Tulip, the cat who wants you to learn all his favorite "love games" & chillax with him! Domestic Short Hair Gardiner, NY

Tulip is lots of fun! This traumatized, timid, socially anxious kitty is actually serene and mellow in temper inside and he's got enchanting "moves" he wants to lay on you for some love sessions. Please read about him below and, if interested in adoption, then send in your answers to the questions asked at the end of this description. If you see this, he is still in need of a home and all who send answers in (in the body of an email to philoctete@mailbug.com, please) are guaranteed to receive a prompt reply.

Tulip, inventor of these not-ordinary love games (almost "rituals", since he loves them to be repeated over and over almost obsessively), has literally escaped from a madhouse - one person with dementia and about 50 other cats, not even named or kept track of, let alone cared for. (A rescue group stepped in to neuter and then release them back into the house!) I sometimes call him "Stockholm" after the famous Syndrome by which hostages bond with their captors, because apparently he was much attached to his old owner. I'm going to lay out the pros and cons, as I see them (having met him and assessed him here for many days - I am posting him on this site for another rescuer), of adopting him, so you can judge whether he's the kitty you want to bond with YOU.

First, it may seem strange to call a timid, shy, socially anxious kitty "mellow" and "chillaxing", but really his favorite thing to do (it seems all he wants to do, when he isn't hiding) is sit around on your lap doing love things (note: he does shed!). Occasionally if you are sitting up in bed he wants to take over the spot between the small of your back and the headboard or wall - his putt-putt-motor purr is like a heated massage mat for the base of your spine - or (if there's room in front of you) he wants to lie just off of you but still against you (so that he can wrap his pure white belly around your hand like a shell protecting an invertebrate). But it's fair to say that (at this stage in his recovery) he is a lap-cat who mainly lazes around not doing much.

But he'll keep your hands busy! Perhaps his favorite game of all is for you to present your hand in front of his face so he can bonk it and get it to pet his hand. He can do this over and over and over and in that sense he would be a good companion/playmate for a child (especially a shy or socially awkward one) who appreciates lots of repetition. It's FUNNY how he keeps doing it, every time you show him your hand. He likes your petting him ALL down his back (he is all white except for a marmalade tiger tail and some marmalade stripey head markings) and especially on his tail - unusual in cats! He wants you to hold his tail lightly in your hand and stroke it to its very tip, as he raises it (and his long white butt) high in delight. Again, preferably over and over and over, like a toddler enTRANCEd by a simple game. "Do that again!" He often closes his eyes in bliss when you are putting his back or tail in this way. This is not itself funny, but he still wants you to be petting his head, so he moves his head around, blindly (with closed eyes) "looking for" your hand to butt with it, and that IS funny!

If you're tired of that, he's happy to lie on his side so you can nestle your petting hand in his pure white belly fur. He kneads the air, stretching each of his front paws alternately as though doing a yoga or ballet stretching exercise (way way out there) or as though rowing with his paws. In this game it's HIS paws doing most of the work (but strokes on his waiting belly are always welcome).

He doesn't bonk your head much or much seem to relish being picked up and held in your arms or carried around. He is generally quiet, but when greeting you or protesting (during car travel, which he finds offensive), he has a startlingly "Siamese" meow full of imperiousness (his rescuer believes that, due to the length of his body and the shape of his face he may well have Siamese in him - we could DNA-test him if this is important to you). But he doesn't have "catitude".

Here are some negatives, as I see it:

1. Though he will definitely start to teach you his love games in the first day or 2-3 days tops, he is bound to be shy in new circumstances, trembling with anxiety until his tremor turns into a purr as he sits on your lap. He'd be best with a person who knows how it feels to be shy and socially challenged, or someone who has fond memories (previous experience) of a beloved kitty who initially needed gentle "coaxing" and socialization (wasn't trusting and outgoing right from the start) - and then of course became the lovebuggiest companion! Be prepared for a few days, even a week or two, of slowly growing confidence and ease with you - if you spend time with him and have him on your lap, it shouldn't take long. Not spending time with him will slow this process down considerably.

2. Like most cats, especially older ones, his fur, if he is not fed a decent-quality food (no by-products in the ingredients), will feel greasy, especially along his back (his belly fur will feel more pleasant). If you feed him a less-good-quality brand and notice the greasiness of his fur on it, you can change that around in about 4 days on a better brand of food. It's not his fault - it's a very common issue with kitties, because the junk in the food comes out in the fur and you can feel it! This is particularly important with him, because he loves being petted all down his back and tail so much.

3. He has never had any proper vetwork done such as bloodwork. He seems healthy but his age is unknown and the rescuer has those 50 other cats to rescue from the same environment so she is not able to do vet things for each, including for Tulip. A prospective adopter should be aware that an older kitty (we estimate his age as 8) may, especially going forward, need examinations or even start to evince an underlying, hidden at this time, disease (he has no overt current health issues).

If you'd like a trial adoption, bearing in mind the above downsides, you'll have fun with the heart-warming and spine-warming Tulip.
If interested in trying a trial adoption of Tulip in your home, please write in with your answers to the questions below. If we think that based on the answers he and you sound like a good match, we will ask to exchange references and to arrange a time/day for him to come to your home. Everyone who answers the questions is guaranteed to receive a prompt reply! Thanks!

1. What diet/nutrition would you feed Tulip? Please be specific about what brands of dry food (if any) you would feed him, what brands of canned food (if any) you would feed him, and what brands of raw food (if any) you would feed him, providing the approximate ratio of dry to wet (canned or raw/homemade) food you would offer. If you would let him graze overnight or during the day, please mention that too. Thanks!

2. What are your views, pro or con, in declawing?

3. What are your views, pro or con, on neutering/spaying?

4. Under what circumstances, if any, would you consider parting with him? (We are 100% no-kill and would ask to take him back if for any reason at any time you no longer had him in your family/household.)

5. Would Tulip be indoor only, outdoor only, or a mixture of the two?

6. What kind of water and what type/brand of cat litter would you offer him?

7. What kind of domicile would you share with him (rented apartment, trailer, owned house, rented house, dorm, yurt, etc.) and what other humans and non-humans would live there with you and him?

8. It can be really helpful in determining a good match for us to know something about you - particularly interests/hobbies/leisure pursuits and your source of income (such as job or profession), since cat care can sometimes be expensive. You can also add details, if you wish, such as your previous experiences caregiving for cats, dog-sitting, volunteering; your age; and so forth.

9. If there's anything about Tulip in his looks or his description that appeals to you, "speaking to you", please let us know what it is!