Animal Breed
Maincoon and Norwegian Forest cat mix

Adopted or Rescued?
Yes

Pet personality / Story of adoption / Why is your pet special?
Switch was a large furry court jester who liked being the center of attention. Part Maincoon part Norwegion Forest cat, he had eye popping beauty with flowing long hair and kept well groomed despite being a wild hell raising adventurer.

Rescued from a farm in Kansas Switch grew up quickly and so did the stories about his strange behavior and wanderings. From long naps lounging out of sight on a neighborhood truck roof or inside the bed of a pickup truck bed, to chasing squirrels and dogs in Kelly park, to bringing home the “catch of the day” (i.e turtles, mice, birds, bats, small rodents, large insects, etc…) .
Switch would run after neighbor dogs (many much larger than him) chase them out of the yard, and would sleep UP in the air both in the house on tall furniture /fireplace mantle, as well as outside on house roof tops. Switch would tap his tail in the kitchen to music or watch TV shows in the LR as if he actually understood and enjoyed the beat or dialogue. He also loved riding in cars like a dog hanging his face and fur out as far as possible for the view and the breeze. He was truly one of a kind and he changed our lives for the better.

Switch was so unique he inspired our daughter Chloe to write a comic story about him. It was originally published in her 5th grade class student newsletter. After several issues published by her class news team, and even more stories written by Chloe ready for class reading, the McCook Daily Gazette got wind of the comic concept and decided to share a few weekend strips in their Humane Society Whiskers section of the paper. The response was overwhelming, Switch was a hit. The story of our cats life was coined, “Super Switch, The Adventures of Katnip World.” In time, all of Chloe and Sarah’s friends cats and dogs found a role in the comic strip paving a path of humor and life lessons along Switches journey. Over time family and friends all participated with Chloe and a new comic story ran each weekend for over three years in the Daily Gazette (150+ comic tales). Sadly, Switch was killed chasing /saving a squirrel in harm’s way in May, 2011. But that did not stop the story telling or girls interest in supporting their local animal shelter. In fact, Switches death inspired the kids to think about ways to do more.

Switch inspired the formation of a volunteer group called: The McCook Cat Pack: Friends of the McCook Humane Society. The cat pack is a group of elementary, junior high, and high school volunteers who support the McCook Humane Society w/awareness about the joy of adopting shelter animals and fundraising. Since 2009, their volunteering activities have included: fundraisers, humane society event support, special projects, animal welfare PR, promotions and community publicity to lift up the mission of the McCook Humane Society.

This summer (2019) is the ten year anniversary of the McCook Cat Pack. The volunteers have hosted or managed 100+ projects & events for the shelter raising and inspiring over $40k in community shelter donations. Their Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/mccookcatpack/
We will never forget Switch, the amazing cat that he was and how he inspired our lives!