Hello friends near and far. Mary Ann Moss here with a very special cat adoption update.
Last Sunday I had a Facetime meet & greet with Caroline the foster mom who specializes in shy cats. I had already written last week’s post, but hadn’t clicked “publish.” So here I am updating you on my search for the new cat posse to take up residence at Moss Cottage!
A bit of backstory for you: Otto & Iris were found on January 12 when they were 3 months old at a park down the street from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Probably due to their shyness, they were put in foster care and switched around a bit until they landed in just the right home with Caroline and her wife, who specialize in socializing shy cats.
I found “Latte & Princess” on Petfinder a couple of weeks ago and added them to my growing list of favorites.
Part of the reason they found their way to me is because of the warmth and responsiveness of their foster mom, Caroline. She emailed me back right away and we set up a Facetime so I could see the kitties and show her around their new prospective home. I had filled out applications and started the process on several solo cats that looked promising, but the fosters and organizations never got back to me. I even went to the Pasadena Humane Society and it was full of 7-9 week old kittens, no adults! There were other opportunities, but my transmissions from intelligent life in the universe were coming in loud and clear as NO. Not yet. So I waited.
I even braved the waters of the LA county shelters where there were plenty of cats, but no helpful people. I was becoming disheartened. All the stray cats in LA and I was running into roadblocks and dead ends. Huh? How hard could this be?
Essentially what I’m saying, is that I could not go on indefinitely without cats in my life, inside my house. An existential sort of cat loneliness was settling around Moss Cottage. I could have lived with it, but I chose not to. These little ones needed a home and I needed some cat companions. So I pushed the button.
Saturday rolled around and off I went to meet Caroline at the shelter.
I can wholeheartedly recommend the Burbank Animal Shelter. They made everything easy. Pasadena Humane Society is also an awesome place and where I adopted Wyatt in 2004.
I wasn’t planning on getting 2 cats, but Caroline explained that they were bonded brother and sister so I decided to commit. I was also NOT planning on getting “shy” cats, or white cats. These guys were low down on my list of favorites.
Best laid plans out the window!
I was afraid to get another white kitty because of how susceptible they are to skin cancer (Wyatt). But then I decided to keep my new furkids indoors. I know the signs to look for with skin cancer so I’ll keep a close eye on the ears, eyes, and noses of my new posse. They’ll be inside so the danger will be reduced, but the UV light that causes skin cancer still streams in through sunny windows.
Who better than me to be a good steward for a white posse?
I was planning to get a nice big boy between the ages of 2-7. It wasn’t to be. Otto & Iris are my cats. I knew it as soon as I saw them. I didn’t change my mind, or waver. The signals on my transmitters remained strong.
Thanks to Caroline, I’m a cat marm again.
After 36 hours at Moss Cottage, Otto & Iris have gone from being completely hidden to venturing out to explore their new world. All the windows are scary, but they are beginning to climb up and look outside. Otto is leading the way.
They won’t allow me to pet if I’m standing, but once I sit down Otto will move in close for pets and brushes. Iris watches him and is coming closer too.
I’m already madly in love with my 2 new teenagers. Iris is a few pounds smaller than Otto. I’d estimate her weight to be 4-5 pounds and Otto is probably 6-7 pounds. They have EXTRA long tails and big back paws.
Long and lanky!
I would describe both cats as wary, but not necessarily shy. Based on my interactions with Otto so far, I predict Iris will soon be allowing me to touch her. No rush.
Showing lots of pics so you can see their markings.
Otto is the blue-eyed male. His eye color is likely the result of his Oriental heritage and he is not deaf. His meow is like a gruff duck quack. Iris so far doesn’t vocalize at all.
They sat in their box for about 15 minutes when I brought them home yesterday around noon. They were probably thinking, “Oh no, not a new foster home!”
Caroline and her partner did such good work with these babies. The pics below were taken by her yesterday before bringing them to the shelter to meet me. As soon as she walked in the door with them I got teary. Thinking of my dear old boy Wyatt and also the new cat story that would roll onward in my life.
I’m so grateful to the Burbank Animal Shelter for creating such a safe haven for animals. I can’t recommend them highly enough if you live in LA and need some animal companions. They are doing such good work in the world. I’m also grateful to Petfinder where I first saw “Princess & Latte.” I will never be able to thank Caroline enough for her patient socializing of the cats and her kind approach towards me.
In case you’re wondering about the name change, most strays and rescues get named when they’re found, knowing those names won’t stay with them through life. I tried to find names that had similar consonant sounds. For some reason though, I’ve been calling Iris, Prinny. By next week they’ll probably have half a dozen nicknames. Wyatt and Corky had about 20 each.
Keep your eyes open wide for the lunar eclipse. It starts here in LA at 8:29p.m. tonight and will completely end at 11:50p.m.. I’ll be watching with my binocs.
See you soon.
