Rajah and Regina
In December 2007, Christina, Jason and Olivia Hart of Manhattan stumbled on the ASPCA Mobile Adoption vehicle on Broadway and 77th Street. They stepped inside to play with all the cats, but there was one named Billy who stole their hearts. We recently caught up with Christina about her feline addition.
When we first met Billy, a one-year-old tabby with a beautiful brown coat, we weren’t looking to adopt any pets. In fact, I was an adamant dog person and did not want a cat. So we went home without a cat.
Later at home, Jason and Olivia kept mentioning the sweet cat they met at the van and wondered how it would feel to have a cat. I mentioned that owning a pet is a huge responsibility. After a long family discussion, we decided we would return for Billy.
By this time, the adoption van was gone, so we went to the ASPCA Adoption Center. We mentioned to them that we were interested in Billy who had been on the adoption van. After searching for him, the adoption agent found Billy in a closed-off area. It turned out that Billy hadn't been feeling well, but was okay to adopt.
Billy came home with us and became Rajah. He was named after the tiger in Aladdin because of his regal stature and tiger stripes. He was very lazy at first, and it got so bad that we became very concerned. It was only a day before Christmas so we decided to take Rajah back to the ASPCA to make sure he was okay. He ended up being admitted for a serious viral infection and spent almost a week in the hospital. The ASPCA finally released him with a clean bill of health (after picking up the medical expenses!), and Rajah has been a wonderful addition to our home.
Rajah is very regal and has a ton of personality. He is a chatty kitty and will meow when he's hungry or craving some attention. He loves to play with balls that have a ball inside, and he has a feline friend named Regina who was adopted from the ASPCA in 2009. Gina is a tabby as well and is Rajah's kid sister. She loves to sleep in boxes or bags. She also loves to torture Rajah.
All in all our family is complete with the addition of our two feline friends!