Grey-t things come in threes, or fours, or sixes, or…oy, who can keep track of the very many grey cats that now call Tabby’s Place home? It’s a challenge even though some wonderful adopters have already take a few stormcloud-colored marvels to their forever homes. Intakes in 2024 were such that names from the periodic table of elements and of pop culture items and games were among the lists enlisted to name them all.
The number of cats in the Exalted Suite of Undersocialized Kitties Who Are Slowly Becoming Suitably Socialized (AKA Suite A), seems to be changing constantly. One moment the number is 16, then 15, as of the last known-to-yours-truly count, it was 14. These lowering numbers reflect those blissful adoptions as well as relocations to other spaces in the building. Yet, telling the differences among the remainder of shy little grey guys (That’s a technical term.) is still confounding. It is easy to discern wavy coats from smooth coats. After that, aside from being a member of staff with a chip scanner, knowing who’s who in the Magisterium of Many Greys gets down to teeny bits of white, size, and behaviors…at least when a person can approach closely enough to observe these differentiations.
Cobalt, for his part, is often there with an assist. He enjoys dark, quiet cubbies, but often comes out for pets, treats, and, simply, to casually hang out with visitors. Being a wavy grey, his larger size and sociability are stand-outs to spot for. Once seen, there is no questioning that cobalt-colored Cobalt is none other than Cobalt himself. Of course, Cobalt would think it absurd of anyone to not know who is Cobalt and who is not Cobalt, as he believes it to be intuitively obvious that he alone is Cobalt. Cobalt is correct.
For their parts, neither Polaroid nor Nerf are Cobalt, although they have similarly wavy, grey fur. Both recognize that their names are as much farther away from stately as their stature is from Cobalt’s. That is to say, not much, although they are both smaller than their fellow resident. And, both of their names represent fads that surfaced, submerged, and reemerged decades hence. These two smaller of the wavy greys follow a similar pattern with visitors. Locations, behaviors, and sounds…oh, and drool…provide clues to their identities when they make themselves available for socializing.
One key characteristic of Polaroid is that he is a chatterer. He likes to visit floor sitters whom Cobalt has graced with his company. Polaroid chirps, swirls, and leans. He sometimes aggravates one or more of his smooth-coated grey brethren, then returns for petting and attention, accompanying his own dance with his unique song. Capturing these antics on camera is as futile with a dumb smart phone (My phone’s IQ is around -3) as with the instant cameras he is named for. Higher quality devices are needed to get a clear shot of this swirling grey who is developing in front of our very eyes.
Adapting more slowly, Nerf typically will not (yet) be found on the floor with Polaroid and Cobalt unless there is an amplitude of food and a dearth of humans present. The thing about Nerf, though, is that his shyness is easy to overcome. There is an enormous caveat to “easy.” Nerf can be overcome by his love for attention only when a visitor’s timing is exactly right, and Nerf is already located on a preferred shelf – ideally near Susan – and the visitor’s approach is slow enough that a hand slips unnoticed into soft fur on the back of his neck. The reward of the stars aligning is a writhing rhythm of ridiculousity that often causes Nerf to fall over on top of tuxedoed Susan, who is only ever marginally bothered by him, as long as his visitor maintains a respectful distance. Wriggling around, lolling his head over the edge of the shelf, and drooling are Nerf’s trademarks. Trademarks are key in identifying all Nerfs and Polaroids from similar products, and the protocol holds for cats. Also, for the record, Nerf is every bit as soft as his namesake toys.
Unlike their various namesakes, the easiest things to identify about Cobalt, Polaroid, and Nerf is their similar wavy, grey coats. The importance of identifying their differences is to know how to proceed with visiting each of them. What is grand for one is not always happy-making for another. Happy-making is key to continued socializing and increasing comfort in the suite. They have all come a long way since their arrival at the Place of Places. As socialization visits continue, there is ever growing hope that these three fabulous felines will soon be counted among the adopted. Mixing pop-lingo from different decades, it would be like totally groovy when all of these grey-t wavy greys have homes of their own.