This adoption story subject features a cat known as Ripley. She is as strong-willed and independent as her namesake – and also like her, she’s efficient at dispatching her enemies (mice)! Ripley celebrates her one-year adopt-a-versary this month! This now-4-year-old cat was called Nibbles at Tri-County Humane Society.
“A year ago, we were getting ready to leave the shelter when we spotted her and were immediately captivated by her Calico dignity and refusal to beg for attention – and within minutes, we knew she belonged to us.” However, the name Nibbles would have to go. “On her card at the humane society, someone had written ‘when it comes to other cats, she is an independent lady.’ So I said her name should reflect that nature.” Ellen Ripley, after Sigourney Weaver’s heroine from the “Alien” movies, was suggested. “And although other names were bandied about, it was clear she was only ever going to be Ripley.”
In her new home, “Ripley is the reigning monarch much to the chagrin of Begbie the dog. As I type this, Ripley is sound asleep on a pillow in the guest bedroom. Since she is an adept mouse murderer, she is often up during the wee hours attending to her predator ways while the household sleeps, so she has daytime sleeping privileges.”
Ripley’s new family often asks, “How did we find the perfect cat?”
“She pays little attention to Christmas tree ornaments, never uses furniture or draperies for claw sharpening, (and) while insistent about going outside occasionally, she is often satisfied with 5-10 minutes outdoors and mere seconds in the winter cold (she was an indoor/outdoor cat when we adopted her). She wants to be close to all four humans in the house and is an equal opportunity cat in doling out her affections.” The only downside is that her humans occasionally find a dead mouse left on the bedroom carpet. “That is a small price to pay.”
Ripley’s family knew she was waiting for them at TCHS, and issued these final words, “Thank you for caring for her until we got there.”
