I might be known for the revolving door of kittens that come through my life
But a lot of people don't know I actually have two of my own cats as well
So I thought it would be fun to introduce you to Koko and Eloise
My forever cats and tell you the story of how I rescued them as kittens and decided to adopt them forever
Before I get started, I just want to thank RedBubble who sent me a bunch of awesome cat stuff for my house recently
I couldn't believe how many designs they have from independent artists including a bunch that looked just like my cat's Koko and Eloise
How cute is that?
Coco is a special cat because she's the first kitten I ever rescued and she's the reason I became inspired to save kittens
I was living in Philadelphia at the time and I was working for an organization that organized summer programs for children with autism
So we were doing a group trip to a public park while I was sitting on a park bench
I looked into a tree and saw the most peculiar thing one little eye peering back at me I squinted and said
Is that a kitten she was about 15 feet high in this tree just a little black bean with one eye
Crusted shut from an infection. I couldn't understand how on earth she had gotten there
Anyway, I was already a massive animal lover
I'd been vegan for six or seven years by this point and I had no idea how to care for a kitten
I just knew that I wanted to help her. So I started to try to climb up this tree somehow
I made it to the top
I shimmied out onto the branch picked up the kitten put her in my shirt and made it back down
So that's how she got her name because I plucked her from a tree just like a coconut at the end of the workday
I brought her home and she became friends with my roommates cat
Kind of eventually she grew to fit right in and just like that
She became my cat Coco taught me a lot about how to take care of a kitten
So after that, I started rescuing other kittens that I would find on the street in the first year
I just saved kittens that I found outside
after that people started calling me asking for help with kittens and I eventually
Started working with animal shelters to help kittens that were coming into them
But for the first several years of Coco's life, she was my only cat
I never adopted a second cat until years later when we found Eloise
Eloise came to me in bad shape
I was living in North Carolina and rescuing tons of kittens when I got a call from one of my friends that a kid needed
my help
She'd been found in the middle of the road totally blind emaciated and struggling to breathe with a severe upper respiratory infection
I came to pick her up and could not believe my eyes. She looked absolutely
horrible
But she was purring and kneading so trusting of us. She was covered in fleas
Her ears were crusted with mites
She couldn't see a thing because her eyes were so inflamed but there she was just happy to be receiving love for several weeks
I'd nursed her back to health
Eventually, she regained vision in one eye and the other eye healed as well as it could but it never regained vision
Regardless she was a happy kitten. So once she was healthy and ready to go
I found her an adopter, but then a few weeks later
I got a call the adopter felt like she was too hyper and wanted to return her to me
She came back to the house a slightly bigger girl, but still the same sweet kitten
She was so confused about why she was moving around so much
Coco greeted her right away almost welcoming her back into our lives
And that was what I knew that she would be a great fit as a forever friend for me and Coco
I felt like she'd been let down and I never wanted anyone to be able to let her down again
So that's how Eloise became a part of my family Eloise did keep her blind eye for a few years
But as it started to change and deteriorate I determined that it would be best to have the eye removed
Eloise had a successful a nucleation surgery and since then she's lived happily as a one-eyed cat
Some of Coco's favorite things are stuffed frogs
She likes to hunt them then carry them around and make this funny sound to let me know. She's caught her prey
She only does it with toy frogs. So we collect a lot of toy frogs Coco loves snuggling
She sleeps with me almost every single night. She is an awesome little spoon Coco also loves hosting
She loves guests and acts like she is part of every party. She sits at the table for dinner
She goes around from lap to lap with my friends basically make sure that everybody is giving her proper attention at all times and one
of the funniest things about Coco is that she loves
Aggressive Lovins Coco loves things like getting her butt smacked
Getting her back scratched or even this little thing that I like to call baby alien face
She's a true freak. She's basically down for any kind of affection. Some of Eloise's favorite. Things are
Looking at birds and squirrels out the window. She spends almost all day looking out the window from her big cat tree
She loves climbing to high up areas
She loves a good perch whether it's the top of a shelf or the top of a cat tree
She really just likes to be high up. She also likes perching on my shoulder
One of her favorite things ever is being held on one side of my body and then perching up on my shoulder
She chooses really funny times to do this
So sometimes you can catch me trying to put on makeup or trying to get ready for the day
With a cat perched on my shoulder and one of the funniest things she does is that she loves knocking stuff off the table
Espcially fruits and vegetabels
*R.I.P blueberry*
*thud*
*aww,look!a strawberry*
*nevermind*
So that's a little intro to Coco and Eloise, I hope you can see why I love them so much
Remember that adopting a cat or kitten is a lifetime commitment and that cats are part of the family
Even though my Fosters might come and go to new adopters Coco and Eloise are exactly where they belong right here at home