aka: Phelie

(now Yum-Yum Ankrom, aka Yummy)

Born: late 1998

Adopted: Spring 2001

Likes: 

• Wendy’s dad

• toy fur mice

Dislikes: 

• Maliouba

• grooming herself

Talents: Hmm…we’ll have to get back to you on this one. She is just an all-around nice cat.

Adoption Story: This one is a little strange. We first met Ophelia when she was still Yum-Yum Pierce. She was Craig’s aunt in those days and was really spoiled by Craig’s grandma. Yum-Yum was NOT a friendly cat. In fact, we’d have to put at the top of her dislikes list: human contact. For some reason, she really liked Craig. Grandma Pierce said Craig was the first person she’d ever seen that Yum-Yum would let pet her. When Yum-Yum went to the vet to be spayed, the wrong cat got sent home. Grandpa Pierce thought something was wrong when the cat jumped up in his lap. A few minutes later the phone rang. It was the vet saying the Pierces had gotten the wrong cat. The owners of the nice cat didn’t want Yum-Yum.

Sadly, Craig’s grandma passed away a month before our wedding. Before she died, she suffered a mild dementia and even forgot the names of some of her children. But, she never forgot Yum-Yum. She told the nurse all she wanted was to see her cat again. Wendy will always regret not taking the cat to the hospital, because Grandma Pierce never made it home. 

Yum-Yum ended up at Craig’s parents’ house where she was tormented for a year by their oldest cat (a tortie, we might add). Craig was the about the only person Yum-Yum took to. She always came out to be petted when Craig visited. Finally, after a year Craig's dad Steve and Wendy had had enough. Against the protests of the Comisar sisters, Wendy and Craig, aided by Steve, abducted Yum-Yum. She was renamed Ophelia and was forced to be social (have we mentioned that Wendy is really bossy?). We blockaded all possible hiding spaces with textbooks. Ophelia proved to be a remarkably resilient, adaptable cat. Within a month our psycho-therapy had turned the unfriendly, timid Yum-Yum into the ultra-loving, friendly Ophelia.

Ophelia, however, had her limits when it came to other cats. When we got up to 8, she’d started to have enough. She took her angst out on Maliouba. After moving into their new--huge--house, Wendy’s parents were thinking about getting a second cat. Once again, Wendy had just the cat for them. Ophelia was perfect. She’d mind her own business and get along with Ariel. And she loved Wendy’s dad, after all. Ariel was Linda’s cat. Ophelia could be Randy’s cat. As it turned out, Ophelia does get along with Ariel except when they fight over who gets to sit on Linda’s lap. Ophelia has also returned to her original name Yum-Yum. 

Yum-Yum Ankrom in one of her favorite sleeping spots