Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,552
- 0
He reserved the tabby mix and planned to pick her up a few days later. Unfortunately, Harris was notified that Ella had been exposed to an illness that, if she contracted it, would likely be fatal.
While the shelter held Ella for observation, Harris was introduced to a dark gray-and-cream-colored Siamese mix, Cookie, whom he decided to adopt in the meantime. Then he received a phone call that Ella would be OK, and he faced a decision.
“I kind of felt bad,” Harris said. “I really liked Ella, and I was like, ‘You know, I don’t know if I want two cats yet. I’ve only had one for a week.’ But then I started talking to people who had cats, and they were saying they’re better in twos, and I thought it would be pretty neat just to have somebody to play with. So I went back, picked her up, and they’ve been hanging since.
“They didn’t have a great relationship [starting out],” Harris added with a laugh. “They both looked at each other and had their backs up, they kind of made a little fighting noise, and I was like, ‘Hey! Ya’ll gotta figure it out, or somebody’s gotta go back.’ So I gave them a couple of days, and they adjusted. Now they cuddle on each other and lick on each other and all that other cat stuff.”
Cookie and Ella are happy and comfortable in their forever home.
The two felines dash daily around Harris’ Minneapolis apartment, hiding beneath and behind furniture, playing with their toys and climbing the cat scratch tower.
And like the “siblings” they are, Cookie and Ella’s personality differences are less than subtle.
While Ella will hurry to introduce herself to a visitor, Cookie scurries to the darkness of a nearby bedroom. Harris describes Ella “like a little kid.”
“She wakes up early, and she’ll cry at the door, and she knows how to get in. She just puts her paw in there and opens it up,” Harris said. “Ella is super social. She likes me to pick her up and hold her.
“And then the Siamese, Cookie, she’s kind of like a little diva,” he continued. “She’s the one that everybody sees and [wants to pick her up] – and she lets you hold her for a while, then she just jumps down.”
Both cats will lie on Harris’ lap, but he chuckles at what he believes to be their different motivations for affection: “Ella enjoys the company. Cookie uses me as a pillow.”
Harris doesn’t shy away from showing off the cats that have become a big part of his life. In fact, they have their own Instagram account, @hooscoolcats, with more than 3,300 followers.
Harris initially posted about them on his own account, @hoosdatdude, and joked that people more enjoyed the photos of the cats than of the NFL safety.
“I had a few people who have literally commented out of humor – and maybe some seriousness – ‘Hey, I’m just here to see the cats,’ ” Harris said. “So, I kind of wanted to give the people what they wanted and made them an [Instagram account].
“I try to post about them equally. I try to be a good parent and not have any biased opinions about them or treat them differently,” he added with a smile.