Mochi’s Story, by Vera Maksymiuk

About 3 months ago, I went to Pets in Need and drove home with Mochi.

It maybe wasn’t the best time to fall in love with this very special little cat. I was going through a transitional time in my life, having recently graduated with a degree in English Literature. I had just come home from a visit with family in Poland, lost my grandmother, and applied to creative writing schools abroad, not sure how that would pan out. And I was also working two jobs when I started checking out the PIN website, at first just looking at all the cute pictures. Then I stumbled across Mochi, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

She had been at the shelter for quite a while. She had had a litter of kittens and been in several foster homes. Something about her story struck a chord with me. I started to check on her every day and finally my coworkers said, “Enough already. You need to go down to meet her.” And so I did.

Our First Meeting

I arrived at Pets in Need in Redwood City and was taken to a small meeting room. Mochi was there waiting for me and she started purring the minute she saw me. We clicked right away.

I know how much of a commitment it is to take on a pet, so I didn’t want to rush into it. I actually left her there and drove home to think about it for a few days. That turned into a couple of weeks and then turned into a month. Meanwhile, I kept logging onto the PIN website to check on her, and I finally realized that she was my cat. At that point, I was down to one job and would have plenty of time to spend with her. I had to go back and bring her home.

Settling In

In her short time with me, she’s undergone quite the transformation. Looking back at her early Pets in Need photos, I can’t believe how much lighter she was. The little blonde-colored patches along her back have gradually turned into this beautiful rich brown, and her tail is now so dark it’s nearly black. She’s still our little white-and-brown girl, just much more dramatically dressed these days … and incredibly photogenic.

Where she was pretty quiet when I first got her home, she is now very vocal. She trills and chirps constantly, particularly when she is at one of her favorite window perches. She is very loving and follows me from room to room (I am clearly her person). She has established her favorite spots around the house, loves to sleep on a chair with a big fluffy pillow near me, supervises absolutely everything I do, and has made herself so thoroughly at home that it’s difficult to imagine the house without her in it.

A Wonderful New Life

Affectionate, mischievous, and extremely loved, her big personality keeps us on our toes, makes us laugh every single day, and she has brought so much life back into our home.

Endlessly curious, she even oversees my cooking while being told that no, she cannot sit on the kitchen counter or the stove.

My mom adores her too ─ she even bought Mochi her own little pumpkin this month, carrying on a tradition we had with our previous cat. Mochi was considerably less impressed when I dressed her as a pumpkin, but she survived the indignity, deciding to be a good sport in the end.

As her new world expands, we’ve started to venture outside for short little supervised walks, giving her that experience while still keeping her safe.

She has acclimated so quickly and seems so comfortable with her hew life. She’s full of energy. She loves to play with her toys, loves her short walks on a leash, and loves to cuddle.

Mochi the Media Star

Mochi is quite the looker with her soft brown and white coat and her arresting blue eyes.

Since coming home, she has developed her own small media empire  ─ both on Instagram (instagram@its_mochi_girl_), and in a section of my weekly newsletter called Hijacked by Mochi. Being a media star seems to agree with her, and people love sharing her many adventures.

I’m so grateful that I happened to find her when I did, and that she was still there waiting for me when I went down to get her.

Thank you, Pets in Need, for taking such good care of our little girl before she found her way to us.

She’s just a great cat!