There is a sign above my house (invisible to humans) that apparently reads:
Suckers live here. They will feed and care for every feline that shows up here! We have four formerly ferals that have taken over our lives. A fifth has been spent most of the last two years in our backyard expecting to be fed, but too shy to come into the house.
__
Two weeks ago, I went out to get the mail and was captured by a little black creature with big ears and golden eyes. He treated me like a long-lost friend and had no qualms about inviting himself into my home. I’ve tried to find out where he came from. None of the neighbors will admit to knowing him, none of them would like to take him in. I’m stuck. Every cat rescue that I have contacted is full to overflowing and they won’t take him. I’ve tried the checkers and the baggers at the grocery store. I even tried to pawn him off on the cable installer yesterday. I failed! My husband has hit up everyone at his office and everyone in the community groups that he belongs to. He failed! My son has tried to convince his friends that they need a kitten in their lives. He failed, too!
__
I know there are some northern California BJ animal lovers. Hopefully thereare some in Sacramento or Placer counties. Maybe one of them needs an adorable little purring machine to keep them company. He is already an accomplished keyboard cuddler. He loves other cats. Unfortunately, the four that already live here don’t see any reason to add a fifth. Besides, the legal allowable limit in my county is four. I have already scheduled an appointment with my vet for vaccinations and nuetering. I will happily add microchipping if I can find someone who can give him the home that he deserves. I have attached some blurry photos of the sweet little baby. Hopefully, someone will fall in love and want to keep him.
Anne Laurie adds: If this little guy were closer than the other side of the country, I’d be looking for a way to bring him to our house — I dearly love little black mao-cats! Anyone fortunate enough to live closer who’s got any leads, please email me at [email protected] (or click on my name near the top of the right-hand column) and I’ll pass your message along…
LittlePig
Now that a handsome young feller.
gogol's wife
Oh, I love him, but I’m too far away and my three semi-ferals would not love him. Fingers crossed that he finds a worthy home. He is so sweet.
ruemara
What?! I’m outside Sac. Takkun is lonely. …I’d have to think this through…
kindness
How is the lil guy with dogs? Although I suspect you probably don’t run into that. Me, I’m used to a mixed household so they all have to get along or at least tolerate each other in a reasoned fashion.
MazeDancer
What a sweet baby! Looks like just the kind of kitty that has everything we love in cats.
Plus, no risk: because he’s already been observed and validated as A Great Cat.
If you’ve been thinking about another, this looks like the one. Especially if you don’t have a black cat. Black cats suffer that absurd superstitious discrimination. They get dumped more often and overlooked more in shelters. So all of us kitty lovers need to have at least one. (Black cats are very lucky, by the way. I speak from long experience.)
If I still lived West of the Rockies, I’d be in the car now.
ETA:
@ruemara
Go for it! No lonely kitties. Guaranteed Cool Cat. Great for everyone.
Mnemosyne
It was right around this time of year 2 years ago that we acquired Charlotte in a similar manner — a little black-and-white kitten walked up to G in the parking lot at work and demanded that he take her home. Oh, and could he find a home for her sister, too? Kthnx.
Now she rules the roost with an iron paw.
Elizabelle
Good luck. Appealing little cat.
WereBear
Best of luck to him; finding you meant it’s running strong…
sacrablue
@ ruemara I’m in far northern Sac county. The little guy is fairly fearless and likes all four of our former ferals. Unfortunately, they don’t love him back quite as much.
Joey Maloney
We had that invisible sign on our house in north Mississippi. A strange twanging noise made me look up one day to see a tiny calico kitten hanging from the screen door. (Our best guess was she was the runt of her litter, left behind during a rainy spell when her mom moved the litter to higher ground.)
And one Christmas morning there was a starved-looking tortie plastered to our kitchen window. She was declawed and had been on her own long enough to shrink down to under seven pounds but once we took her in she parked herself right in front of the food bowl and didn’t stop until she was Pinkwater The Magnificent, Twenty-Plus Pounds Of Hot, Snarling, Feline Love.
ThresherK
He looks like he’ll grow into those big ears and long tail.
Amir_Khalid
A darling little boy. I wish I could help, but I live on the other side of the planet. Yes, ruemara, he’s yours for the asking. You know he’s the cat for you! Do take him, ad send us updates with pix.
@Mnemosyne:
I wound up with Bianca in pretty much the same way. (She’s a black cat too, but with a little dab of white on her chest.) One day seven years ago, this little kitten that I’d seen around the neighborhood just decided to follow me home and not leave. She has been keeping me sane, or somewhere in that vicinity, ever since. She’s sweet and loving — except when she gets cranky with me and … well, at those times I wish I’d named her Ms Claudia Sheen.
gravie
We have a black mao-cat and he is superb. I wish I could take this kitty but … well, 2700 miles intervene. Good luck!
ruemara
Looks like the mate would be ok with him.
debit
If were anywhere near and not already at my max for animals, I’d snap him up in a heartbeat. What a little charmer.
