From commentor SIA:
This is our cat Angel, who came to us from the shelter with the unpleasant-sounding name Bacco. He had been “dropped off” by family #1 (f*ckers) and then adopted by an old lady who hadn’t bargained on his testy temperament and need to roam. His record noted “Bacco knocks things over, paces the apartment, and tries to bite”. I got him after Juliet’s husband, Romeo, (yes, I know), was killed. However, they despised each other on sight and as far as I know still do! Juliet, though much, much smaller, still seems to be “the boss of him”, though he pushes that envelope daily. He’s adapted quite well considering, as we have a big old drafty house he can roam in, and I don’t mind the grumpiness being somewhat of crabby myself. He scares the hell out of our dog Woofie, and is scared of our other dog Mickey, but they all seem to co-exist pretty well seeing as they all had some kind of trauma in their early lives.
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I couldn’t come up with a name that suited him, so I referred it to Mr. Screaming, who’s good at that sort of thing. When the name “Angel” was decided on, my mother murmured, “I think it should be the opposite.” He also goes by “Big Boy” and “Bad Boy”, both which suite him very well.
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My husband calls him my Foo Cat as he’s passionately devoted to the human who got him out of the crate above the dog he’d been living in for some months, when he’s not hissing at me or swatting my legs as I walk by. He’s a big hunk of boy kitty who deserved better than what he had before he came to us.
Bnut
It’s like he’s staring into my soul. STOP JUDGING ME CAT.
Ailuridae
He’s stunning.
The second photo for obvious reason reminds me of a rabbit (what is the bovine/equine equivalent for rabbits?) and when I took a head-clearer today I spent nearly all of the time worrying about the rabbits I passed. And I pass dozens if not hundreds of them. Chicago in the last 15 year has seen its entire North Side covered by rabbits and a nights like tonight (it snuck below freezing with wind chills 15-20 degree worse) I was genuinely worried they would die of exposure. I know this is a silly concern on a lot of levels and we have some healthy fat rabbits here (no predators besides folks who trap them) but it was almost a Bambi moment
SiubhanDuinne
He is a gorgeous cat, SIA. Love the ‘tude in his eyes (but I bet he’s capable of looking oh-so-innocent when it suits him). As for his name, remind your mom that some Angels are Fallen Angels :-)
jacy
I, for one, love kitties with personality. And it’s always nice when someone is willing to put up with what we politely call an “excess of personality.”
BTW, we have a new kitty as of yesterday (unintentionally, but then that’s the way it works out mostly).
Ija
@Bnut:
This 100X. It’s like he knows all my bad, bad secrets and is silently berating me. Seriously, this is the most expressive cat I’ve ever seen.
stuckinred
Tough kitty!
J. Michael Neal
@Ailuridae: The buynnies up here in Minneapolis do just fine, and it’s minus 15 degrees at the moment. I’m pretty sure they can handle Chicago.
Anne Laurie
Note to all commentors, including JMN: The site upgrade did not fix the hyphen-bomb, unfortunately. I took out the stand-alone dash (“unattached hyphen” in geekspeak) in your comment so that it won’t keep other people from posting and kill the thread.
JPL
This is such a sweet story and Angel was very lucky. There are not many folks that would take a cat that comes with warnings.
Angel’s eyes remind me of those belonging to an old ancient despot. Shirley MacLaine would probably recognize them.
Ash Can
@Ailuridae: You mean below zero, and yeah, I worry too. But then I remind myself that bunnies and other critters have been around for quite some time here despite the changing of the seasons. Still, I get a good feeling when I see bunnies in the back yard chowing on the birdseed I leave out. IIRC, eating is the key to outdoor critters staying warm, so I like seeing birds and mammals stuffing their faces out there.
WereBear (itouch)
I love lots of personality. In people, too. While used cats are a challenge at times, they also show gratitude.
Steeplejack
@Ailuridae:
[. . .] what is the bovine/equine equivalent for rabbits?
