Earl Grey

Taken last June of what was for the longest time a mystery cat, this remains one of my favorite early pictures at the sanctuary. 

I now know him as Earl Grey, a name given to him a number of months ago by Linda when she found that nobody could remember what name he'd be given when he was first brought in.

Earl Grey is thought to be the brother of our sometimes bully Diablo, but the resemblance between them is pretty much limited to the physical. Laura describes Earl grey as a big boy like Diablo "but with a slimmer, more muscular physique." She says he "loves to be brushed and is actually the friendlier of the two brothers."

Indeed, more often than not, my pictures of Earl Grey show him upside down, stretching out a paw to knead the air, or scooting forward for a closer spot to receive cuddles.

So why is such an attractive, friendly boy still even at the sanctuary? "Unfortunately," says Laura, "He's a prolific pee-er (a trick he learned from the Terror Triplets, Sam, Bart and Louie, I think) so is unlikely to ever find a home. He doesn't seem unhappy at the shelter, however, and doesn't seem to find it necessary to bully the other cats like his brother does."

Footnote: This handsome boy was diagnosed with FeLV (feline leukemia); renamed Merlin, he is now happily living in the Old Aids area

Diablo

This one took a little research and a lot of help. Many thanks to Leslie, Debbie, Laura, Linda and Phaedra.

It started with a sequence of photos I took while visiting cats in the single wide with Vanessa:

He was a big, friendly, food-loving goof with such a personality, yet getting a positive ID took some doing. To start with, the name Diablo only came to him quite recently. Whatever name he was given when he was first trapped as a teen and brought to the shelter must not have suited him or just not stuck, so he spent some time being de facto nameless before being given the new name of Diablo by Linda. To further complicate matters, there is another grey and white cat in the single wide named Earl Grey who looks quite similar and may well even be a sibling.

Diablo (left, in cat bed) and Earl Grey (right, sitting)

More of Earl Grey on Monday. As for Diablo, it turns out he has a bit of a reputation as a bully, the little devil. Laura filled me in:

"I think that Diablo has the cat equivalent of fear aggression in dogs. He postures like a bully and tries to pick on a whole range of cats in the singlewide (e.g. Sam, Bijoux, Mama) for no apparent reason that I as a human can perceive, but very quickly backs down and runs away like a scaredy cat if you call him on the bad behaviour."

This is the cat who shimmied his way around a plate of food for Vanessa's and my amusement? (amused smiles tending to lead to cuddles, after all)

Here's what Phaedra had to say:

"He's not all evil bully boy and will whine for snugs if you let him know they are up for grabs. You just have to keep an eye on him if you've got other cats around. Mostly he's good, but then he gets these uncontrollable urges when food is involved or certain other cats who have kick me written on their backs."

Don't worry - even when he is being a bad boy, he does sometimes get his comeuppance. In a video by Phaedra that I'm told no blog post on Diablo would be complete without, one of the other cats has finally had enough... and spends the upwards of five minutes yelling in his face to tell him so. Here's the link. Enjoy.

Update July 12, 2010

Just so you don't think Diablo's all devil, Phaedra has posted a video showing his sweet side. Check it out!