I'm not a cat rescuer. I'm one of those cat mamas who provide a loving home so cat rescuers have space to rescue more. In fact, over the last twenty years, I've gotten all but one of my kitties from my friend Flo who rescues cats from the street. I was devastated when I lost my first California cat Danny Girl at 16 1/2 She was the smartest cat I've known and she got me through some harrowing illness that won my heart. I could talk about her forever but this is about Felisha Rose, not Danny. Danny was a bit of a bully and just tolerated her brother Pacey Jack living in her house. Years later when I brought in baby Mischief Kirk, she did better with him. I guess her mothering instincts finally kicked in. During our mourning period after Danny passed, I had it in my head to offer a home to a senior cat because it breaks my heart when older cats wind up in shelters due to death or age abandonment and don't understand what's happened to them. Mischief Kirk had been so bonded to Danny, it took a few months before he stopped looking for her.
So with me ready to adopt a senior, Flo tells me she has a year old kitten who's desperate for a family. She named her Felisha because as a tuxedo, she reminded her of Felix the Cat. Flo met Felisha at a feral colony she was feeding. Felisha kept following Flo around, wanting desperately to be taken home. Flo said there was nothing feral about Felisha and she had to be a cat who had just gotten lost or was abandoned because she's mostly a black cat. But she was extremely smart, loving, and curious. And with all her rescues, Flo said she didn't have the time to give Felisha that the feisty youngster needed.
I didn't want a year old, but Flo said she needed me. And Felisha showed how smart she was. First meeting with me, she was all cuddling in my arms and licking my face, convincing Flo I was the right person for her. As soon as I brought her home, she went to work on convincing my boys to love her. She licked them and groomed them and kissed them and played with them and slept with them. Poor Pacey who had no loving in 15 years with Danny, now had a cat to cuddle with and sleep with and every day they can be seen sleeping together. They even sit on top of each other on my lap. If Felisha isn't with Pacey, she's cuddling or or playing or sleeping with Mischief, with whom she is even more firmly bonded. And I've got the Three Cat-A-Teers bonded in a way I never thought possible. You should have seen how nuts Felisha and Mischief were when Pacey spent two weeks in hospital for his thyroid treatment. I added Rose to Felisha's name to honor my late friend Sharon Rose. And Felisha is often known as Nosy Rosey with good reason.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA
