Taylor was born wild. A friend of mine provides a foster home for cats, and she introduced me to a friend of hers who traps abandoned and feral cats, provides a temporary home for them, and then, working with an adoption agency (http://ninelivesadoption.org/), finds foster and permanent homes for the cats. So, Michelle got him, and his three brothers and sisters, from a litter that was either abandoned or where something happened to the mother. I'm not 100% sure of the details. Anyway, after making sure the cats were OK, they went into foster homes, and last week I found Taylor at the adoption center. His two sisters had already been adopted, and just he and his brother, Kilmer, were left. You can see a pic of Taylor on the kittens page of the web site.
As an aside, Karen, the woman who runs Nine Lives, is a movie buff, and she named the cats in Taylor's litter Val, Kilmer, Liz, and Taylor <LOL> The adoption center rents a store front in a small shopping center, and is often quite busy, especially on Saturdays. When I came into the place most of the cats were in cages, but two, Taylor and Kilmer, were out and about, exploring, meeting people, playing with the other dogs and cats, and so on. I wanted a cat that was assertive and friendly, and Taylor seemed to meet those requirements. Kilmer did as well, but he was much more aggressive, and it was suggested that Taylor would be a better match for a household that already had another cat or other pets. I made a couple of visits to the center to spend some time with Taylor, and decided it was going to be a good match. That seems to be the case ... he's friendly, curious, assertive, intelligent, and a good match for my other cat, Buddy, in that he shows no fear and is not at all intimidated by Buddy's growling and attempts to establish territory. The two seem to be getting along pretty well considering that Taylor's only been here a couple of days. They can now eat together, they've had a few incidents of nose touches, and last night they both slept with me. I have great hopes that they'll end up as friends and will play well together. Taylor, BTW, is vocal and is quite a talker, as is my other cat, Buddy. It's great to listen to them jabbering away about one thing or another. Shel > [Original Message] > From: Jim King > Yeah, cat pix always get me too. So do the creatures themselves, of > course - so sensuous to pet when they allow it, so lithe in their > movement it's a treat just to watch them. Your comment about their > gregarious nature once you come to understand how they communicate is > very true in my experience. Ours are quite vocal but even those who > aren't have their ways of letting you know what they want. Sorry to > get so rhapsodic but I am truly smitten... > > Taylor sounds quite friendly for a semi-feral cat. Had he originally > had much contact with humans before going wild? How did you entice > him to come in from the cold, so to speak? > > Regards, Jim
