Mark's "Zoo": The White Brothers: Monet and Matthew

Mark was away on a trip, and after an errand to the dry side of Maui, Deb's Land Rover somehow veered into the Maui Humane Society parking lot....

Really, I just wasn't ready to head home, and thought I'd make a quick stop at the little retail wall at the Society's office to see if there were any treasures there to bring home for Kazuma and KeaLani. But of course, I was drawn back to the cat adoption area. This consisted of a huge indoor room with nooks, crannies, and various pieces of cat-climbing paraphernalia, and was connected to a large fenced in covered patio area with more of the same.

My eyes were drawn to a white clump of cats who were entwined together in sound sleep. When one of them opened his eyes (one gold and one blue) and looked up at me, I was struck by his elegance. But his partner contined to snooze soundly, waking up only after the first-awake cat got up to inspect me more closely. The second cat, who had just half a tail, regarded me with even more curiosity, fixing his green and gold eyes at mine and checking me out thoroughly.

Apparently I passed their muster, and they were soon doing their best sales pitch on me. One of them began licking my toes, accessible through my sandals. Four different color eyes were beseeching me: Take Us Home Tonight? PLEASE? Since adding a new member -- and TWO, at that -- to our family was an important decision, I bade them goodbye and went home to think.

Something had puzzled me about the pair. The first cat had seemed very vigilant and protective of the other, who acted "differently" somehow. I wondered if there was something else going on. A bit of online research provided a clue: could the cat have a hearing impairment? If so, it was scary to think that he most likely would be adopted -- if he WAS adopted -- into a typical Maui home with outside access and a surely short life. Then I thought about the dynamics of the duo and how awful it would be if they were split up. Immediate call to MHS, right before closing. Were they both there? Yes. Would they hold them for me and I'd be back first thing in the morning? YES.

By this time, Mark was in concert in somewhere, USA, and our brief conversation before he fell into bed didn't allow for a foray into my adventures. Then he had an early morning flight to somewhere else. Well, I guess I'd trust my gut and hope he'd understand...

When I returned the next morning, I did a few checks and it was obvious that the second cat was completely deaf. However, he was fearless and explored everything without any trepidation, causing his protector (and me) great concern. Then I noticed that they already had MHS ear tattoos, which animals don't get until adopted. It turns out that this was their second time in the joint, having been returned from their first adoption because their caregiver had become extremely sick in Europe.

Well, it was obvious that these guys had somehow overcome great survival odds and deserved to have a safe forever home.

Next: Breaking the news to Mark...

Monet and Matthew