Bethany Watson, Minerva & Loki
In 2016, I lost my beloved soulmate cat, Oliver, when he was only 7. It was sudden and devastating, as Oliver had seen me through many hard transitions in my life and I wasn’t prepared to lose my constant companion. After that, I said I wouldn’t adopt again as I didn’t want to let myself get that attached to another innocent animal. My downfall, however, came when my friend Danielle adopted two cats from Happy Homes Animal Rescue in New Jersey. I started following their Instagram account, and pretty quickly fell in love with a one-eyed white Persian.[gallery ids="1881,1886" type="rectangular"]
I’ve always had a thing for one-eyed cats, and here was one literally staring me in the face! Minerva (or “Poppy,” as she was named then) had been rescued from the streets of Cairo, Egypt by an incredible man named Ahmed. She was motherless and so small, so he took her in and nursed her around the clock until she was strong and healthy enough to be sent to Happy Homes. (Here’s an article that details her rescue and has pics of how she looked back then! http://www.lovemeow.com/man-saves-one-eyed-kitten-from-streets-what-a-difference-a-week-can-ma-2429386291.html)
[gallery ids="1879,1880" type="rectangular"]Thanks to Happy Homes’ Instagram I also quickly fell in love with a black Persian cat who just looked spooked; I felt like he needed someone to tell him that everything was going to be ok!
That’s how Minerva Purr and Loki came to live with me. They’re both the sweetest kittens you could ever hope to meet.Minerva is a feisty barn cat who loves to race and climb; she only sees me as a tall tree that she can scale to get up higher. (I have many leg and torso scratches to prove this.)Loki is my little soft-hearted boy. If he was a high school student, he’d be the Goth poet who sits alone at lunch and writes sad songs with a quill pen while listening to Modest Mouse. He just wants to be held against my chest all the time, and is definitely the kitten who soothes my heart after a long day. I can’t imagine life without either one of them now, and I’m so grateful we all found each other.
Bethany Watson is an actor, producer, and voiceover artist. Originally from Wisconsin, Bethany has lived in NYC for the last 5 years and considers it her home. She recently moved on from her job as co-host on the nationally-syndicated radio program “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,” and can now be seen in the web series she co-produced and stars in, “Labeled." She loves so much coffee and assumes her cats have British accents.