Lapine is used a lot, although I think leporine is “more correct,” at least according to my dictionaries. A couple don’t even have lapine. I think it was popularized by Watership Down, in which the language the rabbits speak is Lapine. Just a guess.
I need coffee. Too early in the morning for pedantry.
General Stuck
Angel is an angel, SIA
Steeplejack
@jacy:
Good on you. Pedro looks like a nice guy.
Tata
I dunno. I think Angel’s a terrible gossip. DON’T ASK ABOUT HIS WEEKENDS.
Athenae
What a sweet chunky kitteh!
It’s cold outside and it’s like a Little House book in here. I want to snuggle fuzzy animals all day under a pile of blankets before a roaring fire.
A.
cckids
I love the story. The second pic reminds me of my chunky kitty,Oliver, who takes that same pose on my sewing machine to watch me work. Looks like he’s leaning on a bar, talking to the barkeep.
Jane2
Love Angel’s attitude!
@jacy: He’s a gorgeous kitty and I love how he immediately took over and didn’t even do the period of false gratitude cats exhibit before they assume their rightful place as pet overlords.
SIA
Thanks for all the sweet and funny angel comments. He’ll be so proud.
PS he sees but does not judge.
SIA
@SiubhanDuinne: ha! Reply button worked. YeeHaw. How’s the BB issues working n your end SD?
Scuffletuffle
Oooooh, handsome kitteh!
Poopyman
Angel Eyes? I dunno, he doesn’t look anything like Lee Van Cleef. He’s a big fluffy squeezeball, is what he is.
Luci
Angel Eyes looks like a terrific cat…He’s handsome and smart too I bet. I always think the cats/dogs who are a bit frisky and maybe troublemakers are the smartest of the bunch. I think they need a lot of intellectual stimulation and will do what they need to to get it. I had a cat once who used to “help” every repair person that came to the house. I once saw him standing on his hind legs beside an electrician, and both of them were looking into the fuse box. :-s I wondered if they were conferring. :)
I agree about the cold and outdoor animals. I worry about them too, and while I know that’s how life is, I tend to put out scraps and food and such for them.
Scott
Cat-haters decry how independent cats are even though they depend on you for just about everything (esp. opening the door 30 times a day).
For myself, I have to respect an animal that isn’t afraid to assert himself despite that dependence.
Would that I were brave enough to swat at my boss when he walked by!
Nom de Plume
One small quibble:
Do you mean they dropped him off at the shelter? How does that make them “f*ckers”? Please explain.
blogreeder
He looks a lot like my cat. Does he have any orange markings too? My son was going through a cat breed book and found a picture of a Japanese bobtail that looked exactly like our cat except for the tail. Ours has a full one.
Jules
I love scary, judgment cats.
We have 4 and they hate each other.
asiangrrlMN
Angel is a very handsome boy, yes he is. And, he can see to the depths of my soul, apparently. Ouch!
@jacy: Aw, Pedro is so dang cute. I love the way he just made himself at home.
ProtoThad
Sounds like my boy Alex (gone last year from kidney failure). I got him from a shelter despite the warnings of behavioural problems on his rap sheet… he just looked so lonely I couldn’t leave him there. He hid under the bed for two weeks after I got him home, then eventually came out and started terrorising the house and all in it. He would snuggle with me and eventually warmed up to my girlfriend, but never really got along with any other animals. I shudder to think of the cost in vet bills and household damage that animal inflicted, but I never regretted any of it… and I miss him terribly.
trixie larue
We have a girl cat, Niki, who seduced my husband as he went to get the paper every morning. He brought her home and we put her up in a bedroom for a couple of days to see what she was like. She was so sweet and loving and so we let her out. As soon as she saw there was another cat, she was furious and has hated him and us since. She’s very funny, though, and likes to tear around the house, sliding and yowling and having a good time. She’s forgiven all of us somewhat; if we don’t do something she wants, she slap, slaps on the leg. She’s a keeper though.
@ProtoThad, it sounds like you need to get another cat. You won’t be so lonely; it will make you feel better, really.