“Second Son” Charms His Way into a Forever Home

Submitted by Kelly W.

I stopped by a PetSmart® store on the way home from work to get some supplies for my 11-year-old cat, Ally. As usual, I walked into the PetSmart Charities® Adoption Center to take a look. There he was, reaching through the cage for me.

The shelter volunteer asked if I wanted to hold him. He was a very handsome five-month-old beauty with longish hair and gray stripes. But I had recently lost BJ, my cat of 17 years, and was heartbroken.

He kept reaching for me so I said “yes.” As soon as she handed him to me he put a paw on each of my shoulders and started rubbing and purring. I looked into the cat’s eyes and told him he had big paws to fill if he came to our house.

More purring sealed the deal. He came home with me that night, and it was a great decision.

That cat’s original name was Tigger. I changed it to Kenji, which is Japanese for “second son” since he is my second male cat I‘ve adopted.

Kenji is simply a joy to be around. I was deeply attached to BJ, but he was a grumpy old man, even on his best days. Kenji is full of nothing but pure love.

Kenji loves to dive under the covers each day when my husband is trying to make the bed. You have to pull him out layer by layer to complete the task.

He loves to play with Ally. He favorite move is to run and get as close as he can to her, then jump over or run around her, never actually touching her. We call this his ninja move.

As soon as I sit down at the end of a workday, he is on my lap. Within minutes he has worked his way onto his back, fully stretched out so I can rub his belly.

His day pretty much revolves around how much love he can get. And he gets a lot….