The Basepaws family is blessed with so many incredible cat guardians and cats. And we want to get to know you ALL! We were recently honored to speak to an inspiring fur mom Roxanne and meet her lovely little Basepaws cat Casper.
Roxanne is a single mom to her 21-year-old autistic son and a pawsome pet guardian to two amazing kitties, Stormy and Casper. "While my son is not an animal person (he just ignores them), I can’t survive without them!" - shared Roxanne. Stormy, the older of the fur babies, pawed his way into Roxanne's life in 2013 together with his brother Wade.
Sadly, lovely Wade passed away a couple of years ago, leaving Stormy and Roxanne completely heartbroken. Perhaps on a mission to fill the painful void, about a year after the tragic loss, a special baby kitten came into the family. Little did they know, this small, spunky cat they named Casper was about to turn all of their lives around.
"When my dog passed away in 2013, I found two feral brother cats, Wade and Stormy, at a local shelter that I adopted. A few months later, Wade became a total lap cat that was obsessed with needing love and attention. Stormy became a love bug to his own degree. Sadly, after four years with my two boys, my amazing Wade passed away from cancer. Over the next several months, Stormy and I learned to adjust without his super sweet brother around. Then one day in May, everything changed." -.
Casper's mom Grayzie
"Across the street, at my parents’ farm, a young stray cat showed up; she was super lovely and decided that she now lived at the farm." - continued Roxanne. The family named this silvery blue little darling Grayzie. The green-eyed doll ended up carrying out a healthy litter of 5 kittens. Two kittens were the same meowgical shade of gray as their mom (the Russian Blue shade), two were gray-and-black tabbies and the remaining baby was the one and only Casper.
As the kittens grew, Roxanne and her family successfully homed all the lovely kittens, except for one: "We thought Casper was spoken for, but on the day that he could go to his new home, that person backed out. Then another person backed out. As all the other kittens already had homes, I thought, 'Oh crap! I’m taking home a kitten'".
Roxanne usually prefers adopting adult animals, given the high energy of young kittens and puppies. But who could ever resist the small bundle like Casper? "Casper had those piercing blue eyes and that poofy face that I could not refuse. And, thus began the days of the devil kitten days!"
Basepaws cat Casper with his littermates
We asked Roxanne how the lovely new addition adapted to the family. "When Stormy finally got to meet Casper face to face, he was not impressed. I believe that he was overwhelmed by the tiny critter’s enthusiasm, tenacity, and energy. However, he eventually came around to accept the spastic creature. […] As Casper continued to grow and develop, Stormy, my son and I all began to adjust to the tornado of craziness added to the already crazy environment of our home. He has been very interesting to get to know."
Casper is a loving, spunky and cheerful cat. "He purrs a lot" - shared his hooman - "and he squeaks when he purrs (which is adorable!). I have had people tell me that some Siamese cats do that. He loves to run around the house and play. Plastic bags are a real favorite of his! He especially loves to sit on the couch behind the curtain and wait to take off like a rocket when something catches his eye."
Roxanne added that Casper absolutely loves to greet people at the door, which is why he affectionately calls him her little dog cat. He loves being near his hooman, and he enjoys his food very much. "He is very food crazed, and he can be a bit violent near dinner time (not one of my favorite traits). But he is very entertaining and joyful to have around. I am enjoying having a cat that I can pick up and carry around if I want and one that will curl up on me and chill. It is nice to get that kind of bond."
Basepaws cat Casper with his hooman Roxanne
When not with his hooman friend, Casper loves to spend time with his older brother, Stormy. "They play together for a bit, but Stormy tries to stop when Casper starts being a bully (which is a lot). At other times, you can find them curled up together." Stormy loves to groom his baby brother who purrs the hours away. For the most part, these two bundles get along great. But just like any other pair of siblings, the two don't always see eye to eye. "When Casper is a little too forceful with Stormy, Stormy will just give me that 'Really, mom? Why? Why is he here?' look. I look at him with empathy and tell him I couldn’t resist the fuzzy little blue-eyed creature."
We asked Roxanne why she chose Basepaws for her little Casper: "As Casper began to grow, his spunk and fearless personality shone through. There were definitely signs of Siamese in this little guy’s personality, but how much Siamese?" When she discovered Basepaws, Roxanne figured that she could help our research by contributing to the database while eventually learning how 'Siamese' her cat really is.
"After just over six months of waiting, I finally got Casper’s DNA results, and I was super excited about what they showed! Granted, it only listed his western breeds, so the "devil breed" was not listed, as it is an eastern breed. As for the western breed that he had the most in common with, it showed Ragdoll! I was like, Ragdoll?!? I never even thought of that." – Roxanne was excited. After reading about the cuddly breed, she started recognizing some prominent Ragdoll-like features in her cat.
"Casper has very thick and super soft fur. I love to pet him because of how incredibly soft he is. He also has a 'poufy' little face, which is definitely not a Siamese trait. However, all of these things are Ragdoll traits! His greeting people at the door like a dog? Turns out that Ragdolls are the 'dogs of the cat world', which explains so much! I hope that he someday gets the whole calm and docile traits of the Ragdoll, but I’m not holding my breath."
Casper's second match was the Russian Blue. This didn't really surprise Roxanne, given the appearance of Casper's mom and some aspects of his personality. The third western breed matched to Casper was the British Shorthair. Roxanne is looking forward to the addition of Eastern breeds though. As the top match she is expecting none other but the royal Siamese!
"It would simply explain a lot about him. He has the seal-point pattern of a Siamese and he is very tenacious, always curious and thinking. Although both of these traits are associated with Ragdoll and Russian Blue breeds too (respectively), Casper is as strong-willed and vocal as the Siamese." We are very curious to find out whether Roxanne's suspicions are on point!
"Casper is only 9 months old, so we have so much left to see from him. I am anxiously awaiting him to be fully grown to see exactly how his coloring and body shape turn out. His overall health so far has been good, and he did great when he got fixed and microchipped. However, already at this young age, he has very bad gingivitis issues (but no tarter buildup). Now he is on Perio Support, and I am working at brushing his teeth."
Basepaws cat Casper
Meeting Roxanne and her lovely little bundles of joy was our utmost pleasure. We love hearing from all our clients and sharing their stories. We hope to grant Roxanne and Basepaws cat Casper many more pawsome updates to their DNA report very soon! Roxanne, thank you for taking the time to share your inspiring story with us and our readers.
"I love my cats very much, and I love both of them equally, but differently. With Stormy, I have a bond built up over the years. I am the first person in his whole life that he ever learned to trust and love. Casper I have known since he was born. I have watched him grow up, learned all about his personality and quirks, and have been falling in love with him more and more as I got to know him better. I can hold Casper and have him curl up on me, which forms a unique bond which I do not share with Stormy. Both of my cats are amazing in their own rightful ways, and even though I often say that I have an angel and a devil, they are both greatly loved. I cannot imagine my life without either of them here." - pet hooman Roxanne.