Special Guest Cat
Posted on January 6, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 48 Comments
Meet Belle. She’s the cat of my in-laws, who is temporarily hanging out here whilst some home repairs are being done on the in-law house. As with Zeus and Lopsided Cat, Belle is a found cat, which is to say the in-laws found her living under their deck, along with a rooster that also had taken shelter under there. Apparently they were sharing the same living space, which is an interesting arrangement if you ask me. The rooster still lives under the deck, but now Belle lives in the garage and seems a bit happier (and warmer) for it.
For her visit Belle is staying in Athena’s room, because Athena is crazy for her and also it keeps her away from the other cats, who may or may not be thrilled to have a strange cat in their territory. Cats. You know how they are.
In any event, Belle is deeply sweet and adorable, and I know you all would want to meet her, so: Here you go.
Someone Belle’d the cat!
she has a beautiful face. thanks for the picture. :)
Will she be writing a Kitty Big Idea?
She’s adorable. And I’m glad she found a warm home.
Love her markings. Do we get to see the rooster next?
She’s darling. She looks very comfortable in her temporary home.
There’s a happy cat.
You can tell.
ben@7: Of course she’s a happy cat. She knows John is one of those people who are born every minute.
She is a beautiful cat (and the fact that she looks very much like my Norman in no way colors my opinion :) ) and clearly very content.
You know that you’re going to have a hard time separating her and Athena when this is done, yes? “But Dad, why should she live in a garage when she likes my room, and I like having her there?”
I have to say that I’d fall for that one like a ton of bricks…probably how I ended up with five cats!
Welcome to the blog Belle!!
She looks adorable :)
She. Is. Totally. Adorable.
And yesterday we just read “The Owl and the Pussycat”. Maybe it should have been “The Rooster and the Pussycat”?
Oh, she’s lovely. She looks a bit like my mother’s cat, who incidentally is named Bella (pre-Twilight).
Aw, such a pretty girl. One of our cats was found soaking wet in a bush, having apparently been separated from her mother during a storm (by a teacher, who then foisted her on my son). She turned out to be an amazing fur buddy — really, a dog in a cat costume. She was incredibly loyal, enthusiastic, needy and loving. I don’t suppose I’ll ever stop missing her; we lost her 2 years ago to cancer. I love your in-laws for taking Belle into their home. I’d leave the rooster under the porch. Yep.
*mwah* da Belle.
Regan, currently fostering a former feral who has the master suite. Disney does not approve.
Awwww…I’m totally a sucker for cats that have markings similar to hers.
That cat looks like she is generating plans to stay in Athena’s room, if not her bed, forever, screw this “garage” crap.
I suspect you might have just acquired another domestic predator.
Really, no. Three cats plus one very large dog is enough.
Just saying … that cat looks like she’s got a plan, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to work hard to enlist Athena into the Anti-Garage Revolutionary Army.
Maybe Belle’s plan is to exile *you* to the in-laws garage? Certainly, the cats I’ve had would consider that a reasonable exchange.
That’s a pretty happy looking kitty.
I happen to have a Cat named Belle as well :p and she is also a found cat. how odd indeed.
But, if Belle hasn’t met the other cats, that means they haven’t had a chance to warn her…you know…about the bacon!
O Great Scalzi, what an excellent although somewhat flawed introductory picture of FoundCat Belle.
We note that here is yet another cat with a perceptively low opinion of you. She has promise.
The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club
It’s… Look: I know that Team Scalzi loves its critters, and is wonderfully kind to critters just passing through… and I’ll take your word that Belle is happy living in the in-laws’ garage… but there’s still something so terribly sad about letting a kitty get a taste of being a housecat, and then exiling it again to a garage.
Yes, I know it could be much much worse, but my heart still hurts for her, esp. after seeing that expression on her face.
I would like to concur with Georgiana @5. When do we get to meet the rooster?
She looks to be quite the sweetie.
