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Hi. My name is Tobias. Many of you know me, but some of you may not. I was brought into The Shelter in January with a few other friends. I was living in someone's garage. When I got there, I was so scared. All of the kind workers liked me though, they loved my unique face and big eyes. Even though my mom sees many cats each day, she took note of me because I was so handsome. I made her kind of sad, though, because she didn't think I would adjust to shelter life.

But the next day, I was out on the adoption floor! She was so happy to see me, even though I wasn't very happy to see her. I was still so scared and frightened. It took me a long time to become comfortable with my new circumstances.

It didn't take long before the shelter staff realized I had some medical issues. They consulted the vet and took x-rays of me, but no one really knew what was wrong. We're still not sure. But that didn't matter to my mom. She loved my adorable face, and the funny way I walked. She knew she wanted to take me home.

I was very patient waiting for her. Every day she saw me she would say hello and pick me up and cuddle me, even set me up in a visiting room so I had more space to stretch. A few times she even took me outside on a harness so I could take a break from my monotony. But I wasn't happy. Every day I was there was hard. I saw all the other cats and it made me very angry to still be without a home. Mom was waiting until she moved and she could have pets, but because I was so stressed I started getting angry at the shelter workers who all cared for me.

Sometimes it just happens. You are at a shelter so long that you become angry and unreachable. Mom knew she had to do something; that I couldn't wait another month for her to move into her new house. She pleaded with my dad (he's okay . . . I'm still not sure about sharing mom) to let me live with him until they were living together in their new place. He said yes. It would cost mom a lot of money to move me in just for a month, but I think she somehow knew that I couldn't wait any longer.

I tried to be patient. And I think mom knows I did my best. But I'm so lucky she loved me enough to rearrange everything to take me in sooner.

I am so happy now. It's like I'm a different feline. I like nothing better to cuddle and play . . . I would never recognize myself in those other pictures.

I love you mom. Thank you.