About Derry19

You'll never meet another kitty like Derry! Read on. You'll be glad you did! What's to love: His sweet side: Derry jumps up in your lap, purrs, and rubs foreheads with you. These love sessions are so sweet, you'll want to put your phone down, pet him all over, hug him, and rub faces with him until he jumps down or settles in. Your heart will be so full of love and affirmation when Derry showers you with his affection, you won't mind the interruption one bit. His playful nature: Derry can jump so high when you engage him with the feather wand! He plays for keeps, so when he's caught the toy, he's not giving it back! LOL He counts crinkle balls, ping pong balls, and catnip toys among his other favorites. His adventurous side: Derry is always thinking and likes to explore. You will enjoy watching him solve a kitty puzzle box, or figuring out how to get that treat out from a tight space it slid into. You and he can be partners in crime, watching the birds and squirrels outside the window or the fish swimming about the tank. Make sure he's not enjoying the cozy warmth of the dryer or calculating a foray into the outdoors when you come and go! His trainability: He learns quickly what you expect of him and generally respects your wishes. After all, you are the giver of all yummies and the scooper of all yuckies! His looks: Derry is gorgeous and mysterious with his Phantom of the Opera mask, long, lithe build, and striking black and white markings. What a cool cat! His companionship: Derry greets you at the door, keeps you company, guards over you while showering, sleeps by your side, and socializes with your guests. The wrong side of a door is the one he's on, if you're not there with him. His enthusiasm for your affection: When he wants you to pick him up, he will do figure 8's around and through your ankles as you walk, literally stopping you in your tracks for a cuddle-fest. If your arms are full, do the high-step over him until you can lift him and hug it out. What's to learn: His unique purr-sonality: Derry doesn't talk much. As his foster mom, I don't remember ever hearing him vocalize, except to purr when he's happy and hiss when he's spooked. His gaze is simultaneously blank, sweet and intense and it doesn't vary a lot with his moods. His body language is upside down - he looks calm (pupils normal, ears up, fur smooth) when he's annoyed, but the hair along his spine and tail fluff big when he's especially happy and excited to be held and snuggled. Maybe he got switched with his counterpart from a parallel universe, because this handsome boy seems to be all mixed up. His passion for exercising his claws: Derry is a little monkey and will take full advantage of anything he can climb or scratch. For this reason, you will want to: 1. Provide him with LOTS of tall scratching posts (the small ones and flat ones get ignored) and cat trees, 2. Use a combination of deterrents and attractants, training methods, etc., to encourage correct scratching behavior, 3. Get him accustomed to wearing plastic kitty claw caps. You can trim his claws when he's relaxed (he's quite proud of them and will struggle, otherwise), but we haven't tried the caps, yet. If you can't do it yourself, you may need to work with your vet to learn what will work best (light sedative before trimming and capping, for instance), or 4. Be okay with him swinging from the drapes and scratching where he shouldn't (he doesn't get why anything tempting is off-limits). We correct him when we're home, and he respects that in the moment, but we're not home 24/7. Why he won't be at PetSmart: It upsets Derry a lot. He deals with the adoption event experience by slapping small children, hands-y strangers, and well-meaning volunteers. He has sweetly kissed a visitor one second, and struck that same person with claws bared the next. Since his truly adorable nature is not on display there, he's in the foster-to-adopt program so you can meet him in his foster home where he feels most at ease. If you take a chance to find out who Derry really is, you have 30 days to find out how delighted you may be. Dogs, other cats, kids, other considerations: Derry lives with three other cats and LOVES to play with them. His vigorous style of play can be a bit much for the 5-year-old, docile male and the three-year-old mother cat in our household, but our 1-year old male is a great match for his energy, and they are best buds. They all get along and have learned each others' boundaries. Because Derry can be jumpy and lash out when surprised by sudden movements, squealy or jerky (like our printer) noises, or when he's not feeling his happiest, he is not available to a home with pre-school children. He insists on close-walking with you at times, so he is not eligible for a home with elderly or disabled individuals that may be tripped and injured. We're unsure about dogs, but a dog test can be done with specific dogs.

Franklin County
Youngsville, North Carolina 27596