My soon-to-be-ex-husband is cat-tolerant but lacks the Cat Gene. He told me early on, perhaps even before we were married, that two cats were his outer limit. I abided by it.
Well, now I am living alone, heh heh heh. I got a cat, Zoey, right away, and didn’t have any real plans for more until I started spending an awful lot of time away from home and thought she might be lonely. When I went to look for a playmate, I impulsively picked up this poor guy, Phineas who has very bad cataracts and limited vision due to Little Fire Ant bites (they are blinding lots of animals on the Big Island).
Alas, Zoey and Phineas showed no signs of being able to get along. Phineas (who I usually refer to as Finn the Evil Twin, since his coloring is much like Zoey’s) is pretty good at scratching and biting humans, too. In short, he’s not the world’s best cat. After consultation with the vet I somewhat reluctantly made Finn an outdoor cat, which worked out quite well - he is happy, and never strays from the front porch. One must be careful as he can very suddenly turn from playful and affectionate to swiping you with his claws fully extended. But overall, Finn is having a good life now and he’s usually sweet.
That still left Zoey needing a playmate. This time I decided to be smart and get a male kitten, since that seemed the most likely combo to work (Zoey is a female, a little over a year old). I visited the no-kill shelter with my son and his girlfriend while they were visiting (they, fortunately, have the Cat Gene) and the two of them fell in love with a little grey male kitty. So of course that was the one I had to adopt.
The shelter told me he is a Russian Blue, which I was skeptical of since a purebred RB is not going to be at some random shelter on Hawaii Island. However, having read up on Russian Blue traits, I’m actually starting to think he IS a Russian Blue, though not show quality (he has a locket and small white patches on his hind feet). He is exactly as Blues are described, including the essential white-tipped fur. (Not sure how well you can see it in the photo.) I have no idea how a RB kitten, even a non-pedigreed one, ended up at the shelter. But there are a lot of gorgeous cats on our island, including many beautiful strays who look like show-quality Birman, so somehow it does happen.
Anyway, I decided to call him Dmitri in honor of his possible Russian heritage. I started out following the rule of keeping him and Zoey separate, but it was instantly clear they were in love, so I let them hang together. They are totally best buds! Zoey treats Dmitri like her baby. He reciprocates with plenty of affection. So now the two of them both sleep in bed with me at night, and it’s delightful.
But three cats is enough. I am now fully catted, and happy.
Welcome, Dmitri.