Happy Tail: A nurturing cat helps another who needs a friend

We're just about to the end of June, Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month, but here's another story that shows a side of cats that some folks never get to see.

Two years ago, the Spicers of North Canton, OH, adopted a kitten they named Pinky Tuscadero. Their oldest cat had died, and they hoped a new feline friend would be great for their other two cats.

"After two weeks of looking on Petfinder.com, I saw one profile in particular which melted my heart," Kathy Spicer says. Miley, as she was called then, had been living on her own during a bitter winter. Woozez Animal Rescue, part of the Coalition for Animal Concerns in Canton, took her in and posted her on Petfinder.

Shy at first, Pinky eventually formed a strong bond with the Spicers' oldest cat, Cleo, but as 2011 dawned, Cleo, at 17, was fading, and Kathy worried about how Pinky would react to the older cat's death. She and her husband decided to adopt another cat.

They found Roxy listed on Petfinder by Independence Animal Control Shelter in Independence, OH. Just from reading about her, they knew she might just be the special cat that would help Pinky deal with the inevitable. Roxy had raised her own kittens in a woodpile before she was rescued and, once at the shelter, she fostered other kittens -- all the more amazing, considering her diminutive size: six pounds. She had a strong nurturing nature.

Roxy was at the shelter for "almost a year, often passed by for the young kittens and the more exotic-looking cats," Kathy says, evidence that "this little grey tabby was meant to be with us." She goes on to say that Roxy "will get the love, attention, good veterinary care, fun and cuddles every animal deserves."

Cleo passed away recently, and Pinky is grieving. But her loss is tempered by the presence of her new friend, Roxy, with whom she is bonding. Friends always help, and Roxy is a natural at befriending.