Colleen McCarthy, Hazel & Jake
Colleen & Hazel
HRH Queen Panther Hazel was adopted in October of 2019. I submitted an application to Beth Stern in August after my cat Kitty Blanchett passed away. Beth does a good job of highlighting what she calls “perfectly imperfect” pets for adoption and I was looking into that. I was approved to adopt in the program but I was going on vacation, moving, and starting a new job so the timing wasn’t right. I decided I would focus on it when I returned from Morocco in October.
While I was on vacation in Morocco in Chefchaouen—which is known as a cat city—I received an email from the foster program saying that Beth had picked out this cat for me. I didn’t think twice about it and said yes. I picked up Hazel a couple of days after returning from the trip. Hazel, fka Shadow, was actually rescued by one of Beth’s followers. Hazel is referred to as the panther queen.
Colleen & Jake
In August of 2020, I moved from a small apt in the LES to Brooklyn where I had more space. I had no intentions of getting another cat—I always felt like cat number two is the gateway to full-on Grey Gardens cat lady— but Jake caught my eye on Beth Stern’s foster page. I just had a feeling about him. It was thought that he gets easily overstimulated and wouldn’t be a good fit for a home with other cats. They later learned he was actually great with kittens and earned the moniker Uncle Jake because he was the fun and mischievous cat who liked to mentor the kittens. Also, it surprisingly turned out that he was okay with adult cats. When I saw this new information posted, I reached out to a contact at North Shore Animal League to inquire about him.
I messaged on a Saturday and on Monday Jake was dropped off at my apartment for a curbside adoption. Turns out he had a line of adopters and I was the one chosen…that’s a lot of pressure considering Beth’s fosters get a lot of visibility.
When things are meant to be they just happen…and in this case, I realized Jake’s gotcha-date was the 2-year anniversary of the passing of my cat Kitty Blanchette. I think she made this happen.
It’s presumed he was someone’s pet and dumped. He was rescued from a feral colony where he wasn’t able to eat and was getting bullied.
As you might be able to tell from the photos Jake is quite a foodie now. I’m unsure if it’s because in a past life he was a top chef or if it’s from his time in a feral colony. He’s quite comical when it comes to food and has to inspect every morsel in the house. He loves bacon, eggs, prosciutto (no American ham for him), and chicken.
He kinda looks like a Muppet.
He also has a big personality and is very expressive. Even though he does get overstimulated sometimes, he lets me hold him and pet him. He loves attention and he loves to follow me around and to play. He hates to be brushed.
Having a Beth Stern foster means having an Instagram account for the cat so the cat’s followers can check in. It was really kind of funny and crazy to watch Jake’s follower count rise when his adoption was announced and to see how many people were also invested in him. Jake likes to keep his Instagram light and funny and I think his personality shows through.
“Hazel took some time to warm up to Jake. In fact, she’s still warming up. But they live a peaceful—or mostly peaceful—coexistence.”
Hazel took some time to warm up to Jake. In fact, she’s still warming up. But they live a peaceful—or mostly peaceful—coexistence. Jake tries to win Hazel over but he’s a typical annoying brother and the fact that he knocks her food down off the counter probably isn’t helping. There are times they sit and bird watch together or they’ll both be on the couch or bed but Hazel is still very skeptical of Jake.
In the modern-day era of Grey Gardens Williamsburg, Jake and Hazel— otherwise known as Jazel— rule.
Now that it’s the work-from-home covid era, Hazel likes to show off her mental prowess and opinions during zoom calls by muting me or shutting off the camera. That coupled with her other signature move—putting her butt directly in the camera.
Usually, the first time I have a call with somebody new they comment on my jungle wallpaper which is the ultimate zoom background. I leave out the fact that at a moment’s notice it will turn into a live-action jungle with house panthers darting across the screen.
My colleagues and clients refer to Hazel as the real brainpower behind Colleen. She’s become such a mainstay on client calls that when she doesn’t interrupt a call the client asks if she’s OK. Just the other day we had a team office immersion day and we had to create profiles for ourselves and of course Hazel created one, too.
Jake tends to spend the day by my side waiting to steal my lunch. He’s known for his swipe-action paw. No food is safe.
Colleen McCarthy is a public relations professional living in Brooklyn. She spends her spare time honing her inner Kris Jenner by managing JaZel’s social media profile @housepanthersofbrooklyn. She’s also flirting with stand-up comedy.