It’s the emotional bonds that people (myself included) have with cats that drives my work. I’ve long felt that cats are important family members and the more cat lovers I meet, the more I see that others share this sentiment. Earlier in the year I photographed five beautiful and special cats for a guardian. Because there is so much to say about each cat, I decided to break up the blog posts. This post features Stormy. Here are a few questions I asked to get a little insight into Stormy’s adoption story, her personality, and Janis’ love for her. What an adoption story! I hope you enjoy Stormy’s story as much as I did. Thanks for reading!
Kitty’s name and breed: Stormy Lynn Jane, Longhaired Gray Tabby
Date of Session: Feb 2015
What do you love about your cat? What are some endearing traits or things your cat does?
What do I love about Stormy? My favorite trait is when she comes up to see me at night right before I go to sleep (she always knows) and lays on my chest until I fall asleep constantly purring. Also, I love her intelligence. She listens to my commands to go to her room and comes to me when I call her. I think she will always be my favorite because of the long ordeal in trying to rescue her in a manufacturing plant and her near death experiences while in the plant.
Was your cat adopted from a rescue group, shelter or something of the like? If yes, what organization? If no, do you care to share their adoption story?
I saved her life in a busy manufacturing plant. She was one of 5 kitties that belonged to a cat at the plant we called Mamakitty. One day in Feb, Mama kitty had her kittens in a front trim panel rack at ground floor level. The mama knew this rack was not used as frequently as the rest of the racks on the line as it was a backup. She packed all the kitties in the rack. A couple of weeks went by and Mamakitty decided the area was not safe anymore, so she moved the kitties down below the floor in a assembly pit with fluorescent bulbs, and moving conveyors. Mamakitty was right about the safety of the area, some ladies in the area, said they would help rid the area of the kitties in a very harsh way. Thankfully they moved. So, we eventually found the kitties new spot with the help of a kind maintenance man that was feeding the mama. He brought me and my other cat loving friend down to the assembly pit, and we saw all of the kitties crawling on the vertical fluorescent bulbs which must have been warm. All of the kitties were tiger striped with short hair except one which was long haired and fuzzy. This long haired kitty, was on the very top bulb and I knew she had to be smart from that point on. The maintenance man said the fuzzy kitty was the mean one. I was determined to find out if that was the case. We decided to trap Mamakitty first and then get the babies one by one. So on a Tuesday, Mamakitty was trapped and she was taken to my friends house. Then, we picked up 3 of the 5 kitties easily and found homes for the 3 after reuniting with Mamakitty. The 4th kitty was trapped the next day (Wednesday) and reunited with Mamakitty. We could not catch the 5th fuzzy kitty nor could we trap this kitty. So we left food/water in the pit every day. Finally on the Friday, we decided to go in the pit and get her since it would be a long weekend. So my friend and I went in at the end of production that Friday afternoon and crawled thru crossmembers, bracing, etc and finally this kitty was snatched on top of a cross-brace by my friend. Thank god. No one expressed any interest in this cat so I decided to take this mean kitty to my friends house in Arkansas that night. The kitty and I drove to Arkansas on Friday night hissing at me the entire drive. I will never forget that night, as I was driving in tornado warnings from Louisiana to Arkansas. My friend in Arkansas said he would keep her in his barn that night and try to pet her the next day because supposedly she was so mean. That night, the storms were violent. Loud cracking lighting and thunder and I was so worried for the kitty, now named Stormy. The next morning after the storms had passed, we both went to the barn, and he put on his protective welding sleeves, gloves, and we went to see Stormy. She came out from under a couch and he picked her up and immediately she started purring and kneeding his welding sleeve. He took off the sleeves and said this cat is not mean as I saw, and we both fell in love with Ms. Stormy. After a week in Arkansas, I decided that the cat needed to be with me and so I moved her back to Louisiana and she has never left my side since that day. What a true blessing it is to have her in my life.
Why did you choose the particular props you provided?
I chose to make sure I included her yellow flower. When she was little there was a bouquet of yellow flowers that she strategically pulled off the stems one by one until all of them were off. Then, she would flip the flowers in the air, carry them in her mouth, push them under the refrigerator, and stove.
What is your kitty’s least favorite thing?
My other kitties Chocolate and Misty. Stormy does not get along with either of her siblings.
What is a purrfect day for kitty?
Sleeping in her cat pagoda or in the sun.
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