By Elisa Black-Taylor
Today I’d like to tell all of my friends here about my sweetest cat. MandyLane, or Mandy came to us as part of our first rescue the Friday before Thanksgiving in 2010. I still remember seeing that ugly little face on the Greenville County Pet Rescue euthaniasia list, where she was listed with her two brothers. At eight weeks old, she was the ugliest kitten I’d ever seen. Which made me all that much more desperate to rescue her.
She was a cutie pie in person, and we fell in love with all three kittens at first sight. Driving home was an event in itself. They meowed the entire hour and a half trip. Did I mention my boss called while we were driving back? My daughter told him I couldn’t come to the phone. I always wondered what he thought of all the meowing in the background.
Mandy got got her name because she was turned in as a stray from Mandy Trail. I thought the paper work had listed Mandy Lane as the address. But it made a good name for her.
Mandy and her two brother were all sick with a URI. We named them Jasper and Sammy. Everyone was fine after a round of antibiotics, but we were really worried those first few days with all the gooey eyes and nasal congestion.
Mandy quickly became the welcoming committee for all of the cats and kittens to come. She was always the first one to meet and greet. She surprised many a cat by piling up on top of the cat using it for a pillow. She’s still the cat most likely to wash up another cat. Or dog, as she’s also acted as a surrogate mother to little Cujo. A lot of people are shocked that Mandy is our sweetest cat. They expect Furby or Sealy to have that honor.
Mandy is just the perfect cat. She knows her name and she comes when called. She’s also a lap kitty and a bed kitty. All of the other cats ignore me when I call their name. It’s so much fun to watch her climb into my lap every night and demand a neck massage.
Mandy doesn’t meow very often. As a kitten, she growled as she ate while using her paw to push her brothers out of her way. She’s still the first to attack the wet food leftovers after the ones on special diets have had their fill. Whenever Mandy has something to say, she now makes a noise that sounds almost like a pigeon.
As you can see by her photos, Mandy has lost her possum-like appearance. She’s grown into a real beauty, both on the outside as well as the inside. I tell her every day how much I love her. Usually when she’s laid back in my arms trying to lick me to death.
Have any of you ever had the pleasure of living with a cat like Mandy? One who comes when she hears her name and can remain in your lap for hours. Or is my Mandy just very special?
I wonder if Monty would get along with Mandy. She seems like such a sweet cat, that she’d be able to get along well with just about any other cat. How does she get along with Renny, your semi-feral renegade? I loved the picture of Mandy and Sealy that you posted on Sealy’s FB page. You should send it to Michael so he could put it up on here.
Ruth, I selected these pictures 😉 Sorry if I selected the wrong ones. I often ask whether a Charlie would get on with another cat. He’s a bit macho. It might be nice for him to have a cat companion.
The pictures are great, Michael! I don’t think the one I mentioned existed at the time you put this together. She posted it last night on Sealy’s page. Maybe she’ll send it to you.
Charlie has lived with another cat before. Monty might be too spoiled. He has his stuffed dog that he treats like it’s another cat. But with Doggie Monty is always in charge. What if the other cat wanted to be dominant? I think Monty would not stand for that.
Go and look at her photo on the upper right. Thats her euthanasia photo and she was ugly 🙂 http://www.furbyshouse.com/Mandy.html
First, I don’t see an ugly face 😉 I think she is beautiful, very cute and delicious. She is a calico cat (tortoiseshell and white). She is almost a tortoiseshell. There are lots of posts on the internet about calico cat behavior. A lot of people are interested in this topic. I don’t think the coat of a cat makes a jot of difference to the character of a cat. What do you think?
Click on this link to see a list of calico cat pages.
She sounds very special Elisa. All cats are but Mandy sounds special in such a wonderful way specifically. She looks like my Molly. Molly also went through a period of looking ugly. Torties often do I Think. Molly still has a funny face but she is beautiful and has soft soft fur and is very gentle and polite. She is only just coming out of her shell. I don’t know what happened to her but she was afraid for months until more recently. Mandy sounds perfect as you say. Well done for rescuing her.
It’s a tragedy to think of cats like Mandy who don’t get so lucky. What a horrible twist of fate it can be for cats born in some parts of the world. So sad 🙁