Pepper and Timea come to The Owl House from another rescuer

We have two more Owl House residents. It probably will take a bit of time to find them a home, as they are a "shy-cat pair." However we have found homes for pairs of this sort before!

There is a difference this time. Usually we end up with shy-cat pairs because we have rescued older kittens that don't tame up to be bomb-proof. Pepper and Timea come from a rescuer four hours to the east. She has tried for a year to find them a home. She did find a place for them, with the help of another cat rescue in her area, however the home was too active and too loud for the shy cats. Pepper found his way into a hole under the stairs in the basement, and it took weeks to re-capture him. The rescuer took them back, understandably. I would have, too.

We were originally contacted a few months ago by a friend, Jill. Jill was a great help to me back when I was doing wildlife control and also advocating for feral cats. I did not take full advantage of the writing opportunities she and a Cooperative Extension biologist offered me at the time. However both of them stuck their heads out in a big way for feral cats. It's not particularly career-advancing to be in a biology-related job and state "feral cats can be successfully managed if they are managed in a scientifically rigorous manner." Jill and Paul did.

Jill has a friend whose mother is Pepper and Timea's rescuer, and he was trying to help his mom find them a good place.

In addition to friend-connections, there was karma-seeking involved. Some day, when I'm 15 years older than I am (or sooner, God forbid) I may be having to find a place for some of my shy cats. I hope there is someone there to help me as well.

While the last thing I need are more cats, we did place eight shy ones this past year. So Pepper and Timea came to stay yesterday, after their four-hour drive. Apparently they were great in their crates. Here are photos that Jo, their rescuer sent beforehand, because currently they are under the bed staring at me with owl-wide eyes.

Pepper:

And Timea:

They came with quite a dowry. Tuna (their special treat), tons of dry food for both the adoptable and street cats, tons of canned food, pillowcases, and a donation check. We won't need to pay out-of-pocket to feed these two for quite awhile. We also sent microchips to Jo ahead of time, and she took them to the veterinarian and got them well-pet checked, vaccinated and chipped.

Which goes to show my gut feeling was correct; the rescuer really loves these cats and does not want them to just go anywhere. I'm honored she trusts us to find them a good home, like Bo and Davis did.