The new cat

I was browsing the city animal shelter web page the other day, and saw a cat on there who bore a striking resemblance to Mijimoto, one of my hang-around cats who disappeared a few months ago. On the off chance it was actually her, I drove to the shelter for a first-hand look.

As it turned out, the cat who may or may not have been Miji had already been adopted. But while I was there, I spotted another cat that I decided to get a closer look at.

Our shelter is set up with a series of 'living rooms' for the cats, complete with household furniture and accessories. There are three or four cats in each room, with plenty of room to walk around, sleep or whatever, and visitors can go into any room and see if they can make friends with the cats. So I did, and this cat and I hit it right off.

So I paid the fee and brought him home, and here he is.



The animal shelter had named him 'Max,' which didn't appeal to me. So I named him 'Roland.'

I took that pic with my iPhone, so it's not a Nikon-quality shot. Even so, I think you'll see he bears a passing resemblance to the immortal Beasley, seen below:



Up close, they don't look that much alike. The markings are almost identical but the physiognomy and body shape are different. Beasley had a more triangular head, and shorter neck and legs. His legs were so short, in fact, that he couldn't actually run. He had to sort of hop along like a rabbit.

Roland has a rounder face and longer legs.

I'm sure, though, that the similarity in appearance is what caught my attention in the shelter. And I know I violated all the 'pet grief rules' by bringing home a cat that so closely resembles Beas.

But here's the deal: Roland seems to actually like me, and to like people in general. I have other cats here, and they tolerate me to varying degrees, dependent largely on how hungry they are at the moment. Roland will hang out with me even when he's not hungry.

So I'm hoping Roland and I will have a long and happy relationship.