When the first three Hobbits came into their colony from the 161-cat hoarding situation, we put up this sign to make sure their transition was at their own speed, not ours.

As you can see, it’s not so necessary now. Frodo, Hugo and Bowman have definitely passed the first course. Now that they’ve discovered what nice creatures humans can be, they hang out at the door, waiting to meet their special adopter. They may need a bit of monitoring, but we think they’re ready to go!

Hugo is the most affectionate, always ready for some lap time. They are all healed up from their ear mites, though Hugo may have his little pirate ear permanently. Along with a lack of human interaction, we assume they didn’t have enough resources like scratchers, litter boxes, toys and even food and water. They’re making up for lost time now.

 
Bowman’s head wound is healing nicely. He’s a little handshy but also likes to cuddle on laps. They’re happy to play with just about anything – especially the Cat Catcher mouse – and are learning how to use the scratcher too.

Frodo is also a little lover, ready to be your lapcat. He likes to have his tummy rubbed. He’s a little fellow, but holds his own in WWF matches with Bowman. Once they realized they had more than enough territory, they’ve been good with their litter boxes, excepting an occasional hanging-off-the-wrong-side mishap.

We know they had very little space in the garage where they were warehoused. This translates into them constantly rubbing on each other when they’re not sleeping or playing, like a big, purring, 12-legged, 3-tailed rare cat species :). It may mean they would need to learn a different language with a non-Hobbit cat who might not enjoy having his space invaded the same way.

The other 4 Hobbits are in foster care. Bilbo is the other longhaired cat, the one who looks like he has the most Persian in him, with his sweet little squishy face.

He and Erling are the most outgoing and starting to enjoy being petted. Erling looks a lot like Bowman, only with more round-faced American Shorthair heritage.

Hobson and Ferdinand are much more shy, not ready for much people contact yet. Here Hobson shows two different emotional states. The first one is a little frightened, with pupils dilated, ready to hide. The second one shows a soft blink, a bit more relaxed and possibly ready to interact, as long as we go slowly.

These guys also love their Hobbit brothers, hanging out with and rubbing on them for confidence. Ferdinand loves to sleep in the bathroom sink.

Ferdinand’s right eye will need some additional care. We think he has some vision in it, but will need an evaluation at the specialist to know whether more can be done. (Please see our Health Fund page for more details on how you can help Ferdinand.)

We hope to bring in Bilbo and Erling this week. Maybe their brothers can tutor them to pass their cat course even more quickly!