WereBear
@ruemara: Ooooh!
I’m almost as happy when someone ELSE gets a kitty.
sacrablue
@kindness: I would love to have a mixed household, but for some reason, every time I think we are ready to add a dog another cat shows up.
sacrablue
@ruemara: the little guy has his vet appointment scheduled for Sunday morning and neutering is set for Monday am. I can change those plans, if you want me to!
HeartlandLiberal
Looking at the last pic, I would say that in your case, Blessed even are those who take in Basement Cat.
Mister Papercut
Damn me living on the wrong coast! I would take him in a heartbeat. I already have two black cats (also throwing in a vote for them actually being good luck), so what’s a third? It just ups the difficulty of my daily “Which Cat Is It?” game, which, frankly, has grown stale and could use a shakeup LOL.
JPL
The cat is precious. I do hope Ruemara takes the cat and keeps us updated.
MazeDancer
@ruemara
Yay for you, your mate, and your Takkun!!
Like all kitty lovers here, I, too am having vicarious excitement at prospect of your new addition. As many suggest, please do take pics and post updates if all goes well and this happens. And you and @sacrablue posting about the exchange would be most heartwarming indeed.
And goodness knows we need some heartwarming these days.
gogol's wife
Mister Papercut, what gorgeous cats. I agree that black cats are good luck.
Yutsano
YAY NEW POTENTIAL KITTEH HOME!! I’d drive down to go get him but I just re-negotiated my lease and it’s too late to change to two cats. Lexie would love a buddy though I bet.
Gus
I have an unrelated question that I hope you animal lovers can help me with. My dogs uncovered and devastated a bunny nest. There is one surviving baby. I don’t know if I can move it, and if so how far. Will the mother look for and find the baby? Is just killing the bunny quickly the most humane thing to do at this point? Should I just let nature (in the form of my dogs) take her course?
ruemara
NO! Good Lord. Animal Rescue. Find one in your area.
Gus
Okay, I found an animal rescue in my area. I hope the little fella’s still alive when I get home from work.
Culture of Truth
That’s tempting, but I am 3,000 miles away…
moe99
Yay ruemara!!
sacrablue
@Gus: Look for a wildlife rescue group in your area. I’ve taken baby birds to our local group. They appreciate if you donate some cash when you bring them an animal. Our cats bring us gifts. Some of them actually survive. About four years ago, our tuxedo kitty, Slammer, actually caught what turned out to be a beautiful love bird. I was lucky to find a vet that specialized in birds. The vet found a home for the bird.
karen marie
@ruemara: Lucky you!
I agree with the rest that black cats are the best. In my experience, males are way friendlier than females so I’m not surprised at the good report for this little guy.
Until last August, I had one of each. You can tell which one is the female by the snotty expression. Sadly, Mr. Mittens’ heart was too big for his chest and he blew a gasket.
Consult with your vet, but my vet recommended changing Our Gracie, who is now an indoor cat, over to wet food because dry food has too many carbs and is fattening, especially when allowed to graze at will.
Sacrablue, you are a true hero.
Mister Colorful Analogy
Black cats rule; if I were anywhere near CA, I would have been very tempted by this charming little guy. Ruemara, good for you for potentially being able to give him a home.
I love the personality of black cats; they truly are a force of nature! If you’re familiar with them, you’ll agree when I describe them as being a bit funny in the head! Many years ago, my parents had one show up at their house; clearly, he must have seen the sign over the door. Anyway, he was young (less than a year old, they thought), looooooooong (could reach the counter with his front paws), and black with yellow eyes. My mom named him Tigger, and he was with them for almost 16 years.
Tigger was 17 lbs of muscle, intelligence, independence, fearlessness, and charm; how many cats do you know whose vet files were plastered with warning stickers and labels, yet were loved and appreciated by the staff? He was also one of the most accomplished hunting cats I’ve ever known, and was the mayor of their neighborhood (he was apparently visiting and being fed by at least four of their neighbors on a regular basis). He hated traveling in cars, but loved to sleep in them, and sit on them. He truly was an amazing cat.
Best of luck to you, Ruemara. I hope that little guy is a good match for your home.
Elizabelle
Ruemara: you must keep us in pics of the little guy. He’s charming. (And I’m not particularly a cat person.)
sacrablue
@ruemara: email me through Anne Laurie. I sure we can work something out. The little guy is all excited!
