Daniela Gutmann, Kuki Doh & Moka

"A college classmate of mine knew about my love of cats and kept that in mind as she was volunteering at an animal shelter. Soon after she told me that a new litter of kittens had been rescued in North Carolina after their mother was killed by a wild animal. One of those kittens was Kuki Doh. She sent me a few photos of Kuki and I immediately fell in love with her. She was a little fur ball with food all over her face because she had yet to learn how to eat. I waited a couple of weeks until she was a bit older, then my husband and a close friend of ours drove to Secaucus to pick her up. She was so cute jumping in and out of a cat playpen. I noticed that she did not like being held, she had to be on the go. Her foster mom had named her Duchess....which is funny. We re-named her Kuki Doh on our way home because she reminded me of cookie dough. To make it a bit more fun we played with the spelling of her name. To this day Kuki still does not like being held unless you are walking around. She’s an explorer and likes to see what is going on, but on her terms. She’s very independent and always demands attention, but for no more than a few minutes at a time. She’ll let you know when that time is up.A couple years later we thought Kuki needed a buddy. Luckily a friend of ours was fostering a kitten that was found wondering around the streets in Brooklyn, terrified and alone and later taken to a kill shelter in the city. They said she hissed at anyone who came close, which is so hard to believe considering what a gentle cat she turned out to be. Once she was in foster care, she regained her health and became more comfortable around people. Now Moka is so chill and loves to cuddle and will let us pet her as long as we like.Kuki responded well to Moka and almost immediately they were friends. We joke that Moka looks up to Kuki since she has picked up some of her habits and her playing style. When Kuki plays with her toy balls, she sits on them and then looks around as if she’s misplaced them. Now Moka does the exact same thing."Daniela Gutmann is a freelance fashion stylist and designer from Brazil living in Long Island City, New York. She specializes in handmade knitwear and leather goods.www.danielagutmann.com