Momo (on the left) and Cleo (the right) are two female tuxedo cats. Despite their striking resemblance, the two are unrelated. Neither of them had a happy childhood and spent time on the streets before finding their forever home.
When Momo was around a year old, she was discovered starving and wandering the streets with a ribbon around her neck. Nobody came to the shelter searching for her, so she must have been an unwelcome gift.
Cleo was discovered with both of her hind legs crushed in a parking lot when she was only 10 weeks old. She needed to wear an external fixation for roughly two months while her bones healed.
That was back in the day. These two gorgeous ladies are now happy, adored, and on their way to becoming IG rock stars with a vast and growing fan base on their profile.
Annabelle Bückner and her partner adopted these two adorable kittens, and she generously shared their story with us all. It all started with a visit to her local shelter in Hamburg, Germany, where she informed us the following:
Momo was sick with cat flu when we first met her, but she appeared curious and interested in us. We fell in love with her right away and took her home with us. We quickly realized she’d be an indoor cat. For the first few weeks, she suffered asthma attacks and has an odd tendency of consuming objects like plastic, ribbons of any kind, and human hair. We weren’t mentally prepared to let our first cat roam the neighborhood alone after she was hit by a car. We couldn’t leave her alone all day while we were gone, so we decided to get her a sister right away.
Cleo was adopted at that time. The veterinarians did a fantastic job! Her hip is a little undeveloped, and she can’t sit correctly, but she’s otherwise fit and cheerful. She begs for cuddles all the time, meowing until you stop what you’re doing to give her the attention she craves. I’ve even felt her curl up on top of my head to sleep on the upper half of my pillow, right next to me, at night.
We had to dig a little deeper because we were cat-like curious, so we asked Annabelle a few more questions…
Q: What is their current age?
Momo was roughly a year old when we adopted her in October of 2016. Cleo was adopted when she was about 6 months old in February of 2017. We’ll leave the math to you.
Q: Did the names you chose for them have any significance?
Momo was a lemur in an anime/cartoon show we were watching at the time called “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” We named her after a lemur who made similar cooing sounds. By the way, the television show is lovely; it’s about how various individuals must work together to bring peace to the globe. It’s also very nature-related. We liked the message, so we decided it would be an excellent name for a cat we had rescued.
Cleo’s hind legs were broken, and she had to wear external braces for around two months. Her legs couldn’t truly develop because she was still a kitten at the time. She couldn’t sit properly and would extend her legs in front of her instead of bending them beneath her body (like she did when she had the fixtures), giving her a diva appearance. Because it reminded us of Cleopatra, we named it Cleo.
Q: What’s their relationship like?
Because their personalities are so dissimilar, they aren’t the greatest of friends. Momo is quite particular about the things she likes and dislikes. Everything must take place at her own pace. Except when she wants to play or hug, she’s usually quiet and distant.
Cleo’s behavior is still that of a kitten. She gets really enthusiastic very quickly and hops around a lot. She’s always up for a game, and she’s always up for a snuggle. At times, I believe it is too much for Momo. They do, however, play together, chase each other around, and clean each other on occasion, which is always pleasant to witness.
Momo used to be a little overweight and quite indolent before we got Cleo. She’s doing a lot better now that Cleo is here. When we’re not home, I get the impression that they power each other up and enjoy each other’s presence, despite their differences.
Q: What is the naughtiest thing each of them has ever done?
Well, Mr. Mau, our first cat, was adopted when he was only 3 weeks old. We bottle-fed him (every 2 hours, even at night), took him on walks (without a leash) as he grew older, and sat in cafés in the summer. He was both our child and dearest friend. When he was 1,5 years old, he was hit by a car. I had to scrape him off the street, which was the most difficult and awful thing I’d ever had to do.
Only his ashes and a few whiskers remained, which I tied together with a gorgeous red ribbon next to his urn on our dresser. One day, Momo climbed up the dresser and devoured the entire whisker package, including the ribbon. I had a feeling it was her, but I wasn’t sure until I noticed the ribbon when cleaning the cat potty. I immediately began to cry.
Q: What is the funniest thing that any of them has ever done?
Momo is calm and collected; she moves like a panther and avoids doing anything that isn’t absolutely required. She’s a woman in every sense of the word. Cleo, on the other hand, has poor footwork as a result of her injured rear legs. She was once wandering around aimlessly until she jumped headfirst into the area between an armchair and the wall. We looked closer because she didn’t seem to be able to get out, and we observed her standing on her front paws, squeezed between the tiny spaces and unable to move. We waited a few minutes, figuring it would be better if she handled the matter on her own, but she couldn’t move an inch. It was a little depressing at times, but it made us laugh so hard. You’d think she’d remembered her lesson since it happened once a week.
Q: Do you have any plans to add more cats to your household?
We live in a 36-square-meter (= 390-square-foot) apartment. We can’t take in any more cats because our area is entirely full with two humans and two cats. However, one day I’d like to relocate to a large house with a garden (perhaps in the country?) and become a foster home. That is my long-term objective.
Thank you very much to Annabelle for the story and, of course, to Cleo and Momo for being so adorable on our page!
