In March of 2018, I started looking for a companion kitty for Loki, my HSHV Alum. His 17-year old kitty brother had passed away, and I could tell that Loki was lonely. Being a volunteer at HSHV, I saw something on the website about a very friendly 3-year male cat by the name of Toby. Very friendly, outgoing kitties don’t last long at HSHV, so I rushed over on a Sunday morning to be there when the shelter opened. I visited briefly with Toby and sure enough, he was all loves, purrs, kitty chatter and head bumps into me.

I talked with the staff to get his back story since he was an “owner surrender.” Toby originally came from Jackson County in early 2017. So they did not know much of his history. Shortly after arriving, he was adopted, but brought back 5 months later. His owner had become ill and could no longer care for Toby. Again, Toby was adopted very quickly and again brought back to the shelter 8 months later. The reason… he was too “dog-like” and he talked a lot. Hummm, as a “purrent” to a Siamese kitty, I already know a lot about talkative cats, so I knew he would fit right into this family without any issues.

Toby’s one page story to highlight him had this sentence, “Whoever adopts Toby is going to be so lucky!” And that has definitely been the case. He loves to talk up a storm and showers me with love when I get home from work. I can find him sitting by my feet when I am cleaning up at the kitchen sink. The best part of all this is that Loki and Toby became fast buddies after the brief introduction period. Now, if only I could teach Toby how to play fetch!