Barney goes home
Meet Barney, who finally has a forever home after nine years living in a shelter:
I’ve got a bias toward silver tabbies obviously, but look at this little guy! He’s handsome, he’s got bright green eyes and I’ve no doubt he’s got a ton of love to give to his new people.
The question is: Why did it take nine years for him to get adopted? It’s deeply unfair and depressing, although the people at Iowa’s Emmett County Animal Shelter deserve credit for never giving up on him.
Barney was born at the shelter and was passed over every time potential adopters came in to look at cats, shelter staff told the Des Moines Register. When someone posted a photo of Barney to Reddit along with a short note about his predicament, Amanda Scherer drove six hours to adopt him, telling the Register “I really wanted to give him a home.”
Social media has become an invaluable tool for shelters looking to place cats and dogs in homes, and there are two common denominators to the success stories: a great photo that capture’s the pet’s personality and a backstory. The more the story tugs at the heartstrings, the better.
No judgments here, but I wish people who are inclined to buy cats and dogs would think of all the Barneys out there who need homes. Some 1.5 million of them are killed every year because the demand for homes is greater than the demand for shelter pets. That’s a significant improvement over decades past thanks to relentless efforts to get animals spayed and neutered, but we can do better.
Bud’s looking ripped
Buddy’s been on a diet since early this summer, necessitated by my poor job of learning to say no when he screeches for snacks, which is approximately all the time.
It hasn’t been easy for either of us: He wants his treats and I desperately want him to stop meowing for them, but after three months I’ve really noticed a difference. He’s much trimmer these days and he’s mostly learned to be satisfied with smaller treat portions at longer intervals, so it’s been worth it.
Now all I have to do is avoid lapsing into being his human snack dispenser again and avoid using treats as a lazy way to get him to do things he doesn’t want to do. Like, for example, giving me a few minutes of meow-free peace when I’m trying to focus on writing. (The only time he stops trilling, chirping and meowing is when he’s eating or napping.)
I’ll get a good full shot of my feline overlord so you can see how ripped he’s looking, but in the meantime here’s a photo I took this week on the balcony, where Bud likes to lounge in the summer. There are no color filters or any other edits except a simple crop and a shadow/highlight adjustment, and you can see his “terracotta nose” and just how bright and green his eyes are in natural outdoor light:
Although there are no filters, I should note here that I took this photo with my new Samsung, and Galaxy phones are known for their saturated colors. My previous phone was a Google Pixel which often resulted in the opposite effect, with photos looking sapped of color in some lighting conditions. Still, the Galaxy’s photos are much closer to what I see with my own eyes when little man is playing outside.
P.S. Thank you to the reader who dubbed Bud “terracotta nose” a while back. I’m sorry, I can’t remember who bestowed him with that nickname, but I love it.
Pain In The Bud 
I love Barney (and Buddy)!. I adopted a big sad black cat no one wanted, and he’s the best! I also have another cat called Buddy (great name!)
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Indeed, all cats are little buddies. It’s not what I intended to name him…I couldn’t decide on a name and for two weeks I just called him buddy and little buddy, and it just seemed to fit. Now I can’t imagine a different name.
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Buddy is more handsome if that’s possible
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He says his goal this year is to become at least 7% handsomer.
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Lucky Barney but mostly lucky Amanda! That feline will be the joy of her life!
Bud is looking fantastic! Having the weight off will take a burden off his hips and legs, allowing him more daring and breathtaking acrobatics! Well done!
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I don’t have a proper pet scale but he’s noticeably thinner…er, I mean more ripped.
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Barney finally has a home! The shelter that kept him for 9 years is to be commended to keep him off death row.
Buddy is a handsome boy indeed! Love the contrast of his terracotta nose and his green eyes!
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Barney is a cutie and I’m so glad he got a home! However my heart breaks for all the homeless cats out there. There’s been a tidal wave of homeless cats and dogs found in this area the last few months despite so many rescuers and TNR groups actively working. It’s not just here, many areas nationwide report the same. I’m not so fond of breeders. It’s amazing what the genetics can do, but you can find all those same beautiful traits on the streets. That’s an exquisite photo of your Buddy!
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A surprising number of people seem to think breed cats are some sort of special stock rather than the truth, which is that all cats come from the same genetic lineage.
I wish more people knew what you pointed out, that you can find street and shelter cats with the same characteristics if you look around enough.
When I was looking to adopt and was woefully ignorant about cats, I did a lot of reading online and found several guides that said Siamese is the breed to adopt if you want an outgoing, friendly, talkative cat. The joke was on me because I ended up with a cat who makes Siamese seem like quiet, reserved cats, but those guides exist for SEO purposes and a lot of people end up getting the wrong idea from them. For example, The Scotsman’s site is notorious for constantly publishing SEO-dominated lists about the “best breeds.”
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The TNR group FlatBushcats has opened a free or low cost spay/neuter clinic in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I’m a donor but have no personal experience with the group. Does anyone here know them better? (I hope this
post is OK, I’m not trying trying to disparage the group.)
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It’s fine by me, PITB readers and cat lovers in general are generous with cat-related charities and it’s always good to know if donations are effective. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with the group. That’s more Gilda’s neck of the woods so maybe she can chime in.
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man that is great news- I always adopt and Barneys smile made my day!
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