Rescue Story: Bella Beautiful

Bella became a star meowdel just nine days after arriving here on September 15, 2014 when she inspired the painting above, which in turn not only inspired the Bella! design on just about all handmade gifts I’ve designed over the past decade, but this design was why I even started making some of the items, like tote bags and accessory bags, to show off her inspiration! As I was recently featuring my new dishtowels and shared this painting I wanted to link to her rescue story as I do with so many others, but realized I hadn’t written one for her. How could that happen?! She has a bit part in Basil’s rescue story, but it’s about time I told Bella’s story, yes?

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A friend and fellow volunteer had been trapping in a colony of feral cats in a community near me, more than she could foster on her own. Several of them were black, and there seemed to be one particular group or litter of slightly older kittens who were elusive and after all the cats had been trapped and vetted and either returned or gone to fosters, one cat remained, a set of glowing eyes in the brush behind an abandoned house. The cat seemed to want to approach, but would stop and continue staring, but the rescuer felt the cat would continue to come near and eventually go into the trap.

Night after night she went back for this one young cat, heartbroken that the cat was left alone when most of its companions, especially those its age, were gone. A young cat alone, so frightened, and vulnerable. She tried every trapping trick in the book, and her persistence paid off one night when they frightened and obviously hungry young cat went into the trap.

Trapped, socialized and ready for adoption

The young cat went to a foster that night, was found to be a girl and was named Bella. She was a little edgy but crazy playful, not wild about being touched but not hiding, out and active. After about two months she seemed friendly enough and was placed in a pet supply store adoption area that our rescue regularly used and successfully adopted out many kittens and cats.

A second try for Bella

But not Bella. Although she would play when it was quiet and people weren’t around she began to hide in her cubby as the store grew noisy, even in the protected cat adoption area, and began to hide rather than playing when people came through until she was hiding pretty much all day long. Our rescue decided the store was no longer right for her and another occasional foster picked her up and restarted her socialization studies.

Bella did well but she was all alone and so playful the foster felt she could benefit from fostering with at least one other kitten at her age. An energetic cat without an outlet for play and highly physical activities can become unruly and even seem aggressive, nipping or biting now and then, without that outlet. Her foster put out a notice in our group looking for a foster friend for a four-month-old female kitten with a lot of energy.

What’s the best way to match cats to be friends?

What’s the best toy for a cat? Another cat. But it has to be the right cat. The best matches between cats are successful less with age and sex and more with their common interests and energy level including especially social and physical interaction and play habits. A more sedate cat introduced to a more physical cat is going to become a target for the more physical cat who would be thrilled to have someone to wrestle with and will insist on a match whether the other cat likes it or not. Likewise introducing a high-energy cat to a more sedate cat. The more energetic cat will always want lively play leading the more sedate cat to defend itself resulting in altercations or a lot of hiding, as when a new kitten is adopted to be company for an older cat and possibly be established before the older cat passes. Sometimes a more sedate cat can find a new playfulness and sometimes they can meet in the middle though that journey can be a long one. Age can make some difference because energy levels and play types can be typical with certain age groups, but not all cats follow the rules.

Basil had been with us for almost three weeks. He had come so far in socialization in that time and had such energy in play that, since he had been fostered for two months and recently been fully vaccinated with his neuter he didn’t need a full four weeks quarantine, I’d started a slow introduction to a little more space outside the bathroom door and to the ninjas, at that time Giuseppe, Jelly Bean, Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette along with Mimi, who had been closely listening outside the bathroom door and watching through the baby gate. I could see that Giuseppe and Jelly Bean, the best foster brothers any kitten or adult cat could hope for, could hardly wait to get their paws on him, and Basil was fascinated by them. He had done well with that, and with his new family, but I also felt he would do well with a kitten his own age to match his energy level.

So I responded that I could take her and we made a time for her to bring Bella here.

Bella arrives

Basil had enjoyed some upstairs time with the ninjas before Bella arrived at about 7:00 p.m. Her foster and I went upstairs with Bella in her mesh carrier. I stepped over the baby gate and her foster handed over the carrier. Giuseppe and Jelly Bean appeared on the top of the wardrobe outside the bathroom door, right at eye level with the humans.

