Bobby and Bettie and the Syrings: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“When we saw a posting for Bobby and Bettie on Petfinder, we were instantly drawn in. And so we went to a Furry Friends’ adoption event at PetSmart to meet them,” says Julie.

“Our son is autistic with ADHD. We had a previous cat named Greg, adopted from the Humane Society, who was his comfort/support animal, and their bond was so special. Greg followed him around, cuddled with him and slept with him at night. Greg’s passing last fall was very hard on our son, and we decided to bring a young kitten into our home to hopefully bond with him.

“When we learned Bobby and Bettie were a bonded pair that had to be adopted together, we worried that their bond would interfere with their ability to bond with us. But fortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Since we have two other older cats, the kittens stayed in our room until they got used to us, and the other cats got used to their smell. (Bobby is a grey/brown tabby with darker spots/stripes and looks very much like Greg, while Bettie is all black).

“The kittens can often be a handful because they have so much energy and absolutely adore wrestling with one another. They love playing with anything they can get their little paws on, but they particularly enjoy the little fuzzy cat balls that seem to float around like cotton balls. They also love tackling all kinds of empty boxes. That said, they’ve also been a blessing. My husband is a big cat lover, and both kittens like cuddling with him best, particularly while he’s working at his desk. 

“Of the two kittens, Bobby is the lover and the one more likely to seek out cuddles. Bettie is a little more standoffish and generally only accepts or gives affection on her terms. Oddly enough, though, Bettie’s the one most bonded with our son! She’ll come into his room and cuddle with him awhile at bedtime.

“Besides our other two cats, we also have two larger (100+ pounds) dogs, with whom the kittens get along very well. Our younger dog, Lena, a 120-pound shepherd mix, really wants to play with them, but she hasn’t yet been invited in, and so she patiently waits. Bobby will sometimes sit on the kitchen table and swat at her when she walks by. The older cats, for the most part, tend to ignore both Bettie and Bobby.

“What we find especially amusing about Bobby is that he’s figured out how to open doors. As for Bettie, she hides under chairs, then jumps out and swats at the legs of anyone walking by.  

“At night, the kittens tend to move around a bit. They’ll sometimes spend part of the evening with our son, with my husband if he’s up later on his computer, downstairs on the couch or up in their cat tree.”
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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.