I figured it might be fun to introduce you all to the other critters in the house. Since someone commented on my last video about the cat in it, I figured I would start with Jefferson, the newest addition.
One of his first few days with me. He was quite skinny, had some scrapes to his face, cuts (from other cats) on his head/neck, and had severe paw injuries (really scraped up pads and the claws on his back feet were non-existent, it was just nail-bed. I wasn't sure they'd ever grow back but they did!)
About a year ago a really caring neighbor in NY found this little gray cat living next to the on-ramp to I-95 (next to New Jefferson St.). Now, for those of you who aren’t local, I-95 is the main drag connected Boston and D.C. and is a MONSTEROUSLY huge and busy highway in NY. She couldn’t stand to have him living just feet from the on/off ramp where thousands and thousands of cars pass through everyday. She went home with her boyfriend, grabbed a can of tuna and waited him out. He eventually came up to her and she was able to grab him and promptly gave him to her bf because she is severely allergic to cats. They brought him home, much to the dismay of their two mastiffs who really wanted to eat him, and he spent the night in a dog crate. The next day she took him to the vet… he had some serious road burn on his paws, some cuts/scrapes, was really dehydrated and was pretty thin–but other than that he seemed okay. She paid to have him updated on vaccines, given subQ fluids, AND had him neutered.
Now, she did all this knowing she couldn’t keep him. She spent the next 12-24 hours trying to find him a home… she called me and asked… I said I wasn’t allowed to have cats BUT if no one else stepped forward I would take him. I couldn’t let him go to the shelter (though she did all the vetting in hopes that he would be easy to adopt) because it was spring time and it was kitten season. Not surprisingly, she couldn’t find anyone else to take the cat; so the next day, when he was released post-neuter, he came to my home.
After a few days of living in a crate to keep him calm/safe, he started to come out of his shell. I discovered a beautiful, super soft (maybe part Blue Russian cat), polydactyl (he’s got 6 full toes and 1 barely developed…so total of 7 toes on each front foot), super goofy, very friendly (with everyone), and not easy to startle cat. He was good with other dogs, was excellent with the craziness that are my dogs, great with all the people that came over—he would have been excellent in almost any home. The only unknown was other cats.
It's like National Geographic in my house... the lion taking down the gazelle!
After four months of fostering him and posting fliers for him, having him listed on two rescue’s websites/petfinder, and one failed attempt to rehome him with a co-worker (although he loved my dogs, their golden was a little too much for him), I gave up, and he became mine. Since I wasn’t allowed to have cats in my apt. I brought him home to my mom… if he got along with the cats in the house, he would stay there until I moved (since during this time I lost my job). Well, turns out he did get along with the other cats for the most part (he is like an obnoxious teenaged boy… and he sometimes beats up on the old guys… but most of the time they were good together), so my mom took him in.
That is water! Get me a Beer!!!
Jefferson is one of the most humorous cats ever. He’s always a source of entertainment and keeps our house slightly crazy. He loves wrestling with Rio, loves to play with the Nina Ottosson toys, loves to be with me as I work the dogs, he’s learning some clicker training, and has these funny little spazzy moments. He is also incredibly sweet (albeit a tad annoying to the older cats in the house).
While I would have loved to have rehomed him because he was such an easy-to-adapt cat who would fit into so many homes… I can’t say that I’m sad he ended up staying.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcfqLIKyfc]
He’s a very pretty cat. 🙂 And he’s lucky to have you as his cat mommy 🙂