Erin Geldermans, from Colorado, had always dreamed of having her own kitty, but when she was growing up it wasn’t possible as she had family members that were allergic to cats.
Then one day a friend sent Erin a photo of an adorable ginger and white kitten that was at her local rescue, Rifle Animal Shelter.
She knew immediately that there was something special about this cat.
So, along with her boyfriend Dan Schreck, she headed to the shelter and as soon as they saw him they were both smitten.
Liebchen – Adventure Cat!
They named him Liebchen, which is German for ‘sweetheart’, and decided there and then to adopt him into their family.
Erin said about the journey home: “On the car ride home from when we first met him, he was so calm and seemed like he just belonged with our family. He bonded with us instantly, and wouldn’t leave our side from the moment we got him.”
At the time, they were both unaware about how much this little ball of fur would change their lives.
When they put a harness on him for the first time he became very energetic and began playing with his toys.
So they added a leash and took him outside for his first walk.
Erin told We Love Cats and Kittens: “We tried a leash and harness on him and he took to it right away.
We then started hiking with him when he was 10 weeks old and he was instantly hooked – the rest is history.
We’ve taken him on planes, road trips, boats, hiking, camping, skiing, paddling, swimming, everything! We have yet to find something he won’t try and doesn’t like!”
Erin told us that she thinks Liebchen gets his calm but intrepid nature from his background.
She told us, “His mom was a stray that was brought in by an amazing foster family who has children, dogs, and many other pets.
We really believe this amazing family and rescue situation is why Liebchen is so chill and resilient.”
Erin goes on to explain how much Liebchen has changed their lives for the better.
Even though they were happy, the pandemic had taken it’s toll on them, as it did with many people, so he came into their lives at just the right time.
“Liebchen is like a ray of sunshine.
He is always cheerful, always happy and very outgoing.
We take him places and he loves to meet new people.
He helped us connect with people again after not being allowed to for so long due to Covid.”
Liebchen is a kitty that wants to stay active, he loves going outside and doing things with his humans.
Erin says: “He motivates us to stay healthy, active, and try new things. He’s always ready to play or cuddle, and he’s just added such an amount of joy we didn’t think one little furball could.”
Because of the pandemic, Erin wasn’t at work and this gave her the opportunity to spend days training with him or just hanging out.
“He’s truly like a little dog/human/cat hybrid,” Joked Erin. “He’s kind of our ruler, too. He totally owns us. He totally rescued us.”
Heather Grant, the Executive Director of Rifle Animal Shelter says that Liebchen is “not your every-day adoption.”
“Every day we find great homes, and our animals get adopted, but this is a very special adoption.
This cat is doing unusual cat things. It’s exciting to see that a homeless animal can have such an amazing home and life.”
Each year the shelter averages about 1,400 adoptions and last year reunited over 450 lost pets with their owners.
Erin is a staunch believer in “don’t shop, adopt” as there are over 2 million unwanted pets euthanized in the United States every year.
Erin and Dan affectionately call themselves his meowmmy and pawpaw.
And they’ve decided to share their love with the rest of the world – Liebchen has over 50,000 followers on Instagram and 33,000 on Tiktok.
Erin and Dan are so happy to have Liebchen in their lives: “He still sleeps with us nightly, and loves to come everywhere with us. We say he rescued us.”