JPL
sacrablue We are all excited for ruemara and the little guy.
hilts
OT
Koch Facts letter to Senator Patty Murray, Chair Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
http://www.kochfacts.com/kf/letter-to-senator-patty-murray-chair-democratic-senatorial-campaign-committee
“Koch Facts is a repository for media responses and factual info presented by Koch Industries”
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Ruemara, I hope it works out for you, but if not, we have been on the lookout for a second cat and would happily serve as the backup option.
ETA: I’m in San Francisco but could get up to Sac County with no problem.
Roger Moore
@hilts:
Hmm. Koch Facts. This could be even more fun than Chuck Norris Facts.
Koch Fact: The Koch brothers will not eat you. Only newborn babies are tender enough for their refined palates.
sacrablue
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I’m thrilled to put you down as a backup if Ruemara can’t become the the little guy’s new person. At the moment he is a tiny motorboat purring in my lap. He is waiting to pounce on our fattest cat, Mikey Hoover, who outweighs him by about twenty pounds!
bystander
Anne Laurie…
You might consider animal rescue transporters. Rescued dogs are ferried by a kind of “underground railroad” all over the US. I believe some of those folks will transport any companion animal. Cat transporters ferry dogs as well as the reverse. Cross country truck drivers have been willing. Google might kick something up. This time of year there are folks traveling pretty good distances to dog and cat shows and a relay might work. Anyone connected to the Cat Fanciers Association?
El Cruzado
I’d need to get him past my wife, my landlord and the fourteen pound hair-shedding leader of my household. Difficult, but doable. Let me know if no easier way out for that cute kitten appears.
asiangrrlMN
@sacrablue, oh my god. He’s the cutest sweetest most yummiest black kitteh ever! I am so glad that you have two people willing to take him in. Black cats are the best!
@Mister Papercut, agreed. I have two as well, and I can tell them apart most of the time. A third would really shake things up. Your cat is adorable!
@karen marie, aw, sweet kittehs. RIP, Mr. Mittens.
@ruemara, can’t WAIT to see pics and hear about your new baby!
TaMara (BHF)
Okay, I’m so excited ruemara is getting a new kitty! Now if anyone in the Colorado Front Range area is looking for a kitten, I have the twin to that little guy. A little, young (about 9 mos) black stray I’ve been feeding for weeks.
Somehow he sucks up to all the neighbors and loves on them but seems to have a sixth sense that if I get my hands on him he’s getting neutered, so he stays arms-length away. Loves my food bowl though.
Yutsano
@ wifey: No kittehnappings plz. :)
TaMara (BHF)
Speaking of lost and stray pet signage. I swear my female Great Dane would look out the front window and call all lost and stray dogs to our house. They would greet her like an old friend. I’m pretty sure her message: “If you’re lost, come here, my person speaks fluent dog, she’ll get you home.”
Yutsano
How do you know she isn’t? Great Dane are just big fluffy piles of wuv anyway. And yes I still want one.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Yutsano:
Well, big fluffy piles of … something. They are lovely dogs in terms of personality, but I just couldn’t deal with something that poops out a beagle every day. I see people with them here in the city, and I wonder, what were they thinking?
sacrablue
@asiangrrlMN:yes, he really is a sweetheart and there was absolutely no way that I could leave him outside when the temperatures were about to hit 100. I’m really hoping that Ruemara agrees to keep him. We already have two sweet and sassy black cats in our crew. They are from the same litter as our tuxedo. They were born in our sideyard. The female, Midnight, has suddenly grown a single white whisker that makes her distinguishable from her bother.
HumboldtBlue
Man O Manischewitz, I wanna drive down, pack him up and bring him home. What a cutie.
However, if you live in Sacramento or its environs you live in Central California, the top of the valley, you’re about as “Northern” as Georgia in relation to the nation.
My kitty’s name is also Midnight, she showed up outside my kitchen window late on a cold stormy night more than two years ago and since then has decided that my apartment, my arms and my ability to open a can of cat food are sufficient for her needs.
WereBear
Yay!
Here’s our little foundling, now ten months old.
Tristan the rescued kitten.
Roger Moore
@sacrablue:
The white whiskers are adorable, aren’t they? My Jake was black with one white whisker when I adopted him, and it gave him a cute, slightly roguish look. He’s lost the one white whisker since then and I keep hoping it will grow back in.
