OOLONG -- THE BEAUTIFUL CAT: KNOWS HOW TO NAP, BEAT THE ODDS....

The note we got from Muriel Parker had a winning opening. “I have been procrastinating but it is time to get this guy into the Napping Cats Club.”
Thus, this beautiful cat Oolong is our featured feline in this weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Nappng Cats Nap.  Look at that great napping cat face!
Muriel explained, “I was touched by your recent story about Snow and Moxie [from Mesquite] and the plight of animals who are unwanted, uncared for, or imperfect. My boy, Oolong, named for my favorite kind of tea, was thought to be unadoptable. ‘No one is going to want a cat that is cross-eyed and FIV+’ even though he’s perfectly healthy otherwise. He needs to be kept indoors, fed a high protein diet, and have lots of TLC – in other words, live a normal cat life.

“During that same time, I needed a purpose, a responsibility, something to occupy my days besides TV and mystery novels. We were/are a perfect match! The rescue people brought him to me for a meet-and-greet and he quickly made himself at home.  That was two years ago, now this paraphrase of a 1920 novelty song is a good fit:
Muriel P loves a boy,

Oolong is his name.
Handsome Flame-Point Siamese

sets her heart aflame.”
Muriel continues, “Except for the ‘flame’ points, his coat is mostly white and his favorite sleeping place is on a white faux fur blanket, making it hard to find him sometimes!  He’s usually fairly close, watching whatever I’m doing, but is not a lap cat.  

“If he feels it’s time for some attention, he walks by and brushes my leg with his tail to let me know. He loves  visitors and all are given a big welcome, a full sniff test, and marked with cheek rubs to approve their presence. He sits patiently and watches while I dish up his dinner – first cat I’ve ever had that didn’t meow for me to hurry with it! 

“People food is of no interest, except for sometimes liking a few licks of the cream on my bowl of raspberries. I am happy to share. Like his predecessors, he enjoys riding on my Rollator – that photo really shows his crossed eyes (they don’t slow him down a bit). While I’m getting dressed in the morning, he waits patiently, then jumps on the seat for the ride to the kitchen for breakfast.  There is also a seldom-used wheel chair that is good for napping.  

“For play time, he wants someone to maneuver the laser pointer, wave the wand with the pretty feather on it, crumple a piece of paper to chase – no cute little toys to lose under the furniture. 
“He likes to bat my leg and then run away.  It reminds me of grade school playing ‘Tag You’re It’.  Sometimes he seems to understand peek-a-boo. His fourth birthday is coming up in March.  I wish he could have been here with me that whole time.”
The story is Oolong was “almost two when he came from Marleigh’s Friends,” Muriel says. 
“They also gave me his vet records and explained how he became FIV+. He was probably about a year old, not neutered, allowed to roam about. A feral cat attacked – possibly thought he might be competition for the girls(?) – Oolong was bitten on the forehead. Not noticed until his face swelled, then some time to clear the infection and notice the virus.”
So, he’s now Oolong, Muriel’s happy cat.
 And she has one more Oolong sleeping tale. She says that when he came to her home, “Right away I bought a nice plush cat bed for the boy. He looked it over, sniffed it, stepped into it, sat for a second, stood up and stepped out. Never went near it again. I eventually gave it to a friend with a more appreciative kitty.”

And, she adds what may be the reason for the short try-out: Oolong, she says, “has a pretty long body and loves to stretch as far as possible, couldn’t do that in a round bed.”

Oolong did not go “bedless.” Nope. Muriel explains that now “he ‘owns the foot of the bed and sometimes I have to push a little to make room for my feet. It’s worth it though: He uses my feet for a head-rest and it keeps them toasty!”
And, that’s the story of Oolong, an unadoptable who turned out to be the exact opposite and an adorable fellow at the foot of the bed and anywhere else in the house.
[LARRY ASIDE: In the opening, Muriel mentioned being moved by a couple of dogs, Moxie and Snow. We’d mentioned them on February 21 and explained their situation in the Mesquite Animal Shelter. I checked the roster at Mesquite Friday to see if they were still there, and they are. So thanks to Muriel and Oolong, they’re getting one more mention as they wait for adoption or rescue. In the original story:
Volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm told us about Moxie (#52049102) a year-old spayed Pittie mix who is #51803482 at the shelter — she came in as a stray on Feb. 11. Still waiting for a good human to recognize her for the year-old, playful, adorable youngster she is. “She doesn’t have a bit of shyness or fear…” her bio read. Moxie is a “former stray” now. Needs a home. |
And volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown first told us about Snow, a 2-year-old “cutie pie” who came into the shelter on January 3, then was shortly adopted, then the owners called about surrendering him. But, oddly, Snow was next brought in as a stray on Feb. 21. Judi wrote, “It appears he was just let go to fend for himself.” He’s #51803482.
To ask about helping these dogs, use their ID#s when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
Our original story of these two dogs appears HERE.  And you can see their Mesquite shelter listings (and those of many other animals who need a good place to become Sleeping Dogs & Napping Cats by clicking HERE.
[DEAR READERS: Send photos of your slumbering critters and their stories to [email protected] and we’ll feature them in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Nappng Cats Nap, the long-running weekend feature at readlarrypowell.com. You’ll be helping someone decide to give a good home to a good critter. And you’ll be helping insomniacs have faith that they can find a place to sleep or nap, if they can ever figure out how to curl up in a too-short cat bed. We insomniacs all live with hope. Purrr, mew and snore.]
—- Offer dream tips or waking thoughts by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and ask WILL ICE CREAM HELP ME SLEEP in the subject line. (Too cold for a pillow, fyi.) —-