This is my rescue cat KB!
2 years ago my husband and I had been talking about adopting a cat. I have a super severe cat allergy so we spent time exploring our options (none of which involved not having a cat because that would be ridiculous) and we settled on hoping to find a hypoallergenic breed at our local rescue. He literally said the words “if you can find a Russian Blue, we can go pick it up after work.”
So of course I immediately went to my local humane society’s website and what do I find straight away? Russian blue! At the time her name was Isabel and the “give me a treat!” caption coupled with her little double chin in the picture gave me heart eyes forever and ever. We went down to pick her up right after work that same day.
When we first met her she was very timid, and very uninterested in us. We learned she was 3 years old and had been surrendered to the humane society two weeks prior because the family she was with simply didn’t want her anymore. We also learned that same family had declawed this poor cat in ALL FOUR paws, and neglected her dental care to the point where she had to have nearly all of her teeth extracted after she was surrendered. We were already set on bringing her home, but hearing about all she had been through so far made us absolutely certain she was the right cat for us.
We changed her name to Katherine Beatrice, or KB for short (or kibby, kibs, kibbles, etc) and brought her home the same day we met her. She peed on my husband in the car on the way home which was equal parts funny and smelly, she hid in our bathroom for two weeks, and then hid in our spare bedroom for the next 6 months after that. She was so afraid to come out of that room that we ended up having to put her litter box and her dishes up there with her. We would go and sit on the floor of the spare room and just chit chat and wait for her to come out from under the couch so we could see her and try to pet her. Sometimes she would come sit with us, other times she would high tail it back under the couch.
It took her almost an entire year to realize she was safe with us. We let her take her own time exploring the house and getting used to having a dog for a brother. Slowly, we watched her turn into the silliest, snuggliest, happiest kitty in the world. She lays with me every morning at breakfast, and always comes and snuggles on my lap in the evening. She loves to scream at us when it’s time for breakfast, and she loves a good belly rub. Lately she’s been really into chewing my hair and giving me kisses that turn into weird gentle bites.
It blows my mind that anyone could ever know a cat like KB and not want her in their life forever. We got so lucky to have found her. I’m grateful every day for my girl and the sweet chirps and scratchy kisses she brings to the family. I had never had a cat before KB, but I know now I never want to live without one again.