@HumboldtBlue:
Not quite. Sacramento is about as far north as Washington, DC. No, that’s not terribly Northern on a national scale, but it’s hardly Georgia, either.
sacrablue
@HumboldtBlue: I know that I live in Central California, but I’m originally from the east coast and when we told friends and relatives that we were moving to Sacramento, they all thought we were moving to Los Angeles so we got used to telling them we were hundreds of miles away and no, we did not live near any movie stars. And yes, according to our felines, my primary purpose in life is as a food dispenser.
jayjaybear
He looks like a Bombay…big ears, short fur, orange-yellow eyes. If he’s small and delicate-looking, he probably is a Bombay. We’ve had one for five years and she’s the queen of the castle, even with two other cats, a dog and four people.
ruemara
Just an fyi, sent a screed off to Ann. SO HANZ OFFA MAH KITTEH BEAR! Yes, I am already possessive and determining which background would show him off best. Also, too, why is is always boy cats in this household. Bleeding furry sausage fest.
WereBear
Me, I love a boy cat. Not on purpose, but if I pluck a kitten from a squirming mass, it’s almost always a boy.
The last time I picked, though, it was a girl, who drilled her eyes through my head to make sure I picked her! Yet, I was only the means to an end: getting to her True Love, Mr WereBear.
sacrablue
@Roger Moore:actually, the white whisker makes her look lopsided. She’s still her ornery, entitled, adorable pile of fur and we love her just the same.
sacrablue
@ruemara: bless you! I eagerly await your email. Right now, the little one is napping with his temporary big brother, Bugbear. He got that name because he was the runt of the litter and cute as a bear cub when we found him six years ago.
MazeDancer
YAY, @ruemara!!
YAY, @sacrablue!!
(Love that you both have a certain French homage/double duty in your screen names.)
And, @ruemara, though of course, it is entirely up to you, there is an opportunity to consider some homonym-i-ly appropriate aspect to the kitty name for your new boy, like “Cole”.
And, p.s. @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice, congratulations on volunteering, too! And now that you’re on the black kitty bandwagon, may your own inky/raveny new one appear soon. It’s probably already sensing the opportunity, now. Be on the watch.
TaMara (BHF)
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
I’m going to try and not take offense at that. :-) I had three. Worth any and all work involved. I’ll have three more again someday soon.
@Yutsano – funniest thing is, we lived a the top of a large circle, which meant all these lost dogs had to veer widely off the main road just to find our house. So I am SURE she was directing them.
gogol's wife
What a nice saga to follow today. Congratulations ruemara and lovely black kitteh.
Darkrose
Yay, @ruemara! Yay, @sacrablue!
And although she doesn’t know it yet, my wife thanks you both, because if no one had stepped up, I was going to have a hard time saying no, which I suspect our current pair would be less than thrilled with.
But kitten!
Candy
Have you called Fieldhaven? 434-6022 — http://www.fieldhaven.com/ The manager’s name is Jen Paul — if she says no at first, be persistent! We got all four of our babies from them. They’re very good at finding homes for abandoned kitties and are in Roseville/Rocklin/Lincoln Petsmarts and Petcos every weekend for adoptions. They just opened a new shelter in Lincoln that’s pretty big. I know they have LOADS of cats, but could be pursueded to take one more… If you’ve called them before, call them again.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@TaMara: No offense meant – I’m not questioning the worthwhileness of the breed, but it takes a serious commitment to give them the exercise, space, and time they need in a densely-built city with limited parks and open space, and sadly I don’t think a lot of their owners make enough effort to do that here.
sacrablue
@ gogol’s wife: I’m overjoyed and I hope this all works out. I so appreciate John’s blog. I mostly just lurk here, but it is nice when I read someone else who seems to have read my mind. I’m just really grateful that this place exists and that the front pagers and commentere are such warm-hearted people.
Anne Laurie
Thank you, Ruemara! I’ve forwarded your email to Sacreblue (and hers to you) and I can’t wait to hear more about the adventures of this little cutie!
sacrablue
@Candy: I live very close to Roseville. I tried Fieldhaven the last time around when our fourth feral kitten found us. They told me no and I actually felt guilty “surrendering” a kitten. Maybe it was just the terminology that turned me off. It wasn’t my fault that the kitten needed a home. As it turned out, that kitten needed a good deal of medical attention, as well as psychological issues. We named him Mikey Hoover because he will eat anything and he vacuums it all up! He was emaciated when he found us, now he is bigger than Tunch!
CAfan
I live in Sacramento and may need a friendly young cat. As my aging Silver cat lost his brother last year, and I think he may be lonesome. Am sending you my contact #s.
Annie Laurie, you’re earning gold stars to get you into Kitteh Heaven some day.
Darkrose
@CAfan: We got our most recent kitteh through the Orphan Kitten Project at the UCD Vet School. Although he’s gone from a tiny kitten to Tunch-sized, and he’s dumb as a box of hammers, he’s incredibly sweet, and settled in quickly with our other cat.