Rhapsody

Description: DSH dilute calico
Born: Approximately September 20, 2024
Gender: Female

History:

An abandoned cat caught the attention of a home-owner on an acreage just outside of town. Such a location is a favourite for people wanting to dump unwanted cats. This one was friendly – a cat with a home at one time – and the home-owner wanted to find her shelter before the weather, unseasonably warm just then, turned cold. Too many animals already in the house meant this little homeless one needed another place to go. PAW was called and the cat taken in.

Personality:

PAW named the new cat Rhapsody, and she was indeed friendly. She clearly had a lot of attention at one time: even new humans scare her only for a short while. If her foster guardian stays with her to assure her, Rhapsody is quick to warm up to strangers. She is not shy once she comes to know somebody, and will flop down next to her person, roll over and want petting and stroking. Chin-rubs and chest-rubs are her favourite forms of attention. She is probably interested in all that goes on around her, but she’s not going to let anyone know it; she’ll explore in her own time, thank you. But when she sees something new and bizarre – like dogs through a window – her eyes become round and she stares with fascination.

She is also playful. She likes chasing the streamer-on-a-stick, but she also plays by herself, knocking about and pursuing those fuzzy mice cats love. Active and healthy, ‘Rho’ is in the prime of her life.

As for other felines, she obviously has experience of them, too. She has met the others in her foster-home and isn’t frightened of them. Nose-sniffing is often followed by indifference, though the one word that Rhapsody inspires when it comes to other cats is ‘confident’. She seems to know her abilities and isn’t afraid to stride right by another cat, or sit calmly while others walk by her. She might do a little slapping to show that she won’t be intimidated, and she stands up for herself if need be. But, for the most part, hers is a live and let live attitude. Even so, the potential for a friend of her own species is there.

Rhapsody was pregnant. It was thought when she first arrived in her foster-home that she might be expecting. Her sides and belly were not wide but neither were they the lean shape a young and vigorous cat should have. At her health-check, the veterinarian confirmed that Rho had four, probably five, little ones inside her. Sure enough, five babies came into the world the night of April 9th/10th. Yes, two of them will have different birthdates than their siblings. She is an excellent mother; she was attentive to the kittens’ needs right from the start, and likes to keep them close to her. The number in her litter, and the care she gives them suggest that she is an experienced parent: this was likely not her first pregnancy. Rhapsody and her kittens (Presto, Allegro, Andante, Vivace and Largo – nicknamed ‘The Tempos’; see their separate profiles) will be available for adoption starting July, 2026. (We always recommend adopting kittens in pairs, or to a home where there is a playful cat who would like a friend.)

Update May 22, 2026: the Tempos are six weeks old now, and growing in independence. Either consciously or instinctively, Rhapsody wants them to develop what they need as cats. Consequently, she is nursing them less; previously, when there was food for her and she was nursing, she would wait until the babies were done before feeding herself (what a good mother she is!) Now, though, it’s time for the kittens to eat solid-food, which they are doing, so Rho is less reluctant to leave them even when they are suckling. She also is lying in places they can’t access, and she wants to leave the library that is the family’s safe-room and get back into the rest of the house that she saw before the kittens were born. This illustrates Rhapsody’s confidence – she’s no shrinking violet – and her wisdom and experience as a mother-cat (the last time she will ever be one!)

Update June 5, 2026: her kittens have learned a lot and Rhapsody doesn’t feel that she needs to watch over them all the time now. When they are loose in the house (they are kept over-night in their own room), she keeps an eye on them, but she has taken the gauge of their environment and knows they are safe. They still try to nurse from time to time and mum accommodates them, but we can tell she is thankful they are more independent. Rhapsody is separated from the Tempos at night. She sleeps upstairs, while the kittens remain downstairs. Neither she nor they have been anxious about the separation; the timing for this latest development was right. Rho has even tried the human’s bed, which she rather liked; typically, she wasn’t bothered by the proximity of the other cats – also on the bed – and, interestingly, they weren’t bothered by her – and these are cats noted for being bothered by other felines. Rhapsody just seems to give off a confident, slightly dominant but reassuring aura.