Mali’e, Kolohe, Kanani and the Schwalbs: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“When Bob and I picked up our kitties from Furry Friends, none of them had been named yet, says Kim. “Having come from two different feral colonies, they couldn’t have been more different, and yet they love each other as if they were biological brothers, and we love them all equally. We gave them Hawaiian names: Mali’e (calm/peaceful), Kolohe (rascal) and Kanani (precious one).

“Kolohe adjusted right away and helped bring Mali’e out of his shell. Kanani’s transition was more challenging. When we brought him home 10 days after the first two, Kolohe accepted him quickly, but Mali’e needed more time. We kept Kanani in our bedroom, exchanged blankets so they could get used to each other’s scents and fed them on opposite sides of a closed door. We then introduced them face-to-face with fun toys and increasingly longer visits until all three were comfortable together. Now we can’t imagine our lives without them. They’re so much fun, so playful and so, so incredibly sweet.

“We have a 10-year-old dog named Hoka, and since he grew up with a cat, he adjusted quickly to three new furry faces.  especially close to Mali’e, and the two spend every morning play-biting and grooming each other. While Kolohe and Kanani get along well with Hoka too, they don’t have quite the same bond with him as Mali’e does. 

“When they’re not sleeping or eating, the kitties are playing. They love to wrestle with each other and can turn almost anything into a toy. Kanani, in particular, likes to gather random household objects during the night and bring them into our bed while we’re sleeping: from sponges and tweezers to necklaces and art supplies. 

“Mali’e likes affection on his own terms, holding ‘office hours’ daily on my desk after being with Hoka. Then he and the others join us for our daily yoga sessions.Kolohe and Kanani, on the other hand, are happy to cuddle any time. Mali’e is very nurturing towards his brothers and gives gentle love nibbles to ‘his dog’ and ‘his people.’ He’s also quite a talker when wants a cuddle or a treat. 

“Kolohe is delightfully goofy, has never met a stranger, dances when he’s excited to see someone, and is adorably clumsy. The largest of the three, we call him our ‘gentle giant’, but he’s not even remotely food-motivated and often gives his treats to his brothers. He sleeps between our pillows most nights and loves to hang out in the bathroom when one of us is in the shower. 

“Kanani is always ready to play, constantly wrestling with Mali’e or Kolohe, and blessed with the sweetest little purr and blinky eyes when he’s sleepy. He does the most amazing acrobatic flying leaps and would sell his soul for a treat, and steals pieces of kale and lettuce from the kitchen, which he promptly gobbles up. He’s most often seen carrying a tiny fuzz-ball around in his mouth. 

“All three kitties follow us from room to room throughout the day, greet us at the door if we’ve been gone, and sit together in the window watching us when we’re outside doing yard work. While they come and go from our bed throughout the night, they always return to greet us in the morning when our alarm goes off.”

______________________________________________________

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.