Of all the cats we’ve either rescued, sheltered, or boarded over the years, this one was the coolest, ever.
Smokie.
He is a Norwegian Forest Cat. Google that if you aren’t familiar with them. When we had our disastrous flood two and a half years ago he was one that Linda and I rescued.
Several days after the flood Linda got a phone call. A lady had to leave her house in a hurry as the flood waters were rapidly rising. She left food for her cat and escaped with nothing else. The flood hit, hard. A few days later she called to see if we could get into her house and rescue her cat, Smokie.
We tossed a cat carrier into the side by side and ventured into the flood zone. The devastation was extensive and heart breaking. We arrive at her house and enter. Smokie is upstairs, frightened, hungry, but fine. We get him in the cat carrier and he is not amused. Not amused at all.
We bring him to my shop, which is doubling as a cat hotel for rescues. Smokie immediately disappears into the dark recesses of my WannaBee. I leave food and water and retreat. I ultimately had him for several weeks. He was more feral than tame, and super intelligent, super alpha. He made it immediately clear that we were not friends, never were friends, and are never going to be friends. He knew that he was a prisoner in my shop.
Determined to win him over I would bring him food and water, then retreat to my desk to observe him. He would warily emerge and eat, occasionally looking up to growl at me. Smokie was a big cat and you could tell he was tough. In my sixty four years he was the only cat that I was afraid of. So this went on for about a week. He would eat, but always watch me, and growl this deep, menacing, wild growl. Just to keep me in line. One night I was sitting and watching him while he ate. He stopped growling, and munched his food thoughtfully, looking at me. He slowly and leisurely walks towards me, and I think “Hey, I’m finally getting somewhere”. He casually walks across the shop, and when get gets to me he wacks me hard on the knee. Then he casually walks back and continues eating and growling at me.
After a few weeks it got to the point where I could pet him for a bit, but only if he initiated it, and only for a little while.
Towards the end of his stay I had fed him, and was on my way out of the shop. As I passed by he turned, wacked me hard on the back of the leg, and resumed eating.
When his owner picked him up she filled me in on him a bit. He was an old cat, and the only person he ever bonded with was her now deceased husband. How he was with me was how he was. He would live mostly outdoors, coming home when he felt like it. He could leap and swat birds out of the air. He was truly a fascinating cat, and I miss him.
In the photos I am taking a chance being that close to him. In the one picture you can see by his expression that he is deciding if it is worth the effort to smack me or not.