Well, my friends, you wondered, you asked, you e-mailed me, you guessed…

…and, amazingly, every single one of you was wrong. Hanz and Franz are not who anyone thought they were.

But with Hanz living large in his forever home and Franz set to join him next Tuesday, the time has come to unveil their identities.

Hanz, a.k.a. the single strongest (and hardest-to-medicate) cat at Tabby’s Place, is none other than Luke. The marmalade-and-cream titan also holds the distinction of having the biggest, roundest head we have ever seen.

It was Hanz – I mean Luke – who claimed Ms. MightyAdopter first. Forget San Francisco; this dear woman left her heart in Suite B. One look at Luke’s hunky, chunky face and one encounter with his sweetness was all it took. She would be back – for her heart and its new owner, Luke – in two days’ time.

But somehow, Ms. MightyAdopter wasn’t done. She hadn’t come looking for two cats, not today…but Franz had other plans.

You can’t tell me that things don’t happen the way they are supposed to, in spite of our “plans” and in spite of what “makes sense.” And you can’t tell me that there isn’t a great Guide gently bending each of our paths, human and feline, in the directions they are meant to take. There’s no “reason” Ms. MightyAdopter should have even met Franz. Not only wasn’t he in the suite she visited…he wasn’t even in a visitable suite.

Franz is handsome Hughley, and he’s spent a long time – too long, by his account – back in our hospital. He’s not sick, exactly…he’s just been dogged by some annoying diarrhea, and it’s been a long, trial-and-error process of weaning him onto the right diet to keep that GI tract happy. Normally our hospital isn’t a hot-spot for adopters; in fact, it’s technically in the “staff-only” part of Tabby’s Place.

But with her staff escort leading the way, Ms. MightyAdopter had a date with destiny - I mean Franz – I mean Hughley.

And so it was that she put the two strongest cats at Tabby’s Place on hold in the space of a single hour.

As I type this e-mail, Luke is loving life with Ms. MightyAdopter and eight (yes, eight) feline siblings. It’s too bad Hughley hasn’t had a version of an Advent calendar where he can open the doors and get a piece of chocolate to mark each day in the countdown, because we know he knows he’s bound for glory. His new mama has visited faithfully. Next week Hughley joins Luke and becomes the tenth much-loved cat in the MightyAdopter family.

Why the wait? After all, Ms. MightyAdopter has a lot (a lot) of experience with cats, so finishing Hughley’s present course of medication should be no problem, right?

Remember why we named Luke and Hughley Hanz and Franz?

After Luke, Hughley is the strongest cat at Tabby’s Place, and he just might surpass Luke as hardest-to-medicate. Although wiry tuxedo Hughley lacks Luke’s obvious heft, he packs a punch (and a kick, and a wild twist) when a silly human bean tries to do what Hughley doesn’t like. Suffice to say it’s best for Hughley to finish his meds here at Tabby’s Place.

Still, there’s at least one thing stronger than Luke and Hughley combined…and that’s Ms. MightyAdopter’s love for her boys. If these muscle-cats should need meds in the future, I’m confident that love will get her through all the meowing and wrestling it takes to pill them.

Meantime, there’s a mighty lot of love in the forecast for two strong mushballs and their very special new mama. And that’s enough to pump anyone up.

More Blog Posts