Arlington Pet of the Week: Pooh

This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Pooh, a cat who’s lived with his Arlington family for 17 years.

Once a scrawny, skittish, flea-bitten shelter kitten, Pooh’s improbable path to adoption and a loving home all started on a Friday the 13th during the Clinton administration. Here’s what Pooh’s mom, Cindy, had to say about him:

Friday the 13th, September 1996. My 5-year old son and I had stopped by the Arlington animal shelter “just to look” at cats. Our beloved cat Casey had passed away in July, and I said I wasn’t ready for a new cat. But there he was — a tiny, scrawny brownish orangish kitten. He already had a name — Pooh. The name fit, given his color. We waited for my husband to arrive, so we could all approve the adoption. While we were waiting for them to get him ready, my husband noticed a few assistants who were scraping fleas off a kitten. It was Pooh. Took us a while to get rid of the fleas.

He was scared and skittish at first — and so tiny he fit in the crack between our piano and the wall, where he hid the first night. Since then he has prowled and leapt and fought off his nemesis, our feisty black lab Raven, whom we adopted when Pooh was four, to his never-ending chagrin. Pooh has slowed down considerably in the past few years, but has outlived Raven to reclaim his indoor territory.

He no longer jumps up on counters — even though he was never supposed to be up there, I could never keep him off — and he has abandoned his lair on top of the cabinet above the refrigerator. He has trouble getting up on the couch, but refuses to use the pet stairs I bought — he has his pride. But in other ways he’s needier than he was when he was younger — he is always resting on the floor near one of us, and craves attention. If you stop petting him, he will reach his paw out in protest. Here’s to Pooh.

The Arlington Pet of the Week is sponsored by Dogma Bakery, located at Shirlington Village (2772 S. Arlington Mill Drive) and, coming soon, a new location at 5157-A Lee Highway.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Each week’s winner receives a $25 Dogma gift card.