Friday, April 7, 2023

Red, White, and Blue Cats, Too

First a note from, or suggested by the behavior of, Queen Cat Serena. It's been a very mild winter and warm spring, just made to order for those who think warm weather equals global climate change. 

Warm weather equals warm weather. We've seen it before. We won't know whether it's part of a trend for another fifty years. We had a deadly warm spring that killed all the crops in 1986. We had a lot of record heat waves in the 1970s and 1980s. Only three State lines away, while we were having a thaw, others were having a big wet snow that damaged property and knocked out power lines.

Aren't we all tired of power lines giving out every time a breeze blows, a snowflake falls, or a squirrel climbs up a pole? Isn't it time for the whole idea of a big power grid with lots of connections that can break down to go the way of the water-flush toilet and the celluloid shirt collar?

Anyway, for cats and even more for dogs, warm weather is thirsty weather. Pour yourself a nice cool glass or bottle of water, and pour a little into a bowl for your pet. Cats do not actually need much water--in a state of nature they were desert creatures who got their hydration from eating fresh meat--but if they eat dry kibble they need a little water. Sharing a drink with a cat is a way to express and build friendship. If Serena doesn't get the first ounce out of a bottle of Pure Life water poured into her bowl, early in a hot afternoon, these days, she thinks something's wrong. 

Here are some cats in search of people to share a drink of water with. If you already belong to a cat, you can still help these cats find homes by sharing their pictures and web links.

Since we looked at dogs whose coats could be described as red, white, and blue last week, let's consider cats of those colors this week.

Zipcode 10101: Jordache from Brooklyn 


He's cute all by himself, but he seems to be somewhat social. He was living with a large feral cat colony. One day he walked into someone's home and announced that he would like to become a pet, instead of living on the street. Those ungrateful, no doubt unwashed and unsaved, Northerners put this little fellow in a shelter, where he promptly picked out a bigger tomcat, also neutered, and said some sort of feline equivalent of "Yo, bro, buddies live longer than longers. Let's stick together." That was a cat the shelter workers had named Melvin. They have separate web pages but, if you inquire about little Jordy, you will be urged to adopt Melvin too. Sometimes they play-fight, but they reportedly stick together like Velcro.

Theodore from New Jersey


Theodore is described as a more typical tomcat who thinks all other cats should have their own space, preferably a good half-mile away from him, and stay in it. Shelter staff think he needs to be an only cat. He's lived on the streets, but has kept some sense of trust and good will--at least toward humans. 

Grace from New Jersey 


Grace's ancestors may have included real, pedigreed Russian Blue cats, or just ordinary Siamese and American cats. She was a feral cat who didn't ask to be rescued, but, along with a friend the rescuers call Chess, she's starting to behave a little more like a pet. Grace and Chess need to be adopted by someone who understands the importance of letting feral cats come to you. Cats who've had the experience of living without humans are never as completely "tamed" as those who grew up in a human's home, but they can bond with humans and be loving, loyal pets for the right person.

Zipcode 20202: Maple and Muffin from Alexandria  


These two sisters were adopted from the King Street shelters as kittens. They were satisfactory pets for six years. Then their human decided to leave town, and they're back at the shelter again. They like things calm--no small children or dogs. Red coats are more common on male cats but Maple is a normal (now spayed) female.

Bellatrix from Mount Rainier  


Bellatrix is thought to have Turkish Van ancestry. Cats from the vicinity of Lake Van are often white with a few spots on the upper back and head, and while most cats swim only if they fall into water, Van cats go paddling for fun. Shelter staff say she's friendly, but does anyone name a cat "She-Warlord" without a reason? She may choose her own "pets" but they warn that she's not keen on dogs. She likes a human who's available for play and snuggling when she wants those things.

Addie and Alphia from Atglen, Pennsylvania 


Alphia (the Tuxie) is the mother and Addie or Adison (the pale calico) is the daughter. Both are described as shy with strangers, affectionate as they get to know people. The norm for cats is that a mother and daughter, or two siblings, will share a house but neither likes to be able to smell other cats nearby. These two seem normal. 

Zipcode 30303: Bing from Cartersville   


Not much is known about Bing except that he's been neutered, so he shouldn't pass that distinctive coat down to kittens. He has a tail...not a very long tail...and a suspiciously fluffy look. Nobody's tried to describe his purrsonality.

Cici from Fayetteville   


Sadly, this gorgeous fluffball may have fallen into the hands of greedheads who want the full market price for her. I haaate when people blather about wanting animals to be adopted to a loving home and then demand the full market price. I fantasize about aliens popping them into cages and displaying them to alien prospective adopters, or slavemasters, whatever, identifying the feature they found most embarrassing when they were fifteen years old and proudly pointing it out: "See the unevenness from scar tissue on her face? She's a real 'Pizza Face' type! That's why her, er, adoption fee is higher!"

(Get a grip, Pris.)

Cici looks like a cat who knows she's expensive and intends to continue to be, but no, they say she's sweet-tempered and gentle even with other cats.

Lexi from Rome     


She's described as a very sweet little lady, friendly but not clingy and nice to other cats.

Bonus Cat I Just Couldn't Resist: Helene from Sautee Nacoochee   


Have you ever seen such a gorgeous long-haired Manx? (I have. Graybelle was prettier even than Helene.) But such a sad story. Manx cats are famous for their loyalty. They like a person and a place, and although they're usually polite about other people and places, they have ways of showing that they're only politely tolerating you and your home in the absence of Their Person and Their Home. If you think that's sort of sweet, yes, it's possible to love a cat who constantly nonverbally tells you that you are its Small Emergency Backup Human. Well, apparently that's what Helene does. She's all right with other cats (she looks as if they're all scared of her) but she lets the shelter staff know she doesn't like being in a shelter with strangers coming and going all the time. They recommend her to a quiet all-adult family with an enclosed "catio" where she can chill out, reminisce, and maybe some day decide that you're not bad, in your way. 

Graybelle's Human wanted her to have her freedom as an outdoor cat and he and I always regretted that. Never let a big fluffy Manx cat roam around without a leash. Somebody will shoot at it and then tell all the other cat people in the neighborhood to lock up their cats because he saw a BOBcat prowling around! If your Manx is the sociable type he may add "And it was stalking my cat as if it meant to eat her," or "And it came toward me without fear--I'm sure it had rabies!" It's too bad these mostly mellow and gentle, big, fluffy, stump-tailed cats look so much like bobcats from a distance. Graybelle, a kindhearted cat if she was half again as tall, long, and wide as people expected her to be, survived being shot, fleeing, and being adopted by people she considered third-rate. (And she remembered Her Human, too.) But her kittens died without her, and one of them had decided, at the age of three weeks, that it was my Manx cat.

Helene may never really be your Manx cat but she probably will appreciate some help combing all that fur, and the shelter staff have already reduced the price for someone who's willing to help her mend her broken heart. 
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