My husband and I saw Gizmo for the first time in the cramped confines of a humane society kennel. We had lost one of our two cats a couple of months prior, so we were looking for a new buddy for our Domestic Shorthair tabby, Jack. We went to the shelter to look at a cat we saw on their website, however when we arrived one of the shelter volunteers told us that the cat had already been adopted. We looked at the rest of the adoptable cats, but none really “spoke” to us.
The shelter volunteer suggested that we take a look at the “found cats” on the other side of the shelter; these were cats who were generally brought in as strays and were waiting to be reunited with their owners. The volunteer told us if there was a cat we liked, we could register with the front desk as an “interested adopter” and would be notified if the owners didn’t claim it.
We wandered over to the “found cats” section; most of these cats were justifiably anxious and terrified. However, a little blue-eyed cat that looked like a long-haired seal point Siamese stood up when he saw us, stretched, and immediately started meowing at us.
The shelter didn’t allow the public to have any direct contact with their found cats, so we could only look at him through the glass window of his kennel. He continued to meow at us and put his paws up on the glass, almost as if he was begging us to take him home. He was absolutely adorable; we knew immediately that we wanted to register as interested adopters.
We went to the front desk and told the animal services officer we wanted to adopt that cat if his owner’s didn’t claim him. When we gave her his kennel ID number, she said, “Oh…the LOUD cat. That cat talks a LOT!” She explained that he was brought in as a stray and owners have 5 days to come claim their missing pets. She said he had a few more days left in his holding period before he became available for adoption.
He didn’t have a microchip, so they were hoping that his owners would come to the shelter once they realized he was missing. She said they would call us if he hadn’t been claimed; at that point we could come back, interact with him, and adopt him if we felt he’d be a good fit for us.
Although we were smitten with this cute little cat, of course, our hope was that he could be reunited with owners who loved him. He was so beautiful and so sweet, we were frankly quite shocked when we got the call from the humane society saying his owners hadn’t come forward and we were now welcome to adopt him if we wished. We grabbed our cat carrier, hopped in the car, and drove to the shelter.
After being able to physically interact with this charming little fluff ball, we immediately fell in love with him, filled out his adoption application, and took him home with us.
The animal services officer at the humane society was right: he was quite talkative (and yes, sometimes loud). We named him Gizmo because his chirping and cooing reminded us of the furry little critter in the movie Gremlins with the same name. It was immediately evident that Gizmo was really special and unlike any cat I had ever owned. He behaved more like a puppy than a cat: he was vocal, curious, not afraid of much, and followed me everywhere.
At the time, I was only somewhat familiar with the Ragdoll breed, but after spending more time with Gizmo, doing more research, and stumbling upon the Floppycats website I was convinced that Gizmo was indeed a Ragdoll. A trip to our vet for a post-adoption check-up confirmed my speculations; our vet said he would put money on Gizmo being a Ragdoll cat. He also asked how the heck we got so lucky finding him in a shelter.
Our vet said Gizmo was “a year old, if even that old” when we adopted him, so that makes him about 14 years old today. He is an absolute joy with an incredible personality.
If you’re reading my story, you are likely a Ragdoll owner or lover, so you already know what amazing cats they are. He still follows me everywhere. Yes, he’s still VERY talkative and often loud.
From the day we adopted him, Gizmo loves to sleep on his back with his back toes curled under. My husband and I call him a “puppy cat” because he’s still very much like a puppy. He loves to sit and sleep in laundry baskets…and loves it even more when I carry him around the house inside the basket, giving him what we call a “Magic Basket Ride” (however, this isn’t always easy since he weighs over 20 pounds!). And then there are the “flops”…he absolutely loves to dramatically flop himself on the ground, flip onto his back, and demand a belly rub by chirping at whoever happens to be nearby.
After stumbling across him in the shelter, we’re convinced that finding Gizmo was destiny for us. It was just “meant to be”. We’ll never know the story about how he became a stray and ended up in a shelter, but that was his journey to us. Gizmo has been such a gift in so many ways, and we are so grateful to have him in our lives.
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Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,