I set down Bella’s carrier and thought I’d let her chill for a bit while we quietly talked, but of course Basil knew this was another cat and was all excited, looking in and wanting to climb on top. I didn’t want her to feel unsafe with this unknown cat walking all over her mesh carrier so I opened the front door. I couldn’t see how far back in there she was but Basil looked in, stepped in,…

…and then settled down on his belly. Both were quiet for a few minutes, not even moving a tail on Basil’s part, not a shuffle from Bella.

Then Basil stood up and came out and went about his usual stuff, and Bella walked out a few minutes later, looking around and sniffing things while Basil was sniffing her and trying to get in front of her to get her attention, but he was restrained, no physical reactions.

No noises, hisses, growls, swats, or tail flicks, just big eyes and contained excitement, though Bella was a little intimidated by the new space that smelled like so many other cats. She was noticeably bigger than Basil and I guessed she was about six months rather than four.

After her foster left I closed the bathroom door and walked her down to the door to leave. When I came back in Bella was behind the toilet, Basil was on top of the lid like, “Hey, why are you down there, let’s play!” though he had spent plenty of time in that same spot in his first days. I would guess she had been up on the lid with him, but was startled by the strange noise of the door and my entrance, stepping over the baby gate. I stayed with them a bit then let them get acquainted.

I came back a couple hours later and Bella hopped up into the cubby next to the tub.

Basil was in the sink and was shocked that she’d left their playtime and clearly wanted her to come back and play.

She did and after another visit before I went to bed it was easy to see they were accustomed to each other already and she was less frightened of me each time.

The next day it was easy to get them to play together.

 

On her second day here I could see she had an excellent sense of composition and was settling into some striking poses.

And not only not hiding, but greeting me!

That day and the day after…

I hadn’t seem Basil and Bella cuddle yet, but after that first night they played all the time. They explored things like the sink drain and the entire inside of the tub. Sometimes I heard a frightful racket in there and when I get the door open they’re both sitting in two separate places and I have no idea what they were doing. But I guessed they chased each other around in there, up and down the little cat scratcher, over the toilet and so on.

 

The second evening I got all the interactive toys and played with both of them at the same time. I had heard Bella wasn’t too playful at the pet supply store and the area where they have the adoptable cats isn’t really optimal for them—but here she was playing like a fool. And wrestling, like these photos I took in the middle of the night a few days later.

I was concerned Basil might be a little annoying considering their ages, computed to humans, are quite different since he was about four months she was about six months. But that night I could clearly see she was the instigator. I missed Basil’s big greetings, but glad he wasn’t alone in there anymore, and getting a lot of exercise and socialization even when he wasn’t in ninja training.

Through the years they were together frequently, and even when everyone had places to nap all over they house they would find each other and spend some time together at least once a day, and often had a long afternoon nap together.

Of all the cats I’ve adopted out and matched up, they were without a doubt the most purrfect match I ever made, and I’m so glad I could bring these lifelong friends together.

I’ll leave it at that for now, because we know how things worked out last year. I won’t say it ended because I know they’ll both be together again someday.

Also read Basil’s rescue story

You can read Basil’s rescue story in Five Years for Basil.

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Great Rescues Day Book:
Portraits, Rescue Stories, Holidays and Events, Essential Feline Information, All in One Book

Each month features one of my commissioned portraits of a feline or felines and their rescue story along with a kitty quote on the left page, and on the right page the month name with enough lines for all possible dates, with standard holidays and animal-themed observances and events. Great Rescues also includes a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings including information on finding strays or orphaned kittens, adopting for the first time or caring for a geriatric cat, a list of household toxins and toxic plants, or helping stray and feral cats and beginning with TNR.

Each book includes also 10 sheets of my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits in black and white so you can make your own notes or write special notes to friends.

The portraits in this book, collected as a series, won both a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper mentioned below.

Read more and order.

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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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