Sassy cats – The book of Hazel

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“I have a stripe-y tail, a stinky pooter and like my main staff person, I prefer cats to people. My name is Hazel.”

That says it all. She’s not exactly shy but more cautious. She knows what she wants and is tenacious even when her girth makes it difficult. Back to the beginning.

Hazel and Mollie canoodling on the bed

We had Jake, who was around 6 and had just adopted Mollie at almost 2 years old (all cats). Mollie was very active and needed a pet closer to her age. Jake was bellyaching about stealing his toys and jumping on his tail. (Technically Hazel is Mollie’s pet but I can’t get her to ante up for the vet bills!)

Hazel very regal looking. This shot was when she was very young. She does not look like the pitiful cat trying to hide in the carrier.

At an adoption event there was a pitiful cat trying to hide in her carrier. You could hardly see her. Obviously she wasn’t going to get a home acting like that. Enter cat person with “sucker” across her forehead.

She won the lottery and came home with me that day. They were grateful someone took her. She had been going to adoption events for three months. No one was interested.

She prefers tuna bars and chipmunk concerts to sitting in a cage while people look her over like cattle. Very undignified (so she says).

That is how Hazel came here to the “home of hard to adopt” cats. She wasn’t all that fond of people but Jake loved her and she became fast friends with Mollie. Mollie was the only one who could get her to come out from under the bed. Well…Mollie and tuna. (If you notice a theme here, Hazel is definitely a food motivated cat.)

She had been turned in as part of an outdoor litter. Her foster mom didn’t have room so she put her in a large garage cage with ten adult cats. (Yes, they all got along but there was no one to socialize her). The window to socialize a kitten is pretty short. By the time we got her at a year old, she wasn’t having all the touchy-huggy stuff. She still rolls her eyes when I come loaded with hugs.

She accepts the humans who live here (and feed her) as long as they don’t get too close or smooshy. Occasionally she will climb next to me for pets but that’s rare. Pets are rationed. One pet too many and she will be annoyed and depart at great speed as if the devil were after her.

She loves lounging on windowsills when the window is open. She was here about six months when the screen gave out and she flew out a second story window. The beloved husband was in the screened porch drinking coffee when he saw her exit. I was in the bathroom getting dressed. I didn’t so much see it as hear the screen release.

By the time I got downstairs, she was waiting to come back in. The lilac bush had broken her fall and except for a slight sprain, she was fine. She went right back upstairs and onto that window sill again.

She has digestive issues and is prone to diarrhea and the worst smelling gas ever. That hasn’t changed in 12 years. She requires occasional medication and a special diet. (Our house requires occasional fumigation and a round of margaritas for the staff.)

Cats, especially in multiple cat households, do not do diets well. There is a “behind the backs of humans” noshing and sharing that’s difficult to stop. We work with it.

She has her ups (at 18 pounds) and downs (at 14 pounds which is where she is now). At 12 years old she is not an active cat but loves to monitor the wildlife from a nice cushy chair in the screened porch.

She loves the dining room table, windowsills, food, catnip, and cat TV (looking out the sliding doors). She will get along with any other cat although I’ve seen her bitch-slap Gracie. (Gracie deserved it!) She’s never the alpha but the letter at the other end of the Greek alphabet.

She’s easy and accommodating (as long as there is no pet carrier in sight). Pet carriers require her to remain unreachable under a king sized bed until it’s been put away.

Each pet in a household has a role. Hazel’s role is the peacemaker. And bitch-slapper.

Hazel says you should consider adopting a pet that may not do so well at an adoption event. If you want a really cute pet, adopt two.

66 thoughts on “Sassy cats – The book of Hazel”

      • As HRH is 13 now and getting even quirkier (I know, how would we know…) we’ve gotten an even larger facilities box as she started snubbing the old one – for various reason…she has endless supply..of reasons and reasons why we need facilities…thought we had negotiated a solution …until this morning. RC simply refuses to discuss it saying “Impolite to talk about bodily functions…”

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        • Sounds familiar. Upstairs box was specifically for Jake when he was old. Then he passed and Mollie said she needed it. Sigh! Hazel mostly goes in the basement (thank God!) but for the past few months prefers her number 2s outside the box. Not all the time. Just enough to flummox me. Not sure what the issue is. Scrubbed box and room but no change. Fortunately it’s all linoleum so it’s easy to clean.

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    • Hazel is not the cat that people would fall in love with. She’s not real friendly like Morgan and not as pretty as Mollie. However, there is something sweet and accommodating. If she were a person she’s make an excellent best friend.

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  3. This post fills my heart. The world needs more Kates to save the underdogs at the adoption events … or perhaps I should say undercats 🙂

    I think Hazel knows she is very lucky – notwithstanding the occasional trips in the cat carrier. I don’t blame her for having a serious aversion to them!

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  4. Hazel is a beauty, and very lucky to have been adopted into your home, Kate. You have the best attitude to stay in synch with each of their specific needs! I think pet adoption is a wonderful way to find new fur friends! There is something about a rescued animal that makes the bond a little sweeter, I think.

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  5. Hazel’s regal photo is perfection. The look on her face, the color scheme. Just lovely. We had a cat who could position herself under the king size bed in such a way that a human could never get to her. It’s a skill that I suppose gets kudos from other cats, but not from me. *meh*

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  9. I love learning a little more about each of your cats. I also adopted a “hard-to-adopt” cat. She was so scared and I felt so sorry for her… all the advice to “pick the kitty that comes up to you and wants attention” flew out the window. Chloe (AKA “Goober”) was a sweet but shy cat who I adored for her 13+ years with me.

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    • I have found that it’s easier with more than one cat. Mollie was instrumental in getting Hazel to trust us. She was also a good playmate. I love and admire kittens but it’s easier for them to find homes.

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  10. Poor little stinker. She sounds a little like Sloopy Anne who also doesn’t like too much petting. Unless I totally overpower her and lay her on my chest. Hazel is a beautiful queen!

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  14. How wonderful that you were able to save Hazel. She sounds (and looks) like a pretty relaxed cat. I’m so glad you found her and gave her that posh resort living. 😉 The ones that find their way to our homes somehow always turn out to be just the right fit.

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  15. Kate, It is a well rounded family you have, with Hazel as the peacemaker! The cats complete the picture, each with their quirky personalities and so lucky to have you who knows them so well! I am looking forward to more bios and adventurous feline stories but I don’t see how you can beat falling out a window!

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  17. she’s adorable, in a non-smushy huggy way, lol. total cat-titde! Is she really long haired? We just buzz cut our long haired Reno for the first time, before we’d trim him here and there. He so much better, particularly around the litter box area, if you know what I mean!
    So glad she’s adjusted and is in a forever happy home, Kate, you are a SAINT!

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  18. Yeah, I feel you, Hazel. Bossy Cat was so awful at pet adoptions that her rescue group quit taking her — she hissed and swatted people. So when we needed a cat who liked dogs, they insisted we travel to her foster home and meet her in person.

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  19. So nice to learn moer about Hazel! Sounds like you were meant to have her. Yes, she does look so regal and not at all like a shy cat hiding in the corner!
    Here I just thought that it was Boston Terriers that had such smelly gas!
    Glad that the lilac bush broke her fall and that it obviously didn’t scare her too much since she went right back up on the windowsill. Perhaps she bitch-slapped the screen though. 🙂

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    • I am too. She had a sister and it took her another two months as she was not socialized either. I always regretted not taking both of them. Yep, the sister had the same digestive issues.

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