My Interview with Quirky Cat CLIFF

Having survived a hoarding situation and narrowly escaping death row, Cliff has a pawsitive attitude and a winning purrsonality.

Cliff is proof that life can, and does, get better.

KATNISS: Your life took a turn when you were rescued by your new Human. Tell me about that.

CLIFF: Yes, my Human saved me from certain death and for that I am furever grateful. I couldn’t ask for a better home. I have someone who lives to serve me and bring me my sparkle ball whenever I desire it.

KATNISS: You’ve trained her well.

CLIFF: Fur sure!

KATNISS: I’ve heard you described as a “socially unsocialized cat.” What does that mean?

CLIFF: Well, the furst part of my life was all about survival. Now that I am in a safer place, I have learned to socialize. I love attention and I love to be around others.

KATNISS: Tell me about the other cats you live with.

CLIFF: Right now there are five of us felines, plus the occasional foster and my Human volunteers at an animal shelter.

KATNISS: Is that how she found you?

CLIFF: No, she saw my photo on social media and saw that I was in a dire situation. Her beloved cat had recently crossed over the rainbow bridge and while she wasn’t looking for another cat, she wanted to help meowt. So the rescue Timber’s Legacy pulled me and vetted me.

KATNISS: So then it was happily ever after?

CLIFF: Not exactly. Because of my hisstory, at furst I didn’t want attention. I was scared, skittish, and everything was freaking meowt. But my Human was patient and let me come around in my own time, which I really apurrciated. Now we’re totally bonded.

KATNISS: Tell me about your mewnique look.

CLIFF: I have a cleft palate. I also had an eosinophilic granuloma – an ulcer that ate away at my lips – while I was in the hoarding situation. But the good mews is that I have no purroblem eating now.

KATNISS: That is supurr important!

CLIFF: I love food. I scream at my servant to feed me. I also looove the smell of the neighbor’s apartment. They cook chicken on the weekends and it smells meowvelous. My Human is, unfurtunately, vegan.

KATNISS: Tough break. I hope she makes up for that in treats and toys.

CLIFF: Oh, yes. I like to carry a sparkle ball in my teeth and drop it in the bed. I am not satisfied unless it is thrown at least 20 times, minimum, over and over again. I also get very excited when the occasional fly gets into the house.

KATNISS: Yum!

KATNISS: So, what makes you so quirky?

CLIFF: Well, I’ve been told that the noises I make sound just like the ones made by Chewbacca. Also, I derive great pleasure from licking things like fabric. I also love to lick purse straps, t-shirts, sweaters and the sheets on the bed. I’ve been called an alien creature.