Current Live Ins Part Three: Third time's the charm?

Perhaps you have already read how BootZee the Cat and Bandit the German Shepherd came to live  in their forever home. If not, you should know that BootZee was one of three cats abandoned by a woman because "my boyfriend doesn't like them".

BootZee is a gray cat with a white bib, belly and gloves. Yep. A tuxedo cat. His "brothers" (what do you call cats who are raised together but are obviously from different ancestry anyway?) were a black and white tuxedo cat and one that looks like a Maine Coon. All three were neutered and their front claws had been removed.

Abandoned. Poor kitties.



We started setting food out for them the winter they were abandoned and 'adopted' an injured BootZee that very same spring (2012).

BootZee's brothers would come around from time to time throughout the summer. They would meow at the back door and be rewarded with food and water. As the summer progressed they came less frequently. The black and white cat stopped coming around in late summer. The tiger/maine coon kept right on coming. From time to time when the weather turned wet and cold I would bring tiger cat into the house. I tried to get him to stay, but he broke through two screens to get out. Not sure if the dog freaked him out or he had just turned semi-wild. He just didn't seem to want to stay.

Summer turned to fall and the days started getting brisk. With winter fast approaching the neighborhood was all abuzz about trying to find a good home for both cats. The McKean County SPCA, a no-kill shelter, agreed to take them in if they could be caught. One neighbor was interested and was considering adopting the tiger/maine. None of us had seen the black and white and assumed that someone had "adopted" it. Or...the unspeakable had happened. We won't speak of that.

But tiger cat kept coming to the back door. Hungry. Perhaps lonely too. Keep in mind that these cats were abandoned in winter. Their former owner had subsequently moved away, but at some point in time probably really loved these cats. They aren't young kittens even if I do refer to them that way. They are probably between 4-6 years old. Raised inside. With no claws. Someone else was feeding them. Knowing the neighborhood several someones were probably feeding them.

I let him in. He cried. He scratched at the door. He scratched at the window. After three days of rain and cold, the temperature was finally nice so out he went.

This went on for about three weeks.  He would come around. I'd let him in. He's meow and scratch until I gave in and let him out. One day he showed up right before a patch of nasty weather. I decided to stick it out and let him meow/scratch.

I named him "Tigger-Tiger". He's a funny little cat. He'll lay down on his back on the floor right in front of me and want me to scratch his belly. He just loves to have his belly scratched. His fur is softer and fuller than BootZees. He doesn't meow like he did when he first came here. But he does want to go back outside. He scratches at the windows and doors from time to time. He would escape in a heartbeat if he could (you always have to look for him when opening outside doors). He seeks me out when he wants petted or scratched. Is much more social than BootZee.

BootZee and Tigger-Tiger play and love on each other all the time. You can tell that they are friends.  You'll often find them stretched out next to each other on the bed.

Both cats are growing accustomed to Bandit. Tigger-Tiger even lets him sniff his butt from time to time (hey - it's what they do) and sometimes will hop up on the bed if Bandit is already there. Bandit has a good heart and tries his best to lay still when that happens. He teases Bandit mercilessly. As a matter of fact, one of his first days here Tigger-Tiger climbed into Bandit's crate and took a nap. Poor Bandit didn't know what to do about that!

BootZee isn't quite so fond of the dog. It took months for him to even tolerate the dog being in the same room. He bats Bandit's nose with his front paws every chance he gets. Sometimes he even goes out of the way to do it (truth). BootZee was caught in the act of sniffing a sleeping Bandit a couple days ago so perhaps a truce is being negotiated. Rather odd too. BootZee had absolutely no problem with Bear-the-Wonder-Dog. He would even curl up next to him to nap.

Well. That's the story of my "Current Live Ins".