Meow! My name is Ernestina

When Ernestina arrived to Tree House as a fluffy five-month-old kitten, Bill Clinton was president, the Twin Towers were still standing, and ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys ruled the American Top 40 charts. It was October 25, 2000.

In the 11 years since, Ernestina has been adopted and returned twice — through absolutely no fault of her own. She’s back at Tree House now and spends her time in the front room on the first floor. Ernestina was adopted with Sugar Cookie in March 2001 and returned seven years later when her adopters decided they couldn’t keep either cat because they were moving to Wisconsin and traveled abroad too much.

Ernestina got a second chance at a forever home in August 2010, but the adopter returned her after only nine days. Again, the cat wasn’t the problem. The adopter sent us a heartbreaking email explaining that the timing was all wrong and she wasn’t ready for a cat:

Please know that it had nothing to do with Ernestina. … She ate regularly, used her litter box appropriately, and accepted her medicine. I also soon learned how much she loves to be petted, as she would come out of her spot on the windowsill when I got home from work, meowing a little and seeking affection. She loved resting in my lap, and would nestle next to me when I took naps on the couch. Maybe because of her age, she didn’t even make a lot of noise at night while we were sleeping. She stayed in the living room and played rather quietly and slept. She never even tried to scratch or hiss at me.

This has been a challenging year for me, and I thought that a cat companion would be a good idea. I soon realized that now isn’t the time for me to attend to a pet, as there is a lot to invest emotionally, and I need to focus on myself more than I realized/wanted to admit.

I wanted to write this to you, so that you can let future potential adopters know how wonderful Ernestina is. I hope that someone will take a chance on an older cat with special needs.

Every other day, Ernestina takes a tiny pill for a mouth inflammation that is well under control. Once per month, we’ve also been giving her a Vitamin B12 injection to keep a suspected irritable bowel condition in check.

Like the second adopter wrote in her letter, Ernestina is good-natured and loving. And did you notice how gorgeous she is? Please consider giving this dignified, patient lady a forever home — for real this time. She has waited so long. The adoption counselors at our headquarters, 1212 West Carmen Avenue, will be happy to introduce you two.