MSI Press Blog

  Kokee (Sophia) posing with her owner by her choice Sophia came to me courtesy of the one and only local TNR volunteer. Normally, cats in her situation would go to a shelter—but no shelter would take Sophia. She was “too wild.” She’d earned that reputation. The first time she was trapped, she somehow escaped the cage, streaked through the room like lightning, clawed her way up the curtains, hissed, spat, and evaded every attempt to recapture her before vanishing. When she was finally retrapped, she was put under close observation. Snipped, but not subdued, she allowed no one near her. “Not adoptable,” they said. Like so many of my cats before her. Sophia—whom the four-year-old in the household quickly nicknamed Kokee for her Sokoke breed—was special even among the feral arrivals. The Sokoke, from Kenya, is considered the last truly wild domestic cat breed. They are rare in the United States, known for their intelligence, agility, and fierce independence. We placed Sophia in the c...

  Ever heard of the Sokoke breed of cat? We had not -- until we adopted a Sokoke stray! Very unusual markings -- and true to the description, she follows me around like a dog, but there the likeness to a dog disappears. Instead, like other Sokokes (according to description), she is a hands-off lady. "You can come close, and please do feed me and give me lots of treats, but no-no-no, no teaching, even when I roll on the floor and tempt you with my pretty white belly exposed because as soon as you are within reach of me, I will dash away faster than you can imagine and then sit and watch you from just out of arm's reach!" I think with time, we can overcome that particular Sokoke gene! Here is the description if anyone is interested:  Sokoke Cat Breed: Size, Appearance & Personality (cats.com) Oh, and her name is Sophia -- fitting for someone with a sense of the regal! See more  Caturday  posts. Read more  posts about cats . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthl...