Cats of the Month, June 2018: Traeger and Mose
As animal people, we like to think that we choose our pets. But in most cases, the pets actually choose us. And such is the story for Kjerstin Wood and her boyfriend, Cody Crazybull. The couple had decided to adopt a cat from the Seattle Humane Society, but when Kjerstin saw two cats on the website who had been at the shelter for several months, and who were required to be adopted as a bonded pair, she wanted to meet both. The two boys, Traeger and Mose (previously Teacake and Mooncake), were in the shy cat room, because Mooncake didn’t really like people and would hide on an upper shelf.
“Traeger was napping right up against the window, and he was very affectionate,” Kjerstin remembers. “But Mose wouldn’t come down to see us. When we turned to leave the room, Mose let out a loud meow, like he was yelling for us to come back. Cody immediately turned back around and went into the room. Mose jumped down to a lower shelf and allowed Cody to pet him, and we knew instantly that we were going home with these two furry friends. He picked us.”
The brothers—our June Cats of the Month—were born on June 26, 2016, and Kjerstin and Cody adopted them on April 22, 2017. On the way home from the shelter, the couple tried to think of names for their new kitties. “We decided that we each would pick a name from one of our favorite TV shows,” Kjerstin says. “Traeger is named after Chris Traeger—Rob Lowe’s character on Parks & Recreation, because he’s more outgoing. Mose is named after Mose Schurte, Dwight’s cousin on The Office, because he was shyer and a little weird—ha ha.”
But the names don’t stop there! Kjerstin fully admits, “We have too many nicknames for them!” Traeger, who is a tabby, answers to Traegernometry (think trigonometry), Traegermeister, Bobcat, Traeger and Tiger, and many more. Mose, who’s a Tuxedo kitty, also goes by Mose Bartholomew, Little Bat, Fangs, Bearcat, Panther, and many more.
These sweet kitties are both picky eaters, but they go wild for freeze-dried salmon and shrimp treats. “We’ve actually trained them to sit before they receive their dinner or treats,” Kjerstin says, which is quite a feat. For toys, Mose hits the bottle—“these stuffed faux wine bottles with cute names, like Mos-cat-o and Catbernet Sauvignon,” Kjerstin says. “I originally bought them as a joke, but Mose loves to play fetch with them and will fling them around the house. He has a grand old time running up to us, dropping them at our feet, and waiting for us to throw them down the hallway.”
Mose also has a love for blue Ikea bags. Kjerstin and Cody bought a cat tunnel from Ikea, but upon returning home, it was clear that Mose preferred the bag to the tunnel. “He likes to lay under it and then pretend like we can’t see him,” she says. “Then he attacks our feet as we walk by.”
Traeger is a little less active than Mose, and he’s a little on the chunky side because of it. “He greatly prefers curling up on or under a blanket in the crook of your knees on the couch, which is how we spend a lot of weekend mornings,” Kjerstin says. “He loves having his belly pet.” Still, Traeger has a favorite toy, although it wasn’t actually meant for him. “We bought a stuffed toy puffin on a trip to Iceland in 2016, before we adopted them,” she says. “Traeger stole it from our room one day, and he was just having so much fun wrestling with it that we decided it could be permanently his.”
While Traeger is snuggling, Mose is happily perching from favorite outlooks around the house, loudly letting his humans know he’s there. “Mose has the loudest purr I have ever heard,” Kjerstin says. “He’s very vocal, and he loves to remind us when dinner time is.”
Although the couple was told that Traeger and Mose might not be very social or cuddly because they were undersocialized as kittens, Kjerstin says the exact opposite is true. “They are sweet, affectionate, and full of weird personality quirks, and I couldn’t imagine our life without them!” she says. “And we’re so impressed with how well they do when we have friends over. It just goes to show that if you give shy cats a chance, you can find incredibly warm and loving companions.”
Kjerstin and Cody have been bringing the boys to Rainier Veterinary Hospital for just about a year. “We originally came to Rainier Vet for a third opinion on Traeger’s tail,” Kjerstin explains. Traeger had been self-inflicting trauma to his tail, and two other vets were offering only drastic and expensive procedures. “A friend insisted that we go to Rainier, and we are so glad we did! Dr. Bolotin was the first vet we saw there, and she spent a ton of time with us, hearing Traeger’s whole story, asking lots of thoughtful questions, answering our questions, and giving us honest advice on the best path forward. It was so refreshing, as I had been so frustrated by inaccurate information and exorbitant procedures being recommended by the other vets. It was clear that Dr. Bolotin had Traeger’s best interests at heart, which really meant a lot to us!”
Traeger is showing improvement—he takes fluoxetine, the couple keeps his tail wrapped unless he’s supervised, and he gets as much playtime as possible. “At this point, we’re hoping he will outgrow some of his anxious tendencies,” Kjerstin says. “And we’re so glad to know that we can rely on the staff at Rainier Vet for follow-up advices as we continue to decide the best course of action for him.”
Even though the couple moved from the area to Belltown, “we will not take our pets anywhere else because the doctors have all been thoughtful, caring, and patient,” Kjerstin says. And so our staff saw Mose not too long ago for the removal of all but four of his teeth. “I absolutely love that the staff know and love Mose and Traeger. It made our day when we brought them in for their annual wellness checkup, which was the first time Mose had been in, and a few staff members poked their heads into the exam room so that they could meet Traeger’s brother.”
And who wouldn’t want to meet the sibling of such a sweet kitty? We absolutely adore these two boys and are so grateful to have you in the Rainier Vet family, Kjerstin and Cody!
About Our Cat of the Month Program
Here’s how our Cat of the Month program works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any kitty patients who visit us during the prior month are eligible.
