Britney Johnson & Sloan
Sloan is the embodiment of Big CatEnergy. She is fiery, playful, curious and quite the tease. She is amostly white calico with adorable black and orange patches on her body andface. My favorite is the perfect black circle on her side.
When I first saw Sloan, previously named Jinny, for adoption on Ps9pet's Instagram they described her as a wild-child with a temper in serious need of socialization. As the weeks went on I continued to see this big-eyed wild-child on my feed and wondered if she was really as crazy as they made her out to be. Eventually her temper earned her a name change from docile Jinny, to a more fitting Witches-Brew. I thought, "Jeez, who in the world would want this kitten if they keep telling everyone how psycho she is?!" For Halloween, they dressed her up as a bat and I couldn't resist scheduling a visit to meet this ferocious feline.
When I met her she didn't quite live up to my expectation of the infamous Witches-Brew. She wasn't a fan of the other animals up for adoption, so she burrowed into my lap and nuzzled her face into my arm to shield her eyes (which I now know is her signature "I'm terrified" move.) I couldn't believe this itty-bitty ball of fear was the fierce kitten I’d been reading about. That was it, I was a goner. I submitted my application and within two weeks I became the proud cat parent of the tiniest, 3-month-old wild-child you ever did meet—complete with ear mites, ringworm and a wicked upper respiratory infection. I soon came to understand how Witches-Brew earned her name.
As someone who has raised bottle-fedand feral kittens before, Sloan really tested my limits. There were times whenI wondered if I'd made a mistake and was in way over my head. After years ofgetting to know each other, learning her boundaries and body language, we havea very special bond that I would've never expected.
Sloan is the most loyal cat I've ever had and never ceases to keep life entertaining. She is smart as a whip and while I am currently training her commands (she's mastered "sit"), sometimes I think I'm the one being trained. She is super social and always wants to be in the center of the crowd, even if she doesn't want to be pet—being admired from a distance is much more her speed. She loves fetch more than any dog I know and is never more than two steps behind me at any given moment. I truly can't imagine my life without my feisty, funny, beautiful Sloan.
Sloan has quite the reputation. Once when I went to my roommates work and introduced myself to one of her coworkers he responded with “Oh! You’re Sloan’s mom!”. She is quite the ham, so my roommates would always have funny videos of her on their Snapchat stories.
Sloan isn’t a very cuddly cat. She snuggles with a select few, mostly my roomies and me, and only on her terms. She is very social and loves to be the center of attention in a group, however she doesn’t love being pet. Although, she loves kisses! Even if she’s in a bad mood if you make a kissy sound in front of her face she’ll point her nose at you and let you give her a smooch. She also LOVES to play fetch. She will bring you a toy, or several, anytime she wants to play. If you don’t throw it she’ll bring you a new one and set it on you. If that doesn’t get you going she’ll lightly tap you with her paw until you get the hint. She’s also obsessed with boxes and bags. She’ll choose them over any cat bed that I buy her.
Our daily routine is pretty standard during the week. Wake up, feed her, go to work, come home, feed her and play with her, etc. During the weekends, she loves being lazy with us and sleeping in.
One funny thing about Sloan is she doesn’t realize she can jump onto high surfaces. For instance, she won’t jump up on the counter tops unless there is a chair or something nearby that she can jump onto first. This works in my favor because I don’t have to worry about her getting onto surfaces we don’t want her on.
I adopted her shortly after moving to New York, and three apartments later she's helped New York feel like home. Four years of sharing my life with Sloan has taught me a lot of patience. I'm a natural planner and maybe a teeny bit controlling. (Where my Virgos at??) There were times when I would get so frustrated because I wanted her to act a certain way—be cuddlier, like to be pet, etc. But once I gave up that sense of control I realized that her quirks are really what make her personality so special and I can't imagine her being anything but herself. I'm so thankful I took a chance on that adorable wild-child.
Britney Johnson is a 27-year-old Graphic Designer living in Bed-Stuy with her 4-year-old cat Sloan.