Baxter's Story
I recently found myself wanting (needing) a kitty again after well over a decade, having not having my own cat for well over a decade. I started hitting up Petfinder to look through what the wider Columbus area had to offer. I bookmarked about 20, whittled it down to three, and finally decided to put an application in to see two adult black cats, five or younger, both special-needs.
I have had my fill over the last 20 years when it comes to kittens (IYKYK). I didn't mind young adults, but I really wanted some cats that had grown out of (most) of some of the worst kitten behavior. In-fact, I was also looking at other hard-to-adopt cats such as seniors, bonded pairs, black cats, and FIV+ cats. For my return to cat daddyhood, I wanted to be very open. My main requirements were that the potential cat should be friendly and good with other cats. I find that if you have those two you'll typically find a lovebug just waiting for attention.
As a quick aside for FIV, you can read more about it here. The virus is unique to cats-only and can't be transmitted to people. When I adopted Baxter though, I fully understood that there could be a day (hopefully far-far-off) where he's going to need a lot of vet visits and potentially end-of-life care. I am extremely honored to give him the most enriching life I can until he's no longer with us. I'll explain why in a bit.
As it turns out, one of the kitties I was looking to adopt wasn't quite ready to be adopted. But, I still got to meet Baxter. It was obvious he was very attached to his foster mom (and her can of food), but he wasn't mean or avoiding me. He'd let me pet him, hold him for a moment. I trusted his foster mom that he was truly a friendly kitty that just needed time to adjust to me. I signed the paperwork and paid the fee. Baxter is now my fur-child, and he's going to be a very spoiled kitty. For those curious, I went through Buckey Pet Partners.
He's about three and solid black (except his lonely stars of white that show up every so often in his coat). It's clear he's still growing back hair from a vet visit. (Likely from at least a neuter, gauging from the state of his undercarriage.) He's got pale green eyes that sometimes go to emeralds. He's about average sized for a housecat, but I have a feeling he's not quite done growing yet. (Something about the paws tell me he's going to get a bit bigger.)
He was found at the Quarry Trails here in Columbus/Ohio. His original dad wanted to keep him, but his wife said no. I was told he was distraught to give Baxter up, so I'm going to give this handsome kitty the best life I can offer.