Finding Home- Match-Making for Nathan 08/13/2020 By Kerry S As part of our commitment to opening our doors during COIVD and saying YES to pets in need, we expanded our reach to help rural shelters in Minnesota and Northern Iowa. In May we brought 86 cats into Pet Haven and Nathan was one of them. Nathan came up from a rural shelter in Iowa where he had been living for almost a year with no real chance at adoption. No real chance of knowing family. Before the shelter, he was living in a hoarding home where he was one of 60 other cats. Nathan did not get much attention and when he arrived at the shelter he was shy and unsure but we decided to take a risk on him and see if he would come out of his shell. After a few weeks, he started to blossom into Mr. Personality Plus! He could not get enough of the pets and love that he had missed living in a home with over 60 cats. He had become an attention seeker and had more love to give than he knew what to do with! It was going to take the right adopter to handle Nathan's intense need for attention and a very vocal personality! He hated being left alone and had a real curious nature to him. After about a month in his foster home and a few applications that just were not right, he received an application from a woman who worked at a group home that had 4 residents, along with caretakers who were there 24 hours a day. The meet and greet went wonderfully and with the round the clock caretakers, it meant Nathan would literally never have to be alone! At Pet Haven, we pride ourselves on being Match-Makers taking into account not just what the adopter is looking for but what the pet needs to live there best life. It's not always easy and some times takes a bit longer to find just the right placement, but we know we are creating forever families by taking our time. We are so happy for Nathan and the family we have helped to create. Here is an update that the adopter passed along: "Hello Pet Haven- I am happy to report that Nathan is doing great! He is SO FRIENDLY and fearless!! Already highly social loves pets comes to us to nuzzle, meows for attention, and was adamant that he was ready to come out of the room we set up for him following the slow introduction procedures you gave us. He and Abby, the other kitty, are kept mostly separate but have done well during their introductions. Nathan will hiss a little bit but Abby is completely calm. After the allotted time we decided to let me explore each other. Despite the hissing, Nathan still approaches her and wants to see her. He seems to be quite smitten! He's been eating and drinking water just fine and seems to be right at home! He has explored every inch of the house that he has access to, and has greeted everyone too 🙂 So curious! Hard to believe he's new here because he is so confident. We love him so much already, just the sweetest boy. Thank you so much for facilitating the adoption!" Creating Families is the best gift we can give to the hundreds of homeless lets in our care. Each pet in need that comes to Pet Haven is treated like family, loved, and cared for until we can find that "just right place" that they can call home. Thanks to people like you who support our mission to save more lives like Nathan we have been able to find "home" for 332 cats from January to July of 2020. That is over 100 more cats than last year! Welcome Home Nathan!