Stormy In Love

                                         Cloudy looking adorable, as usual

                                         Best friends for life!

I usually don't revisit a story I've written about before, but the response to my recent column about Stormy, the plucky little kitten who was rescued after being trapped for four days in a storm drain in Oakland, was so positive, I thought you'd like an update.

Stormy is in love! He has a girlfriend!

Ten days after he was rescued and settled into his foster home at Gail Churchill's house in Alameda, another kitten, a longhaired gray-and-white female two weeks younger than Stormy, was rescued in Hayward.

She had a bad case of the runs. That's not surprising: Homeless kittens are often so desperate for food, they'll eat anything they find, whether it's good for them or not. But a trip to the vet quickly cleared that up.

She was also painfully shy, and that's not surprising either, considering the scary life she was facing every day on the streets.

When she arrived at Gail's house, Gail set her up in a large dog crate on the kitchen table, to help her acclimate to her new environment.

Within minutes, Stormy was up on the table, trying to get into the crate. His little paws would go between the bars, and he'd extend them as far as he could to touch the new kitten.

Meanwhile, she was carrying her toys over to Stormy as little gifts. Instead of roaming the entire house, as he loved to do before, Stormy refused to budge from right next to her crate.

After a few days of this so-near-yet-so-far mutual admiration society, Gail put them together. And they've been inseparable ever since. They eat together, they sleep together, they play together, they patrol the house together.

The little girl's fur is so soft and fluffy, it looks like cumulus clouds. So, all things considered, it was obvious what to name her: Cloudy.

The biggest change since she was rescued is that her shyness had turned into spunkiness. She kicks Stormy's butt 24/7, and he loves every minute of it. And they both purr nonstop.

Both of them are extremely affectionate with people, so whoever adopts them had better be prepared for lots and lots of face and neck kitty kisses.

"It's a match made in heaven!" says Gail. "They're a bonded pair that must be adopted together."

No kidding. After the horrors that each of them endured for their first few weeks of life, it would be the height of cruelty to split them up from they only friend they've ever had.

Cloudy and Stormy were spayed and neutered, respectively, earlier this week. (Sorry, this will be a strictly Platonic romance. There are too many unwanted kittens out there already.) And they'll be ready for adoption this weekend.

You can check them out on the website of Island Cat Resources & Adoption, the wonderful volunteer group that made all this happen, www.icraeastbay.org. That's also where you can make a donation to help future Stormys and Cloudys, if you're so inclined.

I just love happy endings, don't you?

P.S. As heartwarming as this story is, these two kittens should never have been born. And they wouldn't have if people had been responsible and gotten their own cats fixed. So do the right thing, cat lovers!