Fluffy and Notso Fluffy's Story

Notso sunning himself

Pets' names: Fluffy and Notso Fluffy
Adopted by: Wendy Scruton
From: Danbury Animal Welfare Society, Bethel, Conn.

Wendy, who blogs at Notso Kitty, sent the story of her two cats, whom she adopted together several years ago. 

My name is Wendy Scruton (née Casazza) and I currently live in Boston, Mass., with my two cats and dear husband Todd. I adopted Notso and Fluffy from the Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS) when I was living in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.—many years before I met Todd. I adopted them from that shelter in particular because that is where my family adopted one of our family cats that was a favorite of mine from when I was little. I entered the shelter with the game plan of getting two cats—so they could keep each other company. I took my little sister with me; she's a genuinely stoic individual at times and will not cave to the adorableness of kittens. :) I was slightly afraid of walking out of the shelter with more than two cats, but my sister was there to keep me honest!

When we went into the shelter we first viewed the room of individual older cats. None of these seemed like a natural pair for each other. We decided to look at the kitten room—though my sister warned me that TWO would be my limit. No cute third kitten would be sneaking home with me. :( In any case, they had three cute pairs of kittens in the room. But once I saw Notso Fluffy's face and he nuzzled me I completely melted.... So did my sister! Our decision was clear. We filled out the adoption paperwork, paid the small fees for their shots and upcoming "fixing," and adopted both brothers. They came with the names "Pepe" (Fluffy) and "Romeo" (Notso Fluffy)—it was clear to me that these names weren't going to suit me (or them), but I wasn't sure what to call them.

Fluffy

Notso

A few weeks go by and a few patterns started to emerge. I kept calling the cats "the Fluffy one and the Not-so Fluffy one," so eventually I found it easy to name them Fluffy and Notso Fluffy (Notso for short). Fluffy was very bashful and afraid, skittish at the slightest noise or movement toward him. He spent many hours under my boxspring or hidden inside my bedroom closet. He'd climb my clothes and sit on top of the hangers ... the poor thing! I tried to socialize him by petting him whenever I could get hold of him.... He accepted this eventually and even grew to seek it out. But he is still to this day very fearful of strangers.

Notso on the other hand is quite the attention whore. He's always looking to be petted—usually trying to insert himself into scenarios he doesn't belong, like on top of the laptop or at the dinner table. He had his share of health problems starting when he was four—he had to have the "PU" surgery. It wasn't pretty—but he seems okay now. I feed him special food and he's a little fat because he likes it too much, but the vet says he's otherwise healthy, so all is well :) We have since moved to Boston, upon which I met my husband eight years ago! Crazy how time flies ... but we now happily live and work in the Bay State with our kitties

Myself, I am quite a cat fanatic. I decided a little while ago to devote my blog, my arts and crafts, and my spare time to all things cat! I started making cat hats—and using Notso and Fluffy as the models! I sell them on Etsy at the NotsoKittyShop. My most popular is the Princess Beatrice Cat hat so far, but I am constantly coming up with new things in my spare time. Fluffy especially loves his involvement! He has really come out of his shell thanks to cat hats. :)

Fluffy is ready for any royal wedding.

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If you adopted a pet from a shelter or rescue group and you'd like to share his or her story, please email me. I'd love to hear from you!