Meet “Bonita”
Meet our cinnamon mackerel tabby kitty-girl “Bonita”! On our first introduction, we were tearfully told by Ed, the caring and concerned, homeless gentleman, who has been feeding her for most of 2020 that “She deserves to have a warm lap and a couch to sit on.” He also said when he was asleep in his van at night and would turn on the heat because it got TOO cold to tough it out …he would worry about her under the Circle K dumpster (next to the freeway) because she couldn’t turn on a heater and she didn’t end up there due to any fault of her own.
We first learned of Bonita when our veterinarian’s office asked us if we could look into a mama and two kittens that were trying to survive in a busy parking lot next to the freeway. The “mama”, Bonita, was said to be friendly but the two kittens were skittish. There were originally three kittens – but one ate a poisoned mouse and passed away a month before we arrived on the scene.
Our rescue is located about 30 miles north of Bonita, but we went down the next morning to see what we could do… it was clear that someone was feeding her and the kittens in multiple places next to the Circle K and the apartments next door. Most likely she was abandoned by a family moving out of the apartments.
After checking out the somewhat rough neighborhood (we had an audience for our kitten searches) we left explanatory letters about what we were trying to accomplish and how to contact us. We carefully boxed and taped shut the food that had been placed around for her (we didn’t want to throw it away since someone was spending time, money and effort to provide for her and her family). Finally, we set two traditional cat traps.
When we returned hours later to check, one of the traps had been stolen, one food box riffled through and the laminated zip-tied notes were gone. We almost gave up hope.
However, hours later Ed was able to borrow a phone from one of his friends and reach out to us for the first time! We started to work together. Ed had won Bonita’s trust in lots of ways – not the least of which, he told us, was her preference for a certain kind of food (Purina Kit and Kaboodle*) and bottled water. *He was right – she was very disdainful of our offerings.
We delivered a small dog crate and waited for him to do his magic. Later that evening he was able to scoop her into the crate and we went to get her.
Bonita is a very sweet girl. She loves to rub, knead and purr. She will only really enjoy her KNB kibble if her person is in the room with her. She has extremely soft fur and a deep purr. She is a pretty cinnamon mackerel tabby with large eyes (one of which is scared by her life on the street). She tested negative for FELV, has had her FVRCP booster, and is spayed (the spay clinic reiterated what a good girl she is).
She will flourish in a quiet home where she can learn to trust her new person before she has to get used to children or other animals … It could take her a week or two to learn to trust in her new situation. We actually brought Ed up to her new foster’s home so he could show her that her foster mama was “approved” and that was all it took for her to give her love whole heartedly to her foster mama. All adoption fees will be waived and delivery across the US would be considered. Available for adoption in San Diego, CA. http://joannesfurryfriends.com for updates and to adopt her!
