Happy Tails | Emmie

Every single animal that comes through our shelter has a story. Some are complex, many are sad, but all of them get better the minute they arrive at the Virginia Beach SPCA. Emmie and her two sisters were found abandoned as young kittens in November 2021. The trio was placed into a VBSPCA foster home until they were strong enough for the adoption process. Once Emmie was back at the shelter, it didn’t take long for her to catch the eye of Sharalee and her family. We recently caught up with Sharalee to get an update on Emmie.

When did you adopt Emmie?

We adopted Emmie on Saturday, December 4th, 2021. Our daughter Lily, 13, had been asking for a kitten for years. We waited until we knew she would be able to care for her in the way a cat needed. The tears in our daughter’s eyes when we pulled into the VBSPCA Shelter’s parking lot is a moment we will always remember.

How did you know Emmie was the one for you?

We knew right away we wanted to meet Emmie. Her Siamese coloring was just too beautiful to ignore. There was another couple in the room with her, and we had no way of knowing if they would select her. We played with several other kittens and fell in love with all of them. However, once we started playing with Emmie and my daughter held her, we knew she was the one.

How is Emmie doing in the home?

Emmie is doing wonderfully. She is snuggly and talkative, meowing the second she sees someone. She stretches out her paws from her cat tree and begs to be picked up. She always wants a snuggle.

What sort of activities do you and Emmie do together?

We play with her with toys or on her cat tree. She likes looking in mirrors. We also got her a harness to take her on walks, though she’s not quite used to that yet. The first couple of times we put on the harness, she just flopped right over. We are taking it slowly introducing her outside. She is excited to see everything but gets overwhelmed.

Does Emmie have any funny quirks?

Emmie does this little trilling noise when she runs and plays. It’s not a purr or meow. It’s like a rolling squeak. She will hide under the bed and then leap at your arm and roll over onto her back clutching your arm before she darts off again to prowl after her next victim.

How has Emmie enriched your lives so far?

I’ll be honest and say that we weren’t expecting the whole family to fall in love with Emmie. She was my daughter’s and still primarily stays with her. However, it has brought our family together as we fight over who gets to play with her or snuggle with her next. She is certainly loved!

Why do you think people should consider adopting a shelter pet?

There are so many animals that need love and a home. We never considered a breeder. My husband and I visited the shelter prior to bringing our daughter in and there were so many precious animal babies needing homes. We knew immediately that our daughter would have no problem finding her forever little best friend.

I am so grateful for the VBSPCA caring for not just our sweet Emmie before we welcomed her home, but all the animals that have entered their doors, whether they had a short or long stay.