Thursday, March 28, 2024
adopting a catBasilBellaDaily Featuredaily photomy household of felinesSmokie

A Present for Basil, Bella and Me

Basil grooming Bella yesterday.
Basil grooming Bella yesterday.

Basil and Bella have been with me as fosters for over two years. Adoption has been a challenge for them with Basil’s asthma and Bella’s evasive nature with strangers. We all get along well, they are happy here, purrfect feline models, and understanding foster siblings to others. So today their adoption is official. Basil and Bella are forever members of my feline family.

Basil & Bella & the basket.
Basil & Bella & the basket.

I adore both of them and their unique purrsonalities, and how, even though they are in no way related, their bond as frightened formerly feral kittens makes them rescue siblings forever. The night Bella came here in a carrier, we opened it so she could come out, if she wanted. She did not. Basil quietly stepped in and laid down as you see below. I have no idea the details of this conversation, but he came back out and went about his kitten agenda of playing and being charming, and Bella came out of the carrier and began doing her best to be part of the drama.

two black cats
When Smokie met Bella.

Until 2012, I always lived with a rescued feline family of nine or ten with fosters on top of that. Any cats who weren’t adopted after a few years became part of that family of all colors, sizes, shapes and ages. After losing Cookie and Kelly that year I found myself with only Mimi and her four wonderful adult children. I decided I’d give myself and my home and my finances a break and stay with only those five for a while. Since then I’ve fostered many from geriatric to hospice to adults to kittens and formerly feral kittens. I know the stress on a household of cats in a house this small with only one human when the number nears a dozen, especially with one room closed off, as it is now, so I just have to be careful to manage individuals who feel a little stressed with extra play and maybe a new cat tree if I can fit one in, and, oh my, a catio, if I can pull that one off.

I tried my best leading up to today to get a holiday photo of them, with absolutely no luck at all. Here is a photo I took of them this morning as I was trying to coax them to a spot where I had some colorful items, but no go.

The best photo I could get this morning.
The best photo I could get this morning.

Both of them have spent more time with me in the past few days after I’ve decided this, both of them sleeping on my lap, which is not a regular habit for Bella, and following me around as I do my thing. I’m sure they know. I’m sure they’re happy.

Most of the time I share photos of each of them individually, but I see them greeting each other or napping together at some point every day. Here is a little gallery of all the photos I have at hand of the two of them together, though in truth there are many more than this.

Basil and Bella join the good company of Kublai, Sally, Stanley, Allegro, Moses, Fawn, Nikka, Sophie, Cookie, Namir, Kelly, Peaches, Cream, Lucy, Mimi, Giuseppe, Mewsette, Mr. Sunshine, Jelly Bean and fosters Lakota, Emeraude and Kennedy, who, though they spent a brief time with us, I fostered knowing they would never be adopted.




Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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© 2016 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

—

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

7 thoughts on “A Present for Basil, Bella and Me

  • Pingback: Daily Photo: Hamlet Waves ~ The Creative Cat

  • createwithjoy

    Happy New Year Bernadette – thanks for sharing all of your wonderful posts with us! Congrats on making it official with Basil and Bella – your story just warmed my heart! Congrats – I’ve featured two of your wonderful posts this week at Inspire Me Monday (I had a third one pulled as well but then that would have just made it ALL about Bernadette – lol!) 🙂

    Reply
    • I don’t see a problem with that Ramona! 😉 Thanks so much for the honor!

      Reply
  • Wonderful to see how much Basil and Bella adore each other. Happy mew beginning to permanently be a part of your purrific family. Meowry Christmas and Purrz from Katie Kat the Mom and Katie Kitty Too.

    Reply
    • Kat-Renee, they are very pleased, though with the warm weather there were mousie whisperings just outside our basement walls and Bella has been quite busy. Basil made up for both of them on my lap though. Thanks for visiting!

      Reply
  • While we are s bit sad the adoptions for these two did not work out,
    we are delighted that they will be joining your family!
    They are such lucky cats.
    WE purr you all will enjoy many happy years together 🙂
    Merry Christmas !
    Purrs Georgia,Julie and JJ
    and Nancy

    Reply
    • I’m looking forward to photographing and painting them in years to come, Nancy!

      Reply

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