Meet our new cat, Papa

[flamingyouth]

This was his Christmas photo. Isn't he cute??? He's currently living at a woman's house down in Gig Harbor. She rescued him from an apartment complex, where he had been a stray who took care of a colony of feral kittens. So, she named him Papa for obvious reasons.

He's three and has had a few health problems as a result of being left out for so long. He's missing a few teeth and has a hernia (which has been fixed).

The last thing I said to Chester before he went to the Rainbow Bridge was, "Please send us someone like you." And he did. Papa has the same sweet disposition and heart that Chester did. He even sticks his tongue out when you pet him like Chester. I was so happy when I saw him, I almost cried with joy.

Yes, I'm a crazy cat lady, I know! Anyway, just wanted to show him off to you! We're getting him on Feb. 18. :hi:

[Dookus]

1. Congratulations!

He's a beauty! Here's to many long, happy years together :toast:

[flamingyouth]

7. Thanks!

:hi:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. He's gorgeous!

Congrats to you and Alan on your new arrival...did he cook the ribs yet?

[flamingyouth]

6. Not yet - I think he's waiting for Papa

...so he can have some too! ;-)

We're very excited. It's been sad around here without a big, gorgeous lazy boy cat like Chester. I'm sure you can relate.

PS - As I was typing this, I got a call from Alan, and he mentioned he was going to cook them this weekend! (bizarre coincidence??) Of course, you will get a full report. :loveya:

[Randomthought]

3. He's a flirt!

He looks like a great guy! I'm happy for you. Good on you for giving him a forever home.

[flamingyouth]

8. A TOTAL flirt

I desperately wanted to take him home today, but she insisted on taking him one last time to her local vet to check his teeth. He's hilarious - he loves to be held like a baby. He'll be very spoiled and loved here, I can tell you that!

[Kamika]

4. omg

he's gay

I can hear him now..

purrr.. hello there big boy

[flamingyouth]

9. LOL - that may be true!

:7

[Torrey Pines]

5. Looks like a great cat, flamingyouth,

and a great photo, too. ;-)

[flamingyouth]

10. Laura, the cat rescuer, took it

She is a total sweetheart to take care of cats like this. She has a whole second building out on her property where she cares for unwanted cats with physical problems. I immediately adored her when I met her.

[TrogL]

11. Poinsettia is poisonous to cats

[flamingyouth]

12. It was fake n/t

[CatWoman]

13. That's not real poinsettia

and Poppa has a brand new bag, er, home :D

Congrats!!

He's gorgeous, and all that!!! :D

[flamingyouth]

14. Thanks!

I'm so happy my heart is all a-flutter.

Yeah, he's totally cute. And I couldn't believe it when she said, "Let me give you a picture of him for you to take home with you," and she came out with this! :7

She clearly takes her cat-picture-taking most seriously!

[BuelahWitch]

15. He's gorgeous!

So glad you found one another. And he likes to "strike a pose" too!
:D

[flamingyouth]

18. Yeah, he sure does!

Thanks for your good wishes! :hi:

[Habibi]

16. What a doll

and what a great story! I should have said something similar to my cat Cavendish when I had to escort him to the bridge many years ago. I haven't yet found another companion cat like him. God bless!

[flamingyouth]

20. Thanks, mmmarke

May your sweet Cavendish (great name!) continue to RIP and look out for you. :hug:

[Melsky]

17. What a great bear of a cat

I love cats that want to be held like babies. My cat Ollie is like that, and also the desert cat I just found a home for.

And you'll be getting him on my birthday too.

[flamingyouth]

19. That's great - didn't know your bday was coming up

How is your neck, by the way? Any better?

[Melsky]

24. My neck is better

I got an anti-inflamitory for it. Thanks for asking!

[flamingyouth]

30. I'm glad

:hi:

[Lorien]

21. Awwww..

Congrats on finding such a sweet big boy! I lost my Peewee last year too, and added not one, but TWO new kittens to my home. Your Papa reminds me of my Oberon. Maybe papa is part maine Coon? Here's some ways to tell;
a "break" in the profile of the nose, lynx tips on the ears

A broad head and heavy muzzle (looks like a possibilty for Papa)

A soft, shaggy coat; longer on the tummy, tail and "britches". A stocky build (Papa looks like he may fit there, too)!

