Crazy Cat Ladies Rock! The Story of Noah and Who.

2 gray Maine Coon Cats photo by BZTAT
Noah and Who – Photo by BZTAT

I have always had short hair cats until Noah and Who found their way to me.

I really was not keen on long hair cats, and I was hesitant with these two. But as I shared in yesterday’s post, I reached a point where I needed a new cat, and these two needed a home.

Noah (top) and Who (bottom) are brothers. Their mother, pregnant with them and their sister, was a stray cat rescued by a woman in Waco, OH.

They were kept in a basement in a plastic bin after they were born. The basement flooded, and all but Noah climbed to safety onto a shelf. He was found floating around in his plastic “ark”, hence the name.

I needed another cat for Slick to have a companion after her best pal Bub went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2004. I coincidentally, had a need for a another cat, as well.

I had just moved my mother, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, from Houston, TX to live in a supervised facility near me in Ohio. The only way I could make the move acceptable to her was getting her a feline companion. Luckily, the facility was pet friendly.

Gray Maine Coon Cat photo by BZTAT
“Who” photo by BZTAT

My mother had always been one to name pets unique names, so her attempt to simply call her new cat “Kitty” really brought her disease into focus for me. I had to push her to name him something different. Eventually, we settled on “Kitty Kat Who” after the “Cat Who…” murder mystery series by Lillian Jackson Braun, her favorite book series at the time. I simply called him Who.

Who was a great companion for my mother for 4 years until her illness progressed and she had to be moved to a more secure facility. He was not allowed at the new facility, and he came to live with me.

Noah was a huge even as a kitten. He eventually grew to a humongous 21 lbs! He became very overweight and had to go through a special weight loss program. Now he is around 18 lbs, which is still huge, but a fairly normal weight for him. He could still use to go down a pound or two, but couldn’t we all?

Gray Maine Coon Cat photo by BZTAT
“Noah” photo by BZTAT

When I first got Noah, he was a VERY rambunctious fellow, and he proved to be too much for Slick. I brought Brewskie into our home to give him some distraction. It worked.

Brewskie is the MASTER of distraction.

Noah is now a pretty calm fellow. He is probably the one cat with whom everyone, including Okey, is the most comfortable.

And that is the story of Noah and Who.