Junipurr’s Adoption Story
One of my favorite nooks on the internet is Cup of Jo’s annual series Parenting Around the World. I love these stories of adventures in parenting, and as a member of the “Pets are the New Kids, Plants are the New Pets tribe,” I crave something similar for us cat parents. So… here it is! This week, I’ll share my story of becoming a cat mom thanks to Junipurr. If you have a story to share, please let me know!
Note: Apologies in advance for the photo quality. These were the single-digit iphone days!
Who is Junipurr?
Junipurr is a transfomer. In most circumstances, she is an American shorthair brown tabby with tiger stripes on her sleeves and a big cat personality to match. Her paws are disproportionally big and puffy, like generous loaves of brioche. Don’t get the wrong idea, though — those murder mittens are fierce. Matter of fact, her boundary-setting ability is the stuff of therapists’ dreams. In the presence of her Favorite Parent (FP), however, she transforms into a puppy + snuggle muffin.
Word on the streets is that Junipurr — aka Hotdog, Babygirl, and Juni — is the inspiration of Canadian poet-rapper Drake’s song “Started From the Bottom.” Like many miracles of the universe, her origin story remains a mystery. Born sometime in March 2017, two-week-old Juni was discovered alone and in a frightful state at a gas station. Thankfully, she was brought to the local animal shelter, where the good life she deserves began. Nowadays, as her friends on social know, she has a full schedule living her best life and advocating for furbaby parents to #adoptdontshop.
Adoption Story (It Takes A Village!)
June 2017. The sun was stuntin’, FP was out of town, and I was doing what Eve Ensler advised: “[Woman] Cherish your solitude.”
To me, that meant beginning the day by volunteer fruit picking (don’t laugh). Our team of fruit pickers was on beast mode. The five of us – all women, ranging from a 17-year-old high schooler working on street cred for college applications to a 72-year-old retiree more nimble than the rest of us combined – shook hands and got to work. In two hours, we picked 3,000 pounds of fruit for local food shelters. Afterwards, I was feeling pretty good about myself as I sat in the car, slurping an In & Out milkshake. Flash of inspiration: The day could only get better if I swing by the shelter’s annual pet adoption fair! JUST TO LOOK, of course. (Yes, yes, I know now: The primordial “mistake”)
Alas, I had mistaken the day of the adoption fair … so there were no pups around. Not a one. Disappointed, I decided to stop by the cats and give a few respectful nods. As you might have gathered, I was very much a dog person. (We’ll address this later)
As soon as I walked into the kitten room, a palm-sized furball with a pizza-sized cone around her head turned around from a self-imposed timeout at the corner of her metal cage. I swear melodramatic music began playing through the shelter speakers right at this moment. Then, Juni began meowing at me with all her might: “HI-HI-HI-HI-HI! FOOD? YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU! TREATS? I GOT A LONG LIST OF WANTS AND YOU LOOK LIKE SANTA! OK?”
I must admit something to you that I’ve never shared before. Friend, I thought: “What a loud one! The family that brings her home is going to have their hands full. Ha, thankfully it won’t be me.”
Famous last words much?
So, regretably, I walked right past baby Junipurr and approached a green-eyed ebony brother-and-sister pair. They were so cute that I asked the shelter staff if I could go into the playroom with them. Alas, the little girl wanted absolutely nothing to do with me, and the little boy wanted nothing to do with gravity. While one was pirouetting off the walls like a bouncy ball, the other was frantically digging in the opposite corner of the room to find the doors of Narnia. I shrugged and got ready to head out, as planned.
My right foot was already out the door (I’m a rightie) when Junipurr unleashed what I can only describe as a Battle Cry for The Mother’s Heart. Her meows had paws, and they came rushing towards my heart then grabbed on tight. I essentially blacked out after that.
Here is what I vaguely remember doing:
Sitting in the playroom floor and watching Junipurr make me her homebase as she explored the premises
Calling FP and blubbering “I know this is not the right time and we are not allowed to have pets and also I am a dog person…BUTDOYOUTHINKWESHOULDADOPTACAT” and interpreting the nanosecond pause on his side as YES
Calling my landlord, who - beyond all reason - kindly gave us permission to adopt a kitten (!)
Asking my adoption counselor Jovan, who has the patience of Mother Teresa, approx. 190,948,638,472 questions about cat care, including “Poop and cats … what’s the scoop?”
Putting down a non-binding deposit to hold Junipurr for 12 hours (the shelter did not offer binding holds, understandably. If another family were willing to adopt a furbaby immediately, s/he would go home with them)
Then I walked away.
When life coaches tell you to pause and get clear internally, they don’t mention how heartwrenching the pausing can feel. But, I knew deep down that I better be rock solid in my commitment, because this was for life. I knew I had been called by the Universe in the form of a two-pound screamer, but I was terribly unsure about answering. I’ve never had a pet. I’ve never even known a neighbor with a pet. I had zero working knowledge of what being a good cat parent entailed. So, I headed to my mecca: Barnes & Noble. I promptly bought all five books on cat care in stock and settled down in the coffee shop with a notepad, pen, and liquid courage (I’m talking coffee, folks). Seven hours later, I emerged from a fog of the most ferocious cramming of my life and realized: I need support. The overwhelm was real.
Thank goodness for chosen sisters!
I texted three of my dear friends: the divine Miss M., a certified badass who truly can do anything; Sarah, a wise mom to human and fur children; and, Lisa, a role model cat mama and experienced shelter volunteer. All three gave me the vote of confidence, so with my community’s support, I was in.
I zoomed home to “babyproof” the house, a process that took until 3am in the morning. Then I rose at 7am to shower and get presentable so that Juni would feel reassured she was going to a good home. My dear friend and now mentor/doula Lisa came with me to bring Junipurr home, and we arrived right as the shelter was opening. I breathed a huge sigh of relief – Junipurr was still there, with a low key bedhead ‘do going on. Lisa stayed the entire day to help both Junipurr and me settle in, and a few days later M. and Sarah came over to meet the furbaby and cook for me (in my first few days of cat parenthood, I was often so overwhelmed I’d forgot to eat). To this day, Juni LOVES her some Auntie Lisa, M., and Sarah.
Then, a few days after that, FP returned from his trip and Juni showed us her transformer skills.
And that, friend, is how I came to hand my life over to this little furball.
Next time, I’ll share a bit about our daily life — favorite rituals, Junipurr's Spirit Human, my Cat Parent Superpower, and our family anthem. Read it here :)
p.s. You may also like Viviana + Whiskers, The Tripod TomCat