LARGE in size, yet gentle as a lamb!(Oberon also loves to be held like a baby) Here Obie is with his best buddy Puck-a Turkish Angora. Oberon is 9 months-Puck turns four months old tomorrow!


I have to post a nice portrait of Puck as well. He's as impish as his name implies, but he can be a real snuggle bug, too! :-)



What would we do without our wonderful "fur kids"?

[flamingyouth]

25. OMG - I'm freaking out from cuteness overload!

Those are some darn sweet-looking cats you have there!

We do think he might be part Maine Coon - he even has those really furry paws like the breed. He's already 15-1/2 lbs. and he's in a shelter environment (forecast: giant cat on the horizon after living with us for a few months!).

Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful cats with us. I love the one with Puck biting Oberon on the leg - that is too cute - and great names too!

[Lorien]

29. Really furry paws

You mean like these?


Lol! Yeah, Puck is being "Puckish" in that photo. Oberon is so sweet; this is how he starts a game-no teeth or claws involved!

Just for an added dose of "cute" here he is with my elderly cat, Miro:

and the whole gang, just chillin'

This one is just plain weird.


I hope you'll share more photos of Papa once you have him at home. He looks like such a sweetheart! :-)
As an aside; Maine Coons don't finish growing until 4-5 years, so if Papa is part MC (which I think he is as well), he might turn into quite a large kitty!

[flamingyouth]

31. Yes! They're like boots!

I can't wait to get him home and take more pics of him. He's going to love the big furry bed we got for him.

Those cats are just beyond cute, I need to say that again. :hi:

[Dookus]

45. hrmm...

people have suggested my Molly (below) may be Maine Coon, which I would love. She's only 8 months old now, and a pound kitty. whaddya think? From the back, it looks like she's wearing ski pants.



hrm... the pic's not showing for me :(

[Lorien]

46. She certainly is a pretty cat

does she have any other MC features? (I made a partial list in a post above).

[Dookus]

48. well she seems to have a lot of 'em

tufts of fur between her toes, she's looks like she's wearing ski pants when she's walking away from you - big fluffy legs and tail. I've read elsewhere that Maine's vocalize differently, and she sure does - she squeaks, trills and coo's, but rarely meows.

I don't know what you mean by a break in the profile, though.

[Lorien]

49. Maybe this photo will better show

the "break" in the nose profile:

it has a distinct "Roman" quality to it, though perhaps females have a straighter bridge.

And yes, MCs have a musical "trill". It can sort of end in a "meow' sometimes, but there's a lot more variety to their sounds than most breeds. They are said to have decended from Turkish Angoras, Nowegian ship cats, and lynx or bobcat. Recent genetic tests have revealed that there is a high probablity that MCs do indeed contain some wild blood in their ancestory (which would explain the vocalizations, which are very similar to those of both Lynx and Bobcat).

Check out this site:http://www.fogcitycat.com/ancestors2.html
for loads and loads of Maine Coon photos. You might find one that's a close match to your girl, and it's fun to look at all the kitties!

here's one that's a little similar;

[Bertha Venation]

22. Daddy, meet Papa. Papa, Daddy.

Daddy (so named because I, uh, <ahem> caught him siring the litter of kittens born to a feral that we fostered....)

Congratulations on such a beautiful new addition to your home, FY.

[flamingyouth]

26. Thanks, Bertha and Daddy!

:hi:

What a sweetheart Daddy is! :loveya:

[Lorien]

34. Cute! He looks like

a svelt, young version of my Miro (see post #29) also a tuxedo kitty. :-)

[NJCher]

23. rags to riches

He is gorgeous, flamingyouth. How lucky you both are.

Actually, poinsettia is not poisonous to cats. That's an old wives tale.

mmmarke, you can still ask. There is no time in that world, you know!

Hey what the heck; ask. Maybe you will receive.


Cher

[flamingyouth]

27. Thanks, Cher!

And I agree with what you say about mmmarke's cat too. Yep, just ask - you never know what wonderful things may await.

We are truly the lucky ones here - I am just bouncing with happiness over meeting Papa. He's one amazing cat, that's for sure.

:hi:

[Habibi]

28. You know

I believe I will. Thanks for the nudge. Cavendish, darling? I have a favor to ask . . .

[Lostmessage]

32. Your cat is a Chocolate Point....Persian or Himalayan Cross

He could possibly be a pure bred cat and he kind of looks like a show quality Cat. He is a beautiful Cat.

