This is a sad cat tale with one happy ending.
Topper, a black-and-white tuxedo kitty, had to say goodbye to his owner in May because the man was terminally ill. His owner longed to find his pet a stable new home.
The man’s hospice worker contacted the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society in Washougal, and the 3-year-old cat spent most of the summer there awaiting adoption, according to the Humane Society.
Meanwhile, Vintage Books owner Becky Milner was suffering a loss of her own. One of the Vancouver bookstore’s longtime cats, Henry, had died at the old age of 19.
Henry was one of two cats who lived inside the bookstore. He loved to greet shoppers and was popular with customers.
“It was hard to lose him,” Milner said.
Milner went to the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society last month in search of another cat with similar qualities. “They have incredible cats out there,” Milner said, but after she was shown about four of them, Topper stood out.
He doesn’t have exactly the same personality as Henry, Milner said, but he has an independent spirit and the right temperament. She adopted him without hesitation.
Now the cat’s new home is a 4,800-square-foot shop at 6613 E. Mill Plain Blvd., complete with comfy chairs to curl up on, friendly customers to pet him and tall bookshelves to scale.
He moved into the store about a week ago. The moment he was released inside his new home, he immediately began exploring, Vintage Books employee Pepper Parker said. “He never hid. He never looked back.”
The new digs also came with a new name for the feline: Emerson. The other cat in the bookstore, Dickens, is named after a famous writer, too. Milner said that Emerson and Dickens aren’t the best of friends yet, but they’re getting along.
Emerson dozed on a chair in the middle of the store during a visit Sunday afternoon by The Columbian. Milner picked him up, and he protested with a groggy meow. She set him down, and he strutted along an aisle of books before deciding to resume his nap on a couch.
“Hello, my goodness,” customer Sue Morford said, introducing herself to Emerson for the first time. “Are you the new guy? Huh?”
Emerson sniffed the Vancouver woman’s hand and gave her a lick. “You’ve got big shoes to fill,” she told him.
Henry used to follow Morford around the store. He was inquisitive, looking inside her purse or bag of books while she was at the checkout counter.
After meeting Emerson, Morford concluded: “I think he’s handsome. Looks like he’s going to fit right in.”
Getting a new cat is “great for the customers,” Parker said, adding that shoppers have expressed excitement about Emerson’s arrival after the loss of Henry.
Milner said she hopes Emerson’s previous owner knows that his furry companion did indeed find a forever home, and that the cat’s life will be full of affection from store employees and customers.
So far, Emerson is taking the extra attention like a pro.
“He’s so patient with the celebrity life. He’s so good-natured,” Parker said. “I love his white whiskers.”