Yeah here come the rooster.
You know we ain’t gonna die.
I have nothing else to add, I just thought everyone else should have Alice In Chains lyrics stuck in their heads.
Oh, nice cat.
Very sweet cat, but exactly how far away from you do your in-laws live? ‘Cos given the look on that cat’s face she will be making her way back to Chez Scalzi ASAP.
I think you all are overestimating how much she will like Athena’s room. Pretty soon she is going to figure out that Athena’s room lacks a supply of small furry animals to disembowel. The biggest of the clumsy bipeds clearly stated that he is keeping her shut in. After a few days, a garage with its supply of winter deer mice is going to start looking pretty good.
@29 Nickp
Ah, but never understimate the tenacity and determination of an 11 year-old…
Does she look to anyone else like she ought to be judging the sort of contest that airs on the Bravo network? I think it’s the eyes.
Anyway, good lord but she’s cute.
I would love to hear more about Belle and the rooster and why said rooster hasn’t ended up being Belle’s dinner? Obviously cat and rooster realize there is more advantage to sharing body heat under the deck than having fur and feathers flying.
Why can’t people be so smart?
What an elegant expression. The tilt of the head and the half lidded eyes. Very nice photo.
Cats may look at roosters and see chicken nugets but the fact is roosters are just a bit too big for most domestic cats to tackle.
Roosters aren’t push overs. I have seen them bully critters much bigger than they are, including people.
Yeah, and Belle is tiny, like six pounds. She’s not going to win a fight with a full grown, bad-tempered rooster.
Incidentally, Belle is back home now, and all of my cats are giving me looks like, “you can’t hide your affair from us.”
Is it just me or do found cats seem to be more affectionate? I sometimes think my cat understands that his life is so much better than what it could have been as a dumpster diving stray and is totally grateful for my having abducted …er…I mean adopted him.
@31 I believe that is called “Smeyes-ing”. Tyra was on Larry King the other night demonstrating.
Maybe found cats really are more affectionate. I remember reading Barbara Holland’s description of a rescued cat in The Book of the Cat. On wet, stormy days, that cat would sit by the window looking at the horrible weather, then look around the warm, comfy room, then at her, while slitting its eyes and purring. She said that was the only downright grateful cat she ever knew.
Damn it, John, you have me looking at cat rescue sites. And I’m allergic.
GL2418@35: “Is it just me or do found cats seem to be more affectionate?”
I suspect it’s the other way around: affectionate cats are more likely to let themselves be found. Survival of the cutest.
Haha, survival of the cutest makes perfect sense to me :).
But yes, found kitties are wonderful. They are grateful love monkies.
I love her asymmetrical markings, which our cat Bastet also has.
Does she have any trouble staying warm in the garage?
Catherine
No, the garage is pretty warm.
She is adorable and resembles a few of the cats we have at the shelter I volunteer with.
Kudos to everyone who has welcomed a found cat into their lives!
Pictures of pretty cats always make my day better.
Does she have a tail?! It looks like it is missing!
I love her face and her supercilious yet interested expression.
I see Athena had her first practice baby. :)
She’s lovely! Yes, found cats do seem to be more affectionate. Miss Gemini walked into our lives by asking politely at the door for my daughter Kitten to bring her in, whereon she actually let the toddlers pet her and purred. Won my daughter’s heart in an instant. Turned out no one was looking at her, now she’s been microchipped, vet checked and fed up from the poor skinny waif that looked like an underage kitten to a small plump matriarch who takes care of everybody.
She always purrs when I get her dinner. If she had a wallet she’d tip me. She leaves me feeling like one of these grand headwaiters at a posh restaurant just for filling her bowl.
Looks like my mom’s “Popeye”: a neutered male who still carries a grudge about the whole process.
She’s sooo bewdiful. The catnip boys are wonderful too :)
Finding the cat sharing improvised quarters with the rooster is *very* “Life of Pi”