Two years ago my son was planning to move out and take his dog with him. My husband and I decided we would miss having a dog, but I prefer cats so we decided to adopt a cat, preferably one that was harder to adopt. I went to the local rescue where they had tons of black cats and was close to choosing one named Joe when one of the foster moms started talking to me and suggested I look at her cat, a tabby named "Tabitha" (Samantha and Darin's daughter on the show Bewitched).
Tabitha, she told me, was a sweet cat at home but hated the Adoption Showcase. They had to cover her cage on all sides but the front and often she would hiss and growl at the adopters and sometimes even scratch and bite them. I was dubious because I didn't want a cat that hated me and because tabbies are easier to adopt than black cats.
However, when she placed Tabitha in my arms, there was a bit of squirming, but I said "there, there" and "it's okay" a few times and Tabitha settled right down. And that was it. No other cat would do for me.
I still felt sorry for all those black cats, though, so I convinced my daughter to adopt one of them, a friendly cat named Kelly that she promptly renamed to Salem after the cat in Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch.
Tabitha continues to be a skittish cat who mostly only likes me, but is slowly warming up to the rest of the family. She and Salem get along great, like siblings. Every morning when I wake up to her sleeping besides me, I am so glad she picked me.
Fremont, CA
