Bob: our Big Ol' Boy

Bob came into our lives in the Summer of 2007. It was a very bad year, starting as it had with the death of my mother. In June, we lost two of our four cats. One of them was our black Maine Coon mix, Noc. I wasn't looking for another black cat, but I was drawn to a notice on the Maine Coon Adoptions website about Bob's twin brother, Onyx. I inquired & got a note from Elaine that Onyx had been adopted. There was also a photograph of Bob. Elaine commented, "Isn't he delicious?"

That Saturday, we drove to San Jose to meet Bob. He was the star of the day! But WE were first in line. The five other hopefuls never stood a chance. Bob stepped nonchalantly out of his cage & did a little tour of the other cats before acknowledging us. He leaned against my legs in an endearing gesture. I learned that he had been neglected & had been rescued from a local shelter, where he had refused to eat or groom. His teeth were in such bad shape, the vet at the shelter thought he was at least five years old. He was actually only two. He was badly matted & weighed only 11 pounds. Bob would need lots of care & some big vet bills before we were done. But Noc had been a street stray, & our other cats are both feral-born. We had the experience to deal with Bob's challenges. He went home with us.

We subsequently discovered that Bob is deaf. Deaf cats compensate with the pressure sensors in their whiskers. Bob is so in tune with his surroundings, that it was two weeks before we realized it. One of the unique effects of his disablity is that Bob seems able to recognize when my blood sugar is too low. I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic, & I sometimes suffer from dangerously low blood sugar levels. Twice now, Bob has woken me up on nights when my blood sugar levels were low enough to have caused serious damage, or even death. At other times, he cries & nudges me to let me know that my blood sugar is too low.

Bob today is a magnificant sixteen-plus pound cat with a beautiful coat & a sweet temper. He loves to socalize with our other cats. Bob is an ocean of calm when we have guests. He llikes all people but loves being close to me. Right now, he's lying in front of the computer screen, apparently aware that he needs to stay low so I can see over him. Bob was a good thing that happened to us in a very bad year. We hope to have him with us for many years to come.

— Carol
  November, 2008