Spotlight: Permanent Cat 3/6 - BOBBY!

His full name is Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.  Yes, it was intentional, following Dusty Rhodes.

I wish I could remember the exact time we got Bobby.  It was a few months after we took Dusty in, but it was before I got really into Facebook or things like that, so I have no real record.  It was most likely October or November of 2007.  There were a lot of stray cats outside our apartment building, but most were skittish so we didn't think about it much.  This cat had come up to us a few times, and one day, it was really cold and I think it was raining.  I was walking back to the apartment after work and saw him, he came right up to me and started rubbing up against me and wanting attention.  I scooped him up and brought him inside.  Thankfully it was just my husband, our roommate wasn't home.

We were going to find a shelter to take him to, but in the meantime, we would keep him inside.  For the first few days, when our roommate wasn't home or was sleeping, Bobby would get to wander around our bedroom.  If the roommate was around, we kept Bobby in the cat carrier and in the bottom of the bookcase.  This was before he learned to meow, so it actually worked.

We finally called the Yonkers Animal Shelter and they straight up told us that the shelter was full and if we brought him in, they would put him to sleep.  So we basically told our roommate we would keep looking for somewhere to take him, and he just kind of stayed.

Bobby has changed the most over the years we've had him.  For the first few years, he was just kind of always there; he didn't have much of a personality.  The most we understood about him was that he could balance on his back legs for long periods of time (as in the picture), and that he had to learn how to meow, in which he sounded like a kazoo for a long time.  We were willing to give him to anyone who might want to adopt him and we almost did at one point, I'm glad we didn't now!

When we moved into our last apartment and it was just 3 cats again, I don't know what prompted it, but Bobby changed.  He was seeking attention, he would voluntarily come over for pets, he started playing games with us (we play tag with him!) and he turned into a genuine love bug.  I don't think I ever heard him purr until this.  He fell in love with me and started learning my bedtime routine, waiting for the bathroom for me, then coming and sitting in bed with me for a bit.

Bobby's name has made him what we call "a furry little punchline."  We make all sorts of jokes, like if Bobby was a politician, he'd be Lobby Bobby, things like that.  In reality, Bobby is probably the best cat we have right now.  He has perfect litter box habits, he never gets in trouble, he plays with the other cats, and he's just a very sweet kid.  We also have "Uncle Bobby's Daycare," because he's always very good with kittens and loves having new playmates.  Bobby doesn't seem to like when a lot of people are over; I don't think he's shy, I think he just doesn't like the noise and commotion.

Spotlight: Permanent Cat 2/6 - DUSTY!

His full name is "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.  He is 5 years old and weighs about 15 pounds.  We think he is a Ragamuffin mix.

About a month after I moved to NY (5 years ago), I saw a 4-month-old kitten in the stairwell of our apartment building.  At that time, he was just a friendly little kitten who was meowing at me and let me pick him up and hold him.  I asked our roommate if we could take him in, and he said no, that we had agreed to no cats.  A few days later, while my husband and I were coming home from work, he was in the stairwell again, but this time soaked and filthy from the rain outside and shivering.  This was the first time my husband saw him.  He scooped him up and took him into the apartment, and he didn't care what our roommate would say.  The kitten needed us.  We gave him a bath and tried to feed him, but every time I set him down, he would jump back up on me and just cuddle; I never had a cat before, nor since, that cared more about being near me than exploring a new place.  I will never forget that night.

Dusty is a gorgeous cat.  While we will never know exactly what breed he is, based on his characteristics, we strongly believe he is at least part Ragamuffin.  He has many of the breed traits, too much in common to ignore it - fatty pad on abdomen (different from a chubby cat), medium-length hair that doesn't mat, large expressive eyes, and goes limp when held.

Dusty used to be our ambassador cat when we brought in new cats, but after the last 2 years of it just being him, Pumba, and Dusty, he's grown to dislike new cats when first introduced, but it seems more because of jealousy than aggression.  He got too used to having a lot of our attention.

Even though Dusty isn't the first cat to make friends with new cats anymore, given time he gets along with anyone.  However, he is deeply, deeply bonded to Bobby, who will be our next spotlight post.  If anything ever happened to us, these two would HAVE to stay together.  We call them DustBob.

He is our ultimate lap cat.  As I mentioned in Pumba's post, our visitors are either Team Pumba or Team Dusty.  Dusty has absolutely no problem jumping into a new person's lap, whether they want him there or not.  He's incredibly friendly and travels well.  We even took him to a Christmas photo event at the shelter we volunteer at; we were the ONLY people to bring a cat, everyone else brought their dogs.  He was a hit because of it.

While Pumba is -my- boy, Dusty is Daddy's boy.  Even though Dusty does love us equally (which we've proven several times by seeing if he would leave one's arms for the other!), my husband is head-over-heels for that kid.  We love all our animals, but Pumba was my first cat, and Dusty was his first cat.  Nothing can change that.