Cats,  Feline Fine Art,  Holidays

Two Shelter Cats’ Best Christmas & Merry Everything

December 24, 2015 / 43 Comments
If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

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In case you didn’t get our Merry Everything holiday card yesterday, here it is with our warmest best fishes, I mean wishes, okay fishes, maybe smoked salmon or trout and a very furry good new year!

It’s been an intense year of highs and lows and the support of our readers and fellow cat bloggers makes it all worthwhile. Thanks so much for being here, especially right now.

Today, just in time for Christmas, we have two special kitty announcements!

Many of you have gifts under a tree and stockings filled with treats, but the best gift of all for cats is a home. It was a year ago that a tiny, one-eyed gray gal arrived in our home just before Christmas. The plan was to foster a cat for the holidays. The thought of adoption seemed too committed, too long term and fraught with the potential of pain and loss. Our dear Gris Gris had suddenly suddenly the day after Christmas the previous year. Fostering felt safe, easy and a kind thing to do for Vicky as she was known then. Vicky quickly turned into Nou Nou and despite her idiosyncratic ways has become our princess.

She still hates being photographed so I rarely bother her. Of all the cats I’ve known, she’s by far the weirdest, in a good way. It took a few months, but she learned to trust and not to scratch at the slightest provocation. I had to fine tune my intuitive skill to read her moods and avoid being nicked. She’s a mega head butting and affectionate gal now but only when the princess feels like it. So unlike our boys. She demands respect or simply runs and hides. It’s too bad she doesn’t like the camera because the camera likes her. Maybe one day she’ll turn into a meowdel muse, but today we celebrate her Gotcha Day and …


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NOUNOU_CAT_QUOTE

There is nothing predictable about Nou Nou. Sometimes she sleeps with me (never under the covers) and ideally when I’m asleep and don’t know she’s there. Sometimes she sleeps in a covered cat bed or a permanent pile of old cashmere sweaters. She scurries like a rat (her nickname is Rat Baby) has no interest in climbing (except inside the baby grand), being picked up or sitting in laps. She doesn’t mind sitting next to me or being near me when I work. Sometimes she plays like mad and then not at all for weeks. Ditto on and off catnip or certain toys. Her unusually thick tail has more undulations than a cobra and she likes eating in numerous locations.

Nou Nou is a sweet weirdo with more than her share of behavioral issues. Frankly, in an average home, she would be a likely candidate for a shelter return. An on and off again litter box issue (peeing and pooping out of the box) was resolved with diet and probiotics for constipation. A good odor eliminator to clean soiled areas worked well and a UV light to check unseen areas of pee is always recommended.

She still adores Odin, but he runs hot and cold mostly since they keep different hours. Nou Nou is a night owl like me and but unlike me, gets to sleep 16 hours a day. We’re both a bit crankypants these days and she nixed any photo shoot. I made a collage which wouldn’t upload and posted it to Pinterest where you can see a nicer version. Nou Nou of course is secretly pleased about the attention if not the photos.,,

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We’ll never know about Nou Nou’s early life. She was likely born in a hoarding situation with at least two siblings and about a year later landed a shelter with 15 abandoned cats. Her left eye was missing. and still is a bit goopy. Of the three sisters, Uma and Vanna were perfectly proportioned and very pretty. All were barely socialized and very skittish, but I figured they had a better chance of being adopted than the odd, stubby-legged and one-eyed Vicky. Living in a cage in a tiny, windowless for seven months didn’t help. None were adoptable at that point. Again another reason fostering is important. It’s a break for caged shelter cats to live in a less stressful, or natural home environment and be socialized.
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Nou Nou, the day after she arrived at the shelter and the day we met eye-to-eye.
For a while, Vicky shared a cage with Uma but the tight quarters didn’t suit sharp-clawed Vicky and placed in a nearby cage alone. More curious than fearful, Vicky would jump out of her cage and play but shied away from any physical contact. Gradually her spunky character emerged and she grew bolder while her sisters remained as cautious as ever. Shortly after Vicky (now Nou Nou) arrived home for Christmas, her sisters were moved into the cage-free area of the New Rochelle Humane Society which recently changed their name to the Westchester Humane Society and have a great new website.

Early last winter, Vanna got lucky and despite her reticent ways got adopted. I’d hoped someone might want both sisters, but that’s adoption karma. You never know when you’re turn is. Uma waited and waited and waited.

Finally, just in time for this Christmas, Uma got adopted!

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ADOPTED!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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