Sophia

This is Sophia! She’s a spunky 13 year old female domestic medium hair that Milwaukee Pets Alive (MPA) rescued from Milwaukee Animal Control (MADACC) where she instantly stole our hearts. Like so many of the animals MPA rescues, Sophia’s story is one of perseverance, transformation, and hope.<br/><br/>Sophia was brought to MADACC last January as a stray. All alone in the cold world, it’s amazing this tiny, sweet girl was able to survive on her own in the depths of winter. She was skin and bones (just 4 &frac12; lbs. when weighed at our vet the day we rescued her in mid-January), her fur entirely matted from head to paw, down to her skin and very painful. Yet when we met Sophia at animal control, while her exterior told a tale of hardship she likely endured for some time, her soul still only knew love (one of the many qualities of animals we adore and admire so much). A staff member opened her cage door to give her her food for the day. She stood up and “booped” the staff member’s hand looking for affection – something that was evidently missing from her life for a long time. It was clear the pets and attention brought her great happiness. When the staff member closed her cage door, she settled in with her bowl of food and ate heartily, again, grateful for the sustenance she likely didn’t have at the ready for quite a while.<br/><br/>We spent time with Sophia at her cage, watching her enjoy her meal. Only a few moments in her presence were needed to tell what a sweetheart she was. Her appearance was rough, a reflection of the way life had treated her, but her eyes – the most piercing green eyes you have ever seen – were a window into her soul and the wonderful little being she was. We spent time gazing at the little girl, so precious, and extended our fingers through the bars of her cage to give her a few gentle chin scratches and cheek rubs (which she thoroughly enjoyed). All of that was just icing on the cake though – the instant we met her, we knew she was coming with us to Milwaukee Pets Alive.<br/><br/>We brought her straightaway to our vet for an exam upon rescue, as we do for all of our new rescues. We discovered Sophia was missing all of her teeth on the left side of her mouth. The vet started to work on removing the mats that covered every inch of her body with a shaver. While the mats themselves tugged at her skin and were painful, trying to get below the mats to shave them off tugged at them even more and the process pulled at Sophia’s delicate skin and because Sophia was so underweight, her skeletal frame was not conducive to allowing the shaver to contour to her body making getting to the base of the mats (where it was painful) difficult. Sophia could only tolerate having a few mats removed before letting the vet staff know she had had enough for the day. Our plan was to let Sophia gain some weight to make it easier to shave her and slowly remove the mats according to her tolerance.<br/><br/>We brought Sophia to her foster home where she would know love, care, kindness, warmth – and never be without anything! We provided Sophia with nutritious food to help her gain weight. She loved her wet food and despite missing half a mouthful of teeth, enjoys snacking on dry food in between her wet food feedings (we get her Fromm, and because of the small size of each piece, it’s easy for her to eat, missing teeth and all). We slowly chipped away at her mats – both with return visits to the vet to have them shave a few off at a time, as well as volunteers doing so in her foster home with a shaver. Each time, this brave little girl would allow only so much trying to remove her mats before she had had enough.<br/><br/>During this time while Sophia still had the mats, she was fairly reserved. She liked her chin and cheeks petted, but touching the rest of her body covered with mats, you could tell was uncomfortable. She stayed in foster mom’s bedroom (initially, to be isolated from resident dog Kaia), but even upon introduction to the rest of the home, she would peek her head out of the bedroom door, maybe take a few steps into the living room, then go running back. She had no interest in toys initially. Sophia would sit up or, when relaxing, she would only lay “upright” in a “kitty loaf” (all paws folded underneath her) – we imagine it was painful to lay on her mats so she didn’t. She didn’t jump up much onto things – only onto her mom’s bed to snuggle at night (Sophia did that from day one – she knew who saved her and loved having her love).<br/><br/>One day, we could tell the mats were really bothering Sophia so we decided to go for broke and try to remove all remaining mats at once. It was almost as if Sophia had learned to trust us all and finally surrendered to what needed to be done and she allowed her entire body to be shaved. The amount of mats removed that laid around her after her shave were enough volume to be another cat themselves! Sophia was so brave throughout and we told her while she was being shaved that she would feel so much better once those mats were gone.<br/><br/>And we were right! When those mats were all removed, Sophia became a whole new kitty instantly! She jumped up onto the couch and more frequently onto the bed, no longer hindered by the mats that restricted movement of her limbs and created pain when she did. She ventured out into the living room with confidence and owned her space (and a favorite place on the couch!). She started to love to be brushed (not just on her head as previously which had few mats) but everywhere! Sophia’s fur grew in quickly. Beautiful, gray and white, plush like velvet, and most importantly, tangle and mat-free! Sophia started to groom herself – something she hadn’t done since we rescued her. And play – very soon after all her mats were removed, we saw Sophia play for the first time! One evening, Sophia’s foster mom was getting ready for bed and was putting her moisturizer on while sitting on her bed. She left the bedroom for a moment and came back just in time to see Sophia batting the cap from the moisturizer bottle with her paw to the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Shew was letting foster mom know she was ready to play!<br/><br/>Little Sophia is an incredible, brave, amazing kitty, her personality as bright as her gorgeous green eyes. Our Sophia was actually named after Sophia Loren, a timeless beauty, just like she is.<br/><br/>Sophia has a cute little leopard print bed, just her size, that is placed on her mom’s bed that she will nap in during the day during the colder months when her human is at work, but at nighttime, Sophia would rather snuggle up next to you in your bed instead of hers. She wants to be laying against you, and preferably, right on top of you where she can be reminded she is safe, protected, and loved and always will be. The soothing sound of Sophia’s purrs will help you drift right off to sleep.<br/><br/>Speaking of purrs, Sophia in general is a purr machine! Her foster mom nick-named her “insta-purr” because as soon as you make eye contact with her, she starts to purr instantly and trots over to you for chin scratches. When Sophia had her “glamour photo shoot” as all of MPA’s beautiful adoptables do, the photographer commented that Sophia’s purr enchanted her.<br/><br/>Petting Sophia is definitely a way to get her purr-motor going. She loves to be pet and will “self-pet” if you are near her and haven’t started petting her yet!<br/><br/>Sophia is of course now mat-free (and pain-free) and lays on her side and any which way she pleases (and is not limited to one position that was least uncomfortable as she did when we first rescued her). As mentioned previously, Sophia is missing all of the teeth on the left side of her mouth and she recently had a dental where a few bad teeth were removed. As such, Sophia drools occasionally and we think it makes her extra adorable. When she is snoozing or when she is really getting into chin scratches and lowers her head against the bed and relaxing into it, you may find little patches of kitty drool under her mouth on the surface she is sitting or lying on. Whatever Sophia does is cute – including her drool!<br/><br/>Sophia is not so much into little toys. When she is in the mood to play, she prefers wand toys – her favorites are Da’Bird and the Cat Charmer.<br/><br/>Sophia lives with an older resident dog that is respectful of cats and understands on the hierarchy, that cats rule. Sophia and resident dog Kaia enjoy relaxing on the couch together. Sophia likes drinking out of the dog’s water bowl more than her own, so the dog has earned bonus points with Sophia for letting her do that.<br/><br/>Sophia is now a healthy 8 lbs, and though naturally she’s just a petite little thing, Sophia is the boss! Sophia has a pouty lower lip and tiny chin which are so cute. They add to her character, and though rare, when Sophia does not like something, these features add to the look she will give which we call “the stinky eye.” When we and our vets were trying to remove those mats from her, a few Sophia stinky eyes were given out. Also, Sophia loves her food. Sometimes, one of the MPA volunteers likes to stop by Sophia’s home after work to drop off supplies or just visit. Right after work is also Sophia’s dinner time…and that volunteer is delaying that. So Sophia will position herself facing her (empty) food bowls, look over her shoulder, and give the volunteer a “stink eye.” It’s hard not to laugh because it looks like this little thing, cute as a button, is giving a dirty look, but the message is received, and the volunteer moves along quickly so Sophia can get her wet food she’s been waiting for.<br/><br/>Sophia is a little doll looking for someone with an available lap! She would do great as an only-companion animal (where all the attention and lap time belongs to her). Cuddly Sophia definitely needs a mom and/or dad who wants to have her cuddle in bed with them at night – it means so much to her to have you close and loving her while you sleep. She is definitely one of those kitties who, daily, shows her gratitude for being saved and for the new lease on life she's been given.<br/><br/>Sophia is an older gal so is looking for a peaceful, quiet, laid-back life. Therefore, Sophia would like a home without children. If there are other pets in the home, they should be older as well and respectful of felines (like her dog sister Kaia is).<br/><br/>The condition we find so many animals in upon rescue is astonishing and heartbreaking. Animals, the most perfect beings on earth, don’t deserve such disregard. What Sophia deserves is all the love, care, and kindness she should have always had, without interruption, and a promise that she will always have those things forever.<br/><br/>Will you provide love and a forever home for Sophia to be the princess she was always meant to be?<br/><br/>Companion animals are family. They are not “less than”, “below”, “beneath,” or any different from human family members. They are one and the same to us and we seek those adopters who share the same philosophy and feel the same way about these, the most amazing beings we are so privileged to share our lives with. Sophia’s adoption fee is $70 and, like all MPA adoptables, she is spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. If you live in the Milwaukee Metro Area, and if you have what Sophia is looking for in her forever home and will promise to love her always (and know you’re lucky to have the opportunity to do so), contact us today. Let’s show this little lady the kind of love she deserved all along.<br/><br/>About Milwaukee Pets Alive<br/> <br/>Milwaukee Pets Alive is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the killing of Milwaukee’s homeless pets through comprehensive programs and resources benefiting and serving the people and companion animals of Milwaukee first. Our top priority is that all healthy, treatable, and rehabilitatable animals at Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC) achieve live outcomes.

This is Sophia! She’s a spunky 13 year old female domestic medium hair that Milwaukee Pets Alive (MPA) rescued from Milwaukee Animal Control (MADACC) where she instantly stole our hearts. Like so many of the animals MPA rescues, Sophia’s story is one of perseverance, transformation, and hope.

Sophia was brought to MADACC last January as a stray. All alone in the cold world, it’s amazing this tiny, sweet girl was able to survive on her own in the depths of winter. She was skin and bones (just 4 ½ lbs. when weighed at our vet the day we rescued her in mid-January), her fur entirely matted from head to paw, down to her skin and very painful. Yet when we met Sophia at animal control, while her exterior told a tale of hardship she likely endured for some time, her soul still only knew love (one of the many qualities of animals we adore and admire so much). A staff member opened her cage door to give her her food for the day. She stood up and “booped” the staff member’s hand looking for affection – something

This is Sophia! She’s a spunky 13 year old female domestic medium hair that Milwaukee Pets Alive (MPA) rescued from Milwaukee Animal Control (MADACC) where she instantly stole our hearts. Like so many of the animals MPA rescues, Sophia’s story is one of perseverance, transformation, and hope.

Sophia was brought to MADACC last January as a stray. All alone in the cold world, it’s amazing this tiny, sweet girl was able to survive on her own in the depths of winter. She was skin and bones (just 4 ½ lbs. when weighed at our vet the day we rescued her in mid-January), her fur entirely matted from head to paw, down to her skin and very painful. Yet when we met Sophia at animal control, while her exterior told a tale of hardship she likely endured for some time, her soul still only knew love (one of the many qualities of animals we adore and admire so much). A staff member opened her cage door to give her her food for the day. She stood up and “booped” the staff member’s hand looking for affection – something that was evidently missing from her life for a long time. It was clear the pets and attention brought her great happiness. When the staff member closed her cage door, she settled in with her bowl of food and ate heartily, again, grateful for the sustenance she likely didn’t have at the ready for quite a while.

We spent time with Sophia at her cage, watching her enjoy her meal. Only a