Apollo, Izzy, Clio and Nia and Jade Ferra: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“After my neighbors and I rescued 6 kittens from a hedge, I fostered them for Furry Friends, named them and ultimately adopted four of them,” says Jade.

“Izzy and Apollo were bonded. My mom immediately fell in love with Izzy, while Apollo’s love cannot be refused! Clio, however, was truly special. Loki, my soul cat, had passed away 6 months before, and I felt that he had sent her to me. One day, I tried teaching the kittens to spin (I had taught Loki to spin for his food) and only Clio did it. Far more affectionate with me than my husband or mom, she follows me around and snuggles me when I’m stressed. Shy, sensitive Nia promptly bonded with my husband.

“The kittens have brought so much sweetness and happiness to our little zoo of older cats and one dog. They’ve been patiently wearing down our cats’ walls, and our dog is trying his best to play nicely with them. As for us, the kittens have brightened our days and made the house a warmer place. I can’t imagine my life without them now -- it feels as if they’ve always been here!

“All four kittens love playing with anything and everything: shoe laces while I’m tying them, hoodie zippers, bottle caps, paper towel rolls, dog toys, cat toys, Chapstick, fluff, leaves ... As much as they like to chase and wrestle each other, they LOVE teaser toys and cat toy springs. They are lovebugs. Nia took awhile, but they are all extremely sweet and cuddly. Nia isn’t fond of being carried, but they all want pets. Izzy and Apollo love to be carried around. All of them will go under blankets and cuddle. 

“Together and separately, the kittens have the most endearing quirks. They all enjoy vigorous games of tug-o-war. Izzy likes ‘flipping out’ while at the top of cat trees, and if you spin around at her, she’ll go crazier and trill at you. She also likes to go onto our catio at random hours and ‘sing.’ She’ll stop if you follow her out there, but she’s not looking for attention, she just likes to do it. Apollo will jump on you if he wants to be picked up, and if you walk past him when he wants attention, he'll start rolling off things if you don’t catch him!

“Clio is so athletic and intuitive. She’s my emotional support kitten. She also loves to play. She could be sleeping and if you wave something at her, she’s at attention immediately! Nia is so gentle and sweet. But if you annoy her with too much loving, she’ll wind up a paw and do the daintiest little half-smack of your hand. And although she’s the most timid, she’s the least afraid of loud noises and the vacuum. I think she almost likes it: she’ll actually come over to watch me vacuum.

“At night, the kittens sleep in our bed, at our feet and/or between my husband and me. Now that they’ve gotten bigger they’re having trouble fitting, but if they’re not on or in our bed, they’ll be nearby.”

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.