The second runner up, and winner of an autographed paperback of WEIT, is Eamon, who entered his two cats Zeno and Russell. Here are their stories:
Some friends of ours foster kittehs for the Ottawa Humane Society. So about three years ago when the passing of one of our older Siamese deprived Kizhe of his favorite playmate (and me of my favorite lap-cat), we asked our friends if they had any kittens who might make a suitable replacement.
Thus we came to adopt Russell (on the right; full name Bertrand Alfred Russell Wallace North Whitehead). He’s now a great furry easy-going beanbag of a cat who greets me with loud purrs and petting-demands every day when I get home from work, and tries to shove my laptop computer out of the coveted spot. Once they got past the obligatory dominance negotiations, Kizhe became excellent kitteh-friends with him.
Two years later, Kizhe grew sick and died; thus Russell now needed a new playmate. Back we went to our friends, this time to adopt the fluffy ball of tabby grey on the left. Zeno is now a year larger than in the picture, a sort mottled grey animated dustmop with a magnificent tail. At 13 lb. Zeno is the largest cat we’ve yet had, and he’s still growing. His favorite treat is oatmeal — every morning he begs for a spoonful of our porridge, which he devours. Every good kitteh needs to have at least one endearingly bizarre preference, and this is his.
So consider this a PSA: Support your local animal shelter, and consider adopting a kitteh from them (or if you really must, a doggeh).
Cute couple!
And I’ll see your PSA (which I heartily endorse) and raise you one. Baihu was actually a young feral cat when I invited him in. Shelter kittehs are in desperate need of homes, but at least they have shelter. Street-born kittehs don’t even have that much….
Baihu was probably 6 – 8 month old when I invited him in. He’s the dearest sweetheart you could imagine, but he’s terrified of other H. sapiens sapiens. Much older and he might not even have been willing to trust me.
If your neighborhood has ferals too old to adopt, be sure to have the local TNR people help you do what can be done to keep them in good shape.
Cheers,
b&
We used to have people dumping cats in our yard, because we are obviously known in the neighborhood as “those cat people”. We always took them to the vet for a check-up and then found homes for them. Our kitteh Fiona came from that era, and we have had her for 8 years now, since we tapped out all our friends.
Oh, that’s criminal! (Or, at least, it should be.)
In the inconceivable circumstance where you actually want to “get rid of” a cat, is it really that hard to contact a shelter directly if none of your friends or associates is willing to adopt? (These people do ask their friends and associates, no?) And couldn’t they at least ring your doorbell and hand you the cat rather than dump the poor thing in your yard?
I swear…some people aren’t deserving of being labeled as such.
Anyway, at least Fiona found her forever home with real people, and I’m glad you were able to help her cousins find the same.
Thanks for doing the right (and obvious) thing, even if it meant cleaning up after those who didn’t.
Cheers,
b&
I can’t prove that they were all dumped, but there were too many over the course of a couple of years to be coincidental. And I’d rather have them dumped with us than some of the alternatives I can think of. Very few no-kill shelters in Chicago; Tree House is one, and we donate regularly. OTOH, we do have a great kitteh yard; it could be like a magnet.
I should mention that (according to what we were told) Zeno was from a feral litter someone found under their porch and turned over to the Humane Society.
Well, there you go!
Congratulations — and not on the contest. That’s nothing compared to the real prize(s) you have.
Cheers,
b&
I was a foster person for many fine Humans Society cats (and other animals). I had to stop, because I kept keeping the rejects (the ones no one else wanted and the ones returned after adoption). I socialized a lot of feral kittens so they could be placed, and captured a few adult ferals so they could be fixed (their ears are notched and they are released where we captured them– the ear notch keeps them from being taken to be fixed again.)
I applaud this entry for bringing up the Humane Society My own entry (Calvin) was rejected after placement, and I’ve had for 10 years. (I think he got rejected on purpose because he secretly wanted me to be his save.) I adore him, though others are rarely as smitten.
Congrats to Zeno, Eamon, and the late Russel! Worthy beasts all!
Clarification (since the description might have been a bit confusing): Russell is still very much alive and purring. It was his buddy Kizhe who died last year.
Congrats to Russell & Zeno. Very handsome boys, and lucky to have found such a wonderful home with Eamon.
These two are adorable, and I love Russell’s name. 😀 Hooray for kittehs!
Absolutely adorable. I think being a judge in this contest would’ve driven me a bit nuts with indecision. Really sweet that your kittehs always have a buddy around.
Wonderful photo of 2 neat kittehs! Congrats to you.
My backyard seems to be a cat magnet. Could the bed of catnip be the cause? *looks innocent*
Congrats to Zeno and Russell and Eamon!
No doubt about that! The opposite–what they absolutely loathe–can also be quite entertaining. All I have to do is lay down a banana peel and kitteh will clear the area.
That “bang” you just heard was my wife shooting Al. We warned you.
What a sweet pose by a sweet pair of cats! Lucky adoptees; & adopters as well!