Oliver is a grey domestic longhair. BUT his fur is white near his skin and turns dark grey toward the tips. If we gave him a crew cut he would be a white domestic shorthair.
Obi’s hair is black at the roots, and striped all the way to the tip. There is no doubt whose hair has hitched a ride when we pick it off our shirt away from home.
Oliver is a pudding head (nuttin’ but puddin’ up there in that noggin) but he is perfectly adapted for the life he would have had in the feral cats population, had he not been rescued. He has unusually long “saber tooth kitten” teeth. And claws that don’t retract. Also? Really long toe tufts – I know those are good for something. I don’t know that any of his physical attributes would make up for pudding-headedness.
Obi is well adapted to the out and would have zero problem surviving. He has a waterproof coat, big feet for snowshoeing, and he can climb ladders. And open doors. He has also figured out that if he puts a paw on his plate it stays in one place while he eats, while Oliver walks in circles trying to keep up with his breakfast as it travels around the kitchen.
The out can’t have either of them. They are mine.
And they are both PURRfectly adapted for that.
Kitten Thunder: Life lessons and cat tales 