Howie

Last month, I wrote about everyone's favorite cat magnet, Mario. Now for Howie, the former feral who adores him.

Howie

photo provided by RAPS

From Leslie (originally published in The Love Blog in July 2009):

"Howie was trapped and brought to the sanctuary as a feral adult. Our blue-eyed, flame-point boy resisted all of our efforts to tame him. Every attempt to touch him resulted in a hiss and a swat. After 3 years, we had pretty much given up on him. Then, Mario came into Howie's life and won his heart. Mario is a cat magnet extraordinaire. He has an entourage of around a dozen cats, both female and male, who adore him. Howie fell in love with Mario a few years ago and started to follow him everywhere. Before we realized what was happening, Howie began to rub on our legs and befriend us as well. Eventually, Howie felt safe enough to climb onto our laps. Thanks to Mario, who helped him live happily with RAPS."

Howie's on meds and back in a cage at the moment, but there's Mario in there with him in support. He's a cat who looks after his peeps.

I asked Howie for comment, and he had this to say:
"Purrrrrrrr......."

Updated July 28, 2011: Howie is very sadly no longer with us. A trip to the vet to have his mouth checked revealed a tumor in the bone of his jaw. It wouldn't have been fair to let him suffer in pain.
Good-bye, Howie, you'll be missed.

 photo by Michele