Citra and Simcoe may have had a rough start, but they’re living the good life now! They were found under a porch in Eastern Washington, and were nervous about being around people when they arrived at SAFe. But after a little time in a foster home, Citra and Simcoe started to let their guard down.
These two were adopted in April of 2021, when the Rescue was still closed to the public and conducting adoption counseling over the phone and through email. Like many others during this period of uncertainty, their new family didn’t let the fact that they had never met the kitties in person stop them from falling in love, and a few months later they reached out to give us an update!
“We brought home Citra (fka Nebula) and Simcoe (fka Quark) in April. We renamed them after hops since they came from Yakima where most hops are grown and we’re both homebrewers.
They’ve really settled in since we brought them home! We moved to a new house in early July … and they love it. There are huge windows where they can watch wild rabbits in the backyard and hummingbirds in the front. They chase each other in circles around the living room or up and down the stairs, and there’s lots of space for multiple cat towers, beds, and toys.”
As the duo settled in, more and more of their unique personalities started to come through! “Citra will jump up to cuddle when she’s feeling sleepy and taking a break from play” Their new family writes, “but otherwise she prefers the floor or playtime to the couch. She chirps like a bird and plays fetch with herself and toys on the stairs. Playing is her absolute favorite thing in the world. We bought more of her favorite fleece wand type toys and just recently ordered a puzzle feeder for treats because she’s very smart and curious and loves figuring out how to open things.
Simcoe is a cuddle bug who likes to play-wrestle with his sister and do some parkour on the cat tree. His favorite toys are crinkly ones that make noise. He likes to watch Citra hunt the fleece wand from up in his cat tower and then jump down to join. Sometimes he sleeps on our laps or the tower with his arms straight out and he likes to sleep in the kitchen window unless he rolls off. We joke that he has a head full of bees because sometimes he’ll just stare at something wide-eyed and then act like a goof. He’s much more food-motivated than Citra, but still lets her eat.”
The adopters went on to remark that SAFe’s two-kitten policy and counseling about why young kittens do best with a playmate was working out well: “We followed the advice to let them wrestle to learn limits and only intervened if there was hissing, ears flat, or other signs of distress.
They’re much more gentle now and still roll around, but it doesn’t push the limits. And when they play with us, they don’t break the skin with teeth or claws and end up purring as they play.
They’re both very fond of each other and sometimes groom each other or sleep in the same bed even though they have a few options. They’ve been a delightful addition to our family!”
The staff and volunteers at SAFe Rescue are so happy that these shy kittens have grown into playful, confident cats. Thank you to Citra, Simcoe, and their family for letting us be a part of their story!
