My husband and I adopted Bandit from the Chico Cat Coalition when he was approximately six months old. We brought him home on December 27, 2011.

Terrified, he immediately hid under the bed, and I wondered if we had made a mistake. Our first cat, Blackie, died three months earlier at the age of 16. She had thyroid issues, and was so thin and ill when she died. She was our baby, and we were still reeling from the loss.

I thought we were ready for another cat, but when Bandit was so frightened when we brought him home, I wondered if we had made a mistake. I coaxed him out from under the bed to eat and so I could pet him, but…did we make the right choice?

All of my doubts disappeared when Bandit first peeked his head out of the bedroom door. He is an amazing pet. He has so many good qualities: he is brave, fearless, curious, clean, loving, and CUTE! He gets along with the dog. He loves to play and run and chase. He is a mama’s boy, always wanting to be by my side. We love him!

THANK YOU, Chico Cat Coalition, for bringing our wonderful cat Bandit into our family!

It’s not often that a cat shelter gets a purebred Maine Coon. Baron was just such a cat when he was trapped from Lower Bidwell Park in the summer of 2009. No one knows how he ended up abandoned in Lower Park; he was friendly, relatively healthy, and knew to come running when the refrigerator door was opened. He had most likely been someone’s loved house pet. What happened?

We’ll never know the circumstances of why Baron was abandoned in Lower Park, but it was good fortune that brought Baron in contact with a Chico Cat Coalition volunteer. Baron was brought to the CCC shelter, found to be healthy, then began the process of waiting for his forever home. Baron was lucky to meet Sally, a CCC volunteer. Sally had a house full of cats herself and had made up her mind that she would take no more!

But, Baron won over Sally’s heart in short order. Sally knew that Baron’s forever home was with her. She took him home, he found his place in her house and with the other household kitties, and the rest of his life began.

We love happy stories, and Sally and Baron have brought us one of the happiest! THANK YOU Sally for providing a loving, happy home for Baron.

Charlie came to the CCC when he was abandoned at the previous CCC location in August 2011. He was left in front of the shelter door in a cardboard box. Our volunteers immediately brought him in, gave him food and love, and welcomed Charlie to the CCC family.

There is no way to determine where Charlie lived before he came to the Chico Cat Coalition. However, wherever he lived, he developed a great love and affection for humans.

Charlie was taken to a foster home, where he fit in extremely well and was loved by the whole family – EXCEPT by the family dog. In fact, Charlie was so tough that he would chase after and bully the dog! Sadly, Charlie’s foster family had to bring him back to the shelter.

The volunteers were wondering if sweet Charlie would ever find a home. It looked like he might live out his life at the shelter...until one day, a mother and her three year old daughter came in to look at the cats. The three year old fell in love with Charlie right away...and Charlie, being the people-cat that he is, loved her right back. Although the volunteers miss seeing Charlie on a daily basis, it’s a happy ending for everyone!

Tillie and Turtle are sweet sisters who were born in Butte County at a different animal shelter, and were scheduled to be euthanized because they, along with their mother, were found to be FIV positive. Their mother was euthanized, but when we at the Chico Cat Coalition heard about Tillie and Turtle, we knew we had to do the right thing and take them in.

Due to their FIV status, we knew that it could be difficult to find a home for the girls. They moved into the FIV “suite” at the CCC shelter, and made a family with the other FIV cats and our volunteers.

Every CCC volunteer was immediately taken with the unbelievable cuteness and amazing personality of these two kittens. When cleaning the FIV room, these two girls would do everything they could to get attention, including jumping on the back of anyone scooping the litter boxes!

It is with great elation that we say that this story has a happy ending. The girls were adopted by Hether, one of our most dedicated volunteers. Tillie (now renamed Wednesday) and Turtle now live with their family consisting of Hether, her husband, an FIV-negative cat, and a dog.

The kitties want to say that they love Hether and all of the dedicated CCC volunteers!