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Once upon a time, a young kitten wandered onto a lovely farm family’s doorstep. Seemingly in distress, the little thing was skinny, disheveled and desperately searching for food and shelter. Little did he know, he had stumbled upon a lifetime of love, warmth and safety. Ladies and gents, please meet Basepaws cat Ricky and his hooman Cindy, the pawesome pet parent of six.
Basepaws cat Ricky
"I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul." - Jean Cocteau
Living on a farm, over the years Cindy's family consequently has had many stray cats wander onto their property. Being animal lovers at heart, they naturally welcomed many of those kitties into their lives. That said, Ricky is, of course, not the only family pet and has five older feline siblings:
"We have Tiger & Tigger, Pico and Pickles, and Rosie. Right before Ricky showed up, we were joking around saying that we needed another cat so we could give it an "R" name to go along with Rosie. Sure enough, Ricky showed up shortly afterwards. Even crazier is that Rosie is a 6# tuxedo short hair and Ricky is a 16# tuxedo long hair. They make quite the pair!" - told us Cindy excitingly.
Basepaws cat Ricky greeting his family on the hood of the car
Ricky, however, was nothing like any cat the family has had before. "There was something unique about him. His paws were massive in comparison to his body and his face shape was more angular. Because of his size, we first assumed he was just a very skinny adult cat, but he was actually still a kitten." - explained Cindy.
His unusual physique was not the only interesting thing about him. Being remarkably loyal and laidback, Ricky demonstrated an unusual amount of affection and companionship to his new hoomans. He enjoys nothing more than to follow the family around, excitingly greet them as soon as they arrive home and join them on their everyday adventures around the farm. This is one highly spirited, happy cat who truly cherishes the entire farm.
"He runs up to the car and jumps on the hood to greet us when we show up, jumps in the car to ride along, and hops on the 4-wheeler to ride around when we are doing yard work. We love this part of his personality, but we constantly have to keep track of him and make sure he is not where he shouldn’t be." - Cindy explained with great enthusiasm.
Basepaws cat Ricky riding a four-wheeler
Ricky is also a shop buddy to Cindy's hardworking husband Dennis: "Right before Ricky showed up, our son Luke was getting ready to head off to college. Luke’s dad, Dennis, was struggling with the idea of Luke being so far away so he started entertaining the idea of getting a dog again to keep him company in the shop. We had three dogs at one time, but we’re getting to an age where it’s nice to have the flexibility of being able to come and go which can be difficult with a dog. Right after my husband made this comment, Ricky showed up and now he is his shop buddy."
Basepaws cat Ricky working hard in the office
Ricky's distinct appearance and intriguing personality naturally piqued Cindy's curiosity: "A lady who is very familiar with cat breeds mentioned to me that she believed Ricky looked like a Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat. We weren’t familiar with these breeds so we did some research."
"We were surprised to find out just how much Ricky’s features and mannerisms resembled a Norwegian Forest Cat. Naturally this fueled our interest to find out more. However, that proved to be a challenge since there wasn't anyone offering a convenient way to administer a breeds test for cats...that is until I found Basepaws!" - and their suspicions were possibly justified - "At this time his test results are leaning more towards Maine Coon. We’re waiting on the Norwegian Forest Cat data to be available (most likely the end of this year)."
Ricky is a curious kitten full of unexpected surprises. He is bold, bright and anything but ordinary - something his family absolutely loves him for. His sweet, loving personality and playful spirit truly make him an exceptionally pawesome pet:
"Imagine our surprise the first time he hopped inside the car so he could come along for the ride or the first time he jumped up onto the 4-wheeler to join us out on the farm....definitely different than any of our other cats!"
Although Ricky is very much a people-kitty, his ultimate favorite furriend would have to be Cindy's daughter Leila. "He [Ricky] seems to hang out with whomever is available, yet if our daughter Leila is around, he seems to gravitate towards her first."
Basepaws cat Ricky cuddling with his favorite hooman Leila
Soon enough, Ricky won't be the only family cat whose secrets are spilled. Pico is now awaiting his test results from Basepaws as wellI "We purchased another kit for our cat Pico because he has a really unique pattern to his tail. It was our vet that pointed out that they’ve never seen a tail like Pico’s. What added to the mystery was when we were at the Boston Science Museum there was an "extinct" wild cat on display that had the same tail pattern as Pico! This extinct cat even had the same coloring as Pico. It will be interesting to see if Pico shares an ancestor with this extinct wild cat!"
Basepaws cat Ricky - life imitating art
Learning about Ricky’s adventurous spirit was exceptionally exciting! Thank you Cindy for introducing us to your amazing furry friend and sharing his truly inspirational story with Basepaws. Meow!