January Rescued Spotlight: Rascal

Meows from Mudpie!

Over the last several months we've been telling you about Rescued: The Stories of 12 Cats, Through Their Eyes, an anthology of rescue cat stories compiled by Janiss Garza, who writes the Sparkle Cat blog. Each author featured in the book has nominated a cat rescue and was assigned a month to promote the book, with a third of the profits from that month going to their rescue.

January's spotlight is Rascal, who along with his brother Rocco blog at Rascal and Rocco. These two sweet boys found themselves at a shelter not once, but twice, because their senior owners had to move into nursing homes! As adult cats they could only wait and hope to be chosen over the cute kittens.

Mommy has always adopted adult cats and wishes others would do the same. They have the hardest times finding forever homes. Rascal and Rocco's story is also a good reminder to make provisions for your beloved pets should anything ever happen to you. Our lives and futures matter too!!!

Welcome Rascal! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today! Could you start by introducing us to yourself and telling us what made your story such a good fit for the Rescued anthology?

Hello! Thank you for interviewing me. Be sure to get my good side, will you?

My brother and I were rescues so naturally our story fit, but what makes it unique is that we were sent to a shelter more than once and our chances of being adopted, especially together, were slim, since we were already grown.

Why is your story titled "Twice Disrupted"?

Twice we thought we were settled in a home for life, but both times our lives were uprooted, or disrupted, without any consideration as to how we might feel about the changes. One moment we were perfectly comfortable, the next we were rudely whisked away to an unfamiliar place and uncertain fate.

What was your greatest fear while you were at the animal shelter?

We thought we’d never get to rule our own household again! Shelters have very strict schedules to keep and we prefer to do things on our own terms. We need to be able to roam outside as we please, feel the breeze on our whiskers, and sit on high fences to keep an eye on our kingdom. We require staff that does as we command. You can’t sleep on a shelter volunteer’s warm head, but with family, they bend to your will after a bit of training. It was terrifying not knowing if we would ever have these small necessities in our lives again, but even more terrifying was the thought that we could be serarated. We have never been apart and the chances of us both getting adopted to the same home were not good.

The rescue you've chosen to receive your proceeds from the book this month is Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. What important work do they do for homeless cats?

This shelter is dear to my human family because they adopted many animals there over the years and have always found compassionate people within. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter supports trap-neuter-return to lower the feral cat population while letting the cats that can not be socialized and adopted live out their lives in peace. They care for many stray and injured cats and attempt to find homes for each one. They educate the community about animal safety and much more.

What's life like for you today?

We’ve adjusted to our new home and love our people. The children have grown and learned when we want attention and when to give us our space. On a typical day I will wake the humans up, they are so lucky to have me keeping them on schedule, and remind them to feed us. Then Rocco and I will prowl the neighborhood to stretch our legs for a bit, earning a long nap. We don’t have a favorite spot, we like to keep the humans guessing on where they might find us. Rocco’s current napping spot is in the laundry hamper. I’ve been checking out the headboard, removing any knicknacks I find there, helping to declutter is my specialty. It’s a simple, but good life. I had hoped for no more big changes, but then the dog came. I don’t even want to discuss him. No, I’m done. Next question please…

Okay, he’s not so bad now that we’ve given up hope that they’ll return him. We ignore each other for the most part and live peacefully.

What would you like humans to learn from your story and what do you want your lasting legacy to be?

Don’t overlook adult kitties if you’re looking to adopt. We are way more awesome than annoying kittens. Often already litter box trained! Any age cat wants a warm home and a lap to curl up on.

Also, if you or someone you know is getting old, I mean really, really old, or have declining health, make a plan for the cats in your family for where they will go when you can no longer care for them. We are family and our future should not be secure, not left to fate.

Photos used with permission: L. E. Mastilock