Collared today: Leo Sesame
NAME: Leo Sesame
NICKNAMES: Leo, honeybear, Little bun-bun
OWNER: Baltimore Sun reporter Jill Rosen
HOW THEY MET: In search of my first-ever kitty, my first-ever pet, someone recommended I try Defenders of Animal Rights, a Baltimore County shelter that believes in free-range cats, not cages. If I wanted a kitten, I'd have to wait, the shelter told me. So I called and called until one day, the kittens arrived. Except it was a Wednesday. A work day. By the end of the day they'd be picked over! My boss, grudgingly understanding, said I could go. (I'm not sure why I thought there would suddenly be a run on kittens but I was, let's just say, enthusiastic.)
I arrived to a roomful of scampering kittens in every color. The first one I scooped up was a little creamy-colored one who seemed to melt in my arms. I went to the window and sat with him purring like a motor in my lap, while the other kitties ran around. After a while I put him down, thinking I had to see about some of the others. But I kept looking over and seeing the little beige fellow, kinda following me around. I picked him up again. People commented about how remarkably calm he was on my lap. That was it. He was mine.
AGE: 1 year and change
HOME: Butchers Hill
BREED: Buff domestic shorthair
FAVORITE FOOD: Easy-going Leo likes pretty much anything. Anything, that is, except catfish. The kitty, ironically, won't touch it. A friend of mine suspects it's a fear of cannibalism thing. Leo in particular loves little licks of peanut butter and ice cream.
BEST TRICK: Leo's got many tricks up his furry sleeve. He can pluck a fly from mid-air. He can fetch foil balls like a dog. And, my favorite: When I hold him up in front of me, he'll lick my nose -- little Leo kisses.
FAVORITE ACTIVITY: A busy kitty, Leo likes to splash in the water bowl, bat things across the wood floors, "help" me with knitting and pounce on his best buddy Pumpkin.
IF LEO HAD A MOTTO FOR LIFE, IT WOULD BE: Might as well jump.
Photo by Sun photographer Monica Lopossay
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Comments
Fetches foil balls, eh? I wonder if Leo would also fetch cotton swabs ... a friend's mom's cat used to do that. They're kinda like cat-sized dumbells.
Posted by: Liz Kay | April 9, 2009 10:03 AM
leo may be the cutest baltimore sun kitty yet!
Posted by: meredith | April 9, 2009 10:24 AM
Move over Marley!
I see a book deal and movie for Leo.
And perhaps, that pinnacle of fame, an appearance on Oprah.
Posted by: Rob | April 9, 2009 10:45 AM
What a cutie! My kitties, rescued from a highway in Jersey, spend most of their days sleeping. Mashu and Sienna are uninterested in playing and quickly give up on strings, balls and toy mice. They play for a few minutes, then go back to sleep. They do like to play with their water, but instead of splashing it, they drag it across the floor and create puddles. Then they complain they're out of water!
Posted by: Peter Hermann | April 9, 2009 11:56 AM
If Leo likes to fetch foil balls, I bet he would love if you filled the house with puffs -- those puffy little colored balls you probably remember from craft time at preschool? My cat loves them. I toss a handful on the living room floor and she spends days batting them around and stashing them around the house for later playtimes.
Posted by: KB | April 9, 2009 3:43 PM
Adorable!! When my cat was younger, she used to chase foil balls also, but she would never bring them all the way back to me. Like Liz said, she also likes to bat cotton swabs around on the wooden floor. The pleasure our pets bring to us...even just watching them at play!
Posted by: Trixie | April 9, 2009 4:37 PM
Great photo (I will overlook the plug for Whole Foods!)
Posted by: Dahlink | April 9, 2009 5:46 PM
That little kitty ought to be in pictures.
Posted by: Jen | April 10, 2009 3:06 PM