[flamingyouth]

35. His previous owner threw him out

Go figure :shrug:

He's actually more gray and black than brown. Now, Chester, our late cat, was very chocolately. Thanks!

[Lostmessage]

37. I use to work at Cat Shows and I know a show quality Cat

That Cat looks show quality.

I have a toss away cat that I call Mr. Streets (He is deaf) and he is a pure bred Turkish Angora. When I found him he was frozen solid and he weighed about 4 pounds. The Cat is huge and he weighs at least 25 pounds now.

People are nuts they toss away Cats and Dogs and they don't care if they are pure bred or not. It doesn't matter to me I love them all but the cat I found had to be around $400.00 as a kitty and your cat looks like they might have paid the same amount.

Russian Blue, British Blue Short hair or Chartreux possibly? The pictures aren't loading for me. What color are his eyes?

[flamingyouth]

38. Maybe part Russian Blue

I don't know. He's really beautiful. I think I'd have to spend more time with him to be sure on his breed mix.

We have two Balinese cats that had been tossed out. One turned out to be a champion show cat, we found out later. She'd even won tons of local shows (as best in breed). The lady had died, and then her son came and let all the cats loose ... :grr: ... because he "didn't want to be bothered." Again, :grr:

[Lostmessage]

39. Nice Son.........Damn jerk!

Oh how I hate people like that.

Can you imagine if someone let some kids out of a house instead of Cat's. It would be a crime wouldn't it?

[Lorien]

41. I think his coloring is what's known as "smoke"

and I'm still betting on a Maine Coon heritage; Russian blues are fine boned shorthairs (but anything is possible)!

Here's a an MC in a rather dramatic Smoke coat:

He's one of Oberon's grandfathers.

[Lostmessage]

47. I think that you are right

I looked at the picture one time and then something happened that it wasn't coming in on my browser. I can see him now and he does look like he has Maine coon in him.

[MrsMatt]

33. He's beautiful -

I'm always so happy when people are able to make new furry friends that can connect them with the old.

Last July we lost our beloved Bettina (after 17 very healthy yearz, and 2 years with health problems), but we weren't able to say goodbye - she took advantage of an open door and distraction on our part to leave the house and go off to die alone; we have never recovered her body. We suspect she went into the wooded area behind our house - her 10 year old adopted sister Nancy, who prior to Bettina's disappearance was our house "foundation hugger", was found over 150 feet from our back door in the woods (we think she was searching for Betty) .

Our six year old daughter still cries on occasion about the loss of Bettina. We adopted two new cats, but sadly they are no substitution for our Betty. MrMatt and I have come to the conclusion that there will never be another Bettina.

Wow, sorry to be such a downer! I really meant to offer congratulations, but I ended up crying about my own damn cat!

[flamingyouth]

36. Oh, I'm sorry about Bettina

I lost a cat in a similar way when I was in high school. I never really got over it either. She'd been acting weird and kind of sick for a couple of days, then she wandered off and we never saw her again. :-(

Someone told me that the cats do that as a favor to us - so we don't have to deal with the agony of finding them, etc. I find that a little bit comforting, I guess, but it is still hard.

Don't worry - you haven't been a downer at all! :hug:

[MrsMatt]

42. Thank you!

Bettina was such a HUGE part of our lives - MrMatt and I knew her separately before we had any idea of each others existance (she originally was ensconced in the home of a mutual friend). She had more personality in her left front paw than all three of our current cats have put together - and that is saying a LOT. I really miss her.

In any case, I really wanted to congratulate you on your new love! Once he's home, in two weeks he'll have you convinced that YOU are the lucky one to have HIM in your home. Anyone who doesn't like cats should have their damned head examined. IMHO. No, I guess it's IMAO (in my arrogant opinion; if I'm going to emulate my favorite domestic animal!).

Cats really are the ultimate politicians - once they know they have their "base" secured, they can do anything and their "base" will defend them to their dying breath!

Best of luck and again, thanks for the condolances!

Marie

[Kat45]

40. What a cutie! n/t

[roguevalley]

43. He looks like a serious babe. When a cat rocks, there's nothing like it.

congrats!

[flamingyouth]

44. Thanks!

Yeah, he's pretty cool. :hi:

[Lorien]

50. Morning kick

because there are no other threads going for a cute kitty fix!