We found her in the snow...

Hello fellow animal-lovers.

My name is Kev. I live in Calgary, AB, Canada. Last November I was living in Bankview, in an apartment building, with a roommate. My girlfriend (Alex) was over at the time, it was getting late, so I went to drive her home. We walked out the back of the building towards the garage and Alex spotted some movement by the fence in the backyard. Huddled against the fence was a white cat. She looked very cold, but not frightened, and I made a nasty comment about owners letting their cats out in the cold.

Having had cats and dogs all my life (I already had one cat at the time in the apartment, Kaz, a Bengal/Tabby mix) I didn't hesitate to try and 'make contact' with this white cat. I crouched down, extended my hand and made a cooing noise to entice her over. She almost fell over herself trying to get to me, and when she did she was vocalizing constantly, and rubbing my legs. As soon as I went to pet her back, I knew she was not someone's pet... at least; she hadn't been for some time. I could feel her spine through her long fur as I pet her back, and having a much closer view of her, Alex and I could tell that she was extremely malnurished.

Having cat food in the apartment I told Alex to stay there and hold the cat's attention while I ran back inside and grabbed a handful of food. When I came out and presented the food to her she was ravenous!

It began to snow. I looked to Alex, and her to me, and we silently agreed that this cat could not be left outside... we had to either find the family that may be looking for her, or at least take her in for a few days and get her looked at by a vet.

We took her in, kept her seperate from Kaz, and brought her to a Vet the following day. They reported her as a stray to the SPCA who then took her. I kept in close contact with them during the week she was in the SPCA while the good people there had used their national database to search for anyone who had reported a missing kitty of the same description. No one had, and this poor thing had no tattoo and no chip. She had earmites from being outside for so long, and the woman I was talking to at the SPCA informed me that they could estimate that she had been outside for probably about 10 months. I asked how old she was; 11 months. This poor thing had never really had a home.

When no one stepped forward to claim her, I asked the SPCA how long she had before they would put her down. Sadly, with the volume of adult cats they have awaiting adoption, each cat is only given a few weeks... and this little one had already been there for one week.

Alex and I waited for a few more days, hoping someone would claim her... but no one did.

We adopted her. We named her 'Yuki' which is Japanese for 'Snow'.

She has been the best cat I have ever had in my entire life. She gets along just fine with Kaz, is incredibly affectionate and yet completely independant. Kaz, having been with me since he was not even 8 weeks old, is lost when I leave the apartment... he's sullen, moody and generally unpleasant for anyone else to be around (Alex included). Yuki, having survived so long, is perfectly fine whether I'm there or not. She does - however - constantly try to get at my budgie, whereas Kaz has always ignored the Bird. I imagine Yuki probably caught a few birds in her time spent on the streets, and is constantly frustrated with Alex and I as to why we cage a perfectly good meal. :)

Now, after having given you all this long story about rescuing this wonderful cat, I have a question for anyone out there who may be a cat breed expert.

WHAT IS YUKI?!

I'm pretty sure she is a Turkish Angora, but she has a grey V-shaped marking on her head, which - from my research - is something common in the Turkish Van breed. Turkish Vans look a fair bit like angoras... so it's very hard for me to say - with any real certainty - just what she is!

Here are two pictures - taken tonight - of Yuki:

http://www3.telus.net/public/sideways/Pictures/Yuki%201.jpg
Yuki in the tub. For some strange reason she LOVES playing in the empty tub. This picture shows the V-shaped grey marking on her head.

http://www3.telus.net/public/sideways/Pictures/Yuki%202.jpg
Yuki on her scratching-post / catbed. She has gained a fair bit of weight since we rescued her, but is still small, and very fine-boned. Kaz, being half bengal, is a big, rough-and-tough kitty, and you can immediately tell a huge difference between the two cats when you pick them up. Yuki is probably only half the weight of Kaz, but is almost the same height and length.

So if anyone could give me some insight, I would appreciate it! That grey V-shaped marking has me so confused, because all pieces of breed-info I've read on Angoras indicates they are "pure white". If Yuki was mixed with another breed, she wouldn't look SO MUCH like an angora, would she? While that marking on her head is similar to the Turkish Van, Turkish Van Cats have markings on their tails too... something Yuki doesn't have.

Once again, thanks in advance!

