Dear Pet Brigade,
My name is Sarah Komm, and I am a 1LT in 3-2 SBCT. I am deploying on or about the 27th of January, and I have been trying to find a home for my cat while I am gone. I will be back at the end of August 2010, so I will be gone about 7 months. I don't have any family anywhere near hear, the closest relative being in Texas and they can't take him anyways. I've tried asking some of my Soldiers, but most of them are already deployed, or they already have cats and aren't willing to take him on.
My cat's name is Sox, and he is an approximately 4 or 5 year old neutered domestic longhair, very large, about 17 pounds or so (see attached pictures). He was a rescue cat, hence why I don't know his exact age. He is an extremely social cat, always wants to be wherever the action is and does not like to sleep if someone is up and doing something. He is very curious. Most cats will scatter when they hear a strange noise or see something out of the ordinary. Sox likes to investigate and will go right on up to something he wants to figure out. He is very playful and loves playing with lasers and any sort of string, especially shoelaces (and especially when you are trying to tie them!), and he enjoys playing with little catnip toys, almost like a dog, he puts them in his mouth and shakes his head around, it's quite funny to watch! He likes to go outside, but he is an indoor declawed front paws cat, so we don't really let him do that. Because of this, he will meow at any door you have leading to the outside, and he is quite the talker, so he is very loud.
Sox is not a very warm cat, meaning he does not enjoy sitting on laps or being pet all the time, that's not to say he doesn't like to be pet or held, but it's really on his terms. He does not bite, at least not hard, and it is usually in a playful manner or when he is annoyed at being "over-pet", but again, he does not break the skin if he does try to use his teeth. His biggest issue is with female cats. He basically cannot be in a house with a female cat. He has never gotten along with them, and never will, so I ask that he be placed somewhere with either just dogs, or with just male cats. We did a trial run at my neighbors house to see if maybe they could take care of him while I was gone, but they have a small female cat, and that did not go well! He is extremely picky about his food. In fact, the only thing I've found that he will eat, is IAMS original chicken flavored kibble, that's it. He won't even eat cat treats, or real tuna or fish, or any table scraps whatsoever, he's very strange. He drinks tons of water, and he likes to put his paws in it and play with it, so that usually has to be changed often. I use a covered kitty litter box as he has a tendency to be very messy in his box.
All in all, Sox is quite a character, but difficult to place since he does not get along well with female cats at least, and he is not really good to have around small children, although he has been around them before and been fine, I just would feel better if he weren't.
Hopefully someone out there can take him, otherwise I will have to send him back to my mom's house in Chicago where he will have to live in an out building by himself for 7 months, and I really don't want to have to do that to him or my mom. Thank you!
V/r,
Sarah Komm
Contact The Pet Brigade on Fort Lewis for more information.