He's a 13-month-old white and orange male rescue cat. His name is Glory (short for Glorfindel, one of the High Elves, for all you fellow
Lord of the Rings nerds. He's our 4th Lord of the Rings cat.)
glory by
catbird pics, on Flickr
He is a BIG boy! This quick phone photo does not do justice to either his size or the "glory" of his coloring. Allegedly, he is half Maine Coon--his original shelter had him labeled that way. We know do not know whether he was originally a stray or a surrender. He does have some very MC-like characteristics, including a high, squeaky voice and a very "chill" personality. He has the kind of personality some rescues call "bomb-proof"--nothing seems to disturb him. He handles it all. And he's smart and clever as can be, and loves people. Within an hour of being brought home, he was acting like he'd lived here for years.
Glory was rescued from a shelter in Kentucky on 5/3 by a local Wisconsin group. He had been in the Kentucky shelter for 3 months, unbelievably--I can't imagine why this incredible, personable cat was not adopted. He was brought to a local small-business pet supply shop where I often shop for cat food, where the owners show the rescue cats and handle adoptions.
I went to that store to buy cat food on Saturday, and discovered him. We had been considering since the loss of Linley that Cara would eventually need a new male companion to play with; she had gained weight and showed signs of depression. I wasn't particularly looking for a cat that day, although I had the characteristics of the cat we needed in the back of my mind. And Glory fit the description! After consulting with family members, we brought him home later that day. We feel incredibly lucky, since I'm sure within a few days, someone else would have taken him.
If Glory is an Elf, Cara is behaving like a Balrog, not unexpected. She hates him so much right now that she is sometimes hissing and growling at my daughter if his scent is on her! So we are running the Feliway Multi-Cat like crazy, and doing the room exchanges--he's confined in a separate room while Cara is out and about, then she's confined while he's out. This way, she can get used to his scent gradually, before we do anything face-to-face. Phantom (21 years old) is not exactly pleased, either, but unless he gets close to her, she ignores him. Glory has excellent cat manners in his interactions with her.
He has an incredibly silky coat which I think will get a lot longer after being flea-free and getting quality food. (You can see the breakage from the past flea infestation.) And OMG, does this boy eat! I am certain that he is still growing.
We are so happy to have found Glory!