimes even puts an "arm" around her if they are lying on the floor together. It is so very sweet! One of their favorite pastimes is to sit in the front window to watch the birds in the birdbath. Must be frustrating being so close but yet so far...
Thank you for all the assistance offered me when I came in to find my next felines. Thanks, too, for taking such good care of them so I could adopt them. Very happy ending to this story!