Julie and Tim Applegate would seem to agree with a quote by Charles Dickens— ”What greater gift than the love of a cat.” And in their case, two is better than one.
The Applegates named their two darling cats after golfers, since Tim is an avid golfer and Julie enjoys playing with the ladies. Rory’s name, of course, is after Rory McElroy and Nelly’s is after Nelly Korda, an up-and-coming golfer when they adopted her.
The two felines were rescued as two month old kittens from a shelter named Just Animals in Mazan, Illinois. Though not from the same litter, Rory and Nelly are like sister and brother companions. They are indoor cats with their own special air tags in the event that Julie and Tim ever need help locating them. Their current age is one and a half years old.
Rory is a gray colored, green-eyed tabby male, who has gotten more markings as he has gotten older. When he was a young kitten Julie and Tim had a difficult time keeping a collar on Rory, but Rory now wears his bright red collar without complaint. Nelly is a yellow-eyed orange female tabby. About eighty percent of orange cats are male, so Nelly is only one of the twenty percent of orange females Her soft beauty is enhanced by her aqua colored collar. Both cats are affectionate, and Rory tends to be more “bossy” whereas Nelly is more “docile.”
It is common to see cats jump up on Christmas trees and to pull down ornaments and decorations, so I wondered how Rory and Nelly do this time of the year with their human owners’ Christmas tree. Fortunately, the cats’ tipping over the tree is a non-issue. That is not to say that Nelly and Rory don’t climb on other surfaces. As a kitten Nelly climbed curtains and enjoyed being on top of the cornice although she doesn’t do that anymore. Instead, she often jumps up to the top of the kitchen cabinets and enjoys peering down as she rests in the alcove area above. Rory tends to jump up high on a regular basis. A spritz of water sprayed by Julie, though, serves as a deterrent to the cats from jumping onto the kitchen counters. On a humorous note, the cats like the up and down movement of the hurricane shutters, and a couple of times have gotten “stuck” behind a shutter.
Non-toxic plants on the lanai and in the house are safe for the cats, and Nelly and Rory seem to maneuver around them without bothering the plants. The two felines enjoy lying out in the sun on the lanai. Nelly and Rory follow their favorite humans to the bannister or door when Julie and Tim leave the house and greet them upon their return. These intelligent, loyal companions are also children-friendly. They have sweet dispositions and are well socialized—they eat twice a day and use their litter box, which Julie cleans twice a day. The two cats get along well with each other and “play fight.” This interviewer was amused watching the cats play with springs. Julie threw the springs and the cats scrambled after them (kind of like a dog playing fetch). Favorite toys and objects include: catnip; climbing in and out of any box or cube; and chasing any kind of bug. They are good travelers, too, and since Tim is a pilot, they are accustomed to flying with Julie and Tim to their northern home. At their home in Illinois, the cats especially like being on the hammock and also taking in the sights through the window.
At night, the cats sleep at the end of Julie and Tim’s bed, but sometimes at 4:00 AM they decide to play tag. Time to shut the bedroom door! They also favor occupying Tim and Julie’s laps when their owners are on the computer. Enjoying the antics of these two affectionate and entertaining pets enriches Tim and Julie’s lives, and Nelly and Rory definitely are inseparable members of their family.
