Meet the bosses Bodhi Jurado and Tasmania Williams. I never considered myself a cat lady, but I am stuck in the middle with these two. Bodhi (fat older man) weighs in at a hefty 25 pounds. Ten years ago, His mother was rescued by a co-worker from the Sun-Sentinel parking lot. A place that was a favorite dumping ground for abandoned cats. My co-worker took the mother cat home, not knowing the cat was pregnant, so, surprise! She ended up with three additional cats: two female calico cats and one male. She kept the girls and gave me the boy kitten when he was weaned from the mother.
Bodhi and Tasmania
Ruby and Slipper
At that time, I had two sisters (rescue cats). Ruby and Slipper. They were my first cats ever! The only other cats I ever played with were the feral cats hiding under my grandmother’s house in Long Island, NY; I never owned cats. But I wanted a pet; dogs were not allowed in the rental unit I had at the time. So, I told a friend I was considering getting a cat because they did allow cats. Not even an hour later, my friend knocked at my door with two kittens (sisters); how could I say no?
When I got Bodhi from my co-worker, the sisters were 5 years old. Slipper passed away 4 years later. ( the runt kitty). Bodhi became very attached to Ruby; they did everything together. Then Ruby passed away 2 years after Slipper; he was distraught and alone, meowing all through the house, calling for her. At this time, I owned my 55 and older condo, which did not allow cats, dogs, or pets. Here he was meowing loudly, loud enough for the next-door German neighbor with the prune face and bad attitude to hear.
Tasmania, the imposter
I got Tasmania from the cat rescue place Cats Exclusive in Margate, Florida, a no-kill center that October. She is a feisty all-black (Halloween) kitten, a mini panther true to her nature. She became attached to my roommate’s sister, who was pet-sitting the cats for two weeks while my roommate and I traveled to Arizona for a Buddhist festival. That’s how she got her last name, Williams.
I fought a tough battle with the condo police to be allowed to keep Bodhi, and in the end, I won.
They eat the cats!
The cats are really for my roommate, which I tell her. She is older than me, so I told her I get cats and plants to give her a hobby in retirement. She is not amused! But, she speaks cat, I don’t. I’ll feed them and clean the kitty litter box (old man Bodhi insists on using it; he refuses to use the $400 litter robot I purchased 3 months ago). That’s the extent of my interactions with them. My roommate loves those cats! I do as well, but I don’t speak cat like I said, and she is forever telling me what they said.
So, here I am, stuck in the middle with these two.
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