-Kev Benoit
****

First off,thank you for rescuing this little beauty:thumbs up
When I was reading your post,I was worried about an unhappy ending,but Yuki was very lucky.
I once had an Angora cat,but he was black(Sammy),the shape of his head very similar to Yuki and he had a long fluffy tail.
It's very difficult to say in cats,unless you know the mom and dad to be pure breeds.
One thing I do know,she is beautiful:love:

I have to agree with Chico2 thank goodness this little girl came into your yard on that cold night and found you , :angel: you are a very kind soul to take her in, some people would have just turned a blind eye to her and went about their business. Sorry I cannot offer any advice as to what she might be but I must say she has the most STUNNING amber eyes, just beautiful, keep up the awesome job :thumbs up

Love that story - happy ending!!:)

Yuki doesn't really have the true look of a Turkish Angora. The intense copper eye colouring and slightly shortened muzzle make me think of a Persian mix.

She is VERY beautiful and very lucky as well to have met you.:thumbs up

I don't know what kind of cat she is but wow,she is beatiful!:queen:

thrilled about the happy end...I am always reluctant to read a long post afraid that it usually has a bad end to it...your Yuki is a beauty...

She's so pretty!

My cats also like playing in the tub...its especially funny when they don't realise its wet in there and jump in....Pawz wasn't able to get back out at one point and would meow as if we were torturing him until we rescued him....lol

Megan

Yuki is gorgeous and so fortunate you cared enough to take care of her when she was in such desperate need. You are lucky too to have such a sweet reward!

thank you all for the well-wishes and info. My mother, when she first saw Yuki, said she looked like she had some persian in her, but I dismissed the idea, having the 'pushed-in face' idea of a persian in my mind I thought; 'no way'.

But now that I look through some angora photos, I realize that yuki definitely has a shorter muzzle than most purebred Turkish Angoras.

The mystery of what she is (other than a beautiful kitty) will have to remain. :)

Since so many of you complimented how she looks, I'll post a few more pictures I have of her.


http://www3.telus.net/public/sideways/Pictures/Yuki%20-%20first%20night.jpg
This was taken the day we adopted her and brought her home from the SPCA. She was groggy from having been spayed, and from the earmite medicine.

http://www3.telus.net/public/sideways/Pictures/Kaz%20-%20Window.jpg
Our other kitty; Kaz. Our 'Big boy'. 14inches at the shoulder, and just under 19lbs. His mom was a tabby, which is where he got his colouring, and his dad was a Bengal cat, which is likely where he got his size, super-long ringed tail, spotting pattern and claws that don't seem to retract all the way.

http://www3.telus.net/public/sideways/Pictures/Yuki%20and%20Kaz.jpg
Yuki and Kaz. When I took this picture I didn't realize that Kaz was stalking Yuki from behind a blanket Alex had left on her desk chair. They play-fight all the time, and it is definitely 'play' becuase half-way through the battle they'll wash each others faces. :)

Thanks again, all... and good night!

P.S. Before I go, a few people here have commented on how most people would've seen Yuki in the snow, and turned a blind eye. Many of my friends, co-workers and family - who know of Yuki and how she became a member of our family - have said the same thing. I would just like to urge everyone here to do something, if they see an obviously stray Kitty. This doesn't mean you have to take them into your home, like we did, but it costs you absolutely nothing to bring them to a vet's office and tell them it's a stray. If they have a chip or a tattoo, they can find their family... and if not, the SPCA can try to get them adopted into a good home. While the odds of an adult cat being adopted through the SPCA are slim, those odds are still a HECK of a lot better than the odds the cat would have just surviving on the street. And by having a stray end up at the SPCA you're removing the chance of them being impregnated and furthering the stray cat problem that many cities have.

Thank's for the beautiful pics,Kaz is one big boy at 19lb's,I have a"thing"for BIG kitties:p
As you might have read,many people here are devoted rescuers,heavily involved in saving as many unwanted strays as possible,even though it seems like a daunting unending task.
Others who help in a smaller way,me included,would never abandon an animal in distress.
Hopefully,if you stick around on this board,a wonderful one..you will continue to read about one great rescue after another,be it dogs or cats.

Very beautiful girl, she was lucky to have found you. When I got my persian from the rescue I had ask whether she was likely a mix since she was found on the streets, and they said no, as crosses do not have the smushed in face. she has the amber eyes as well
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/mleg2001/fcf4c6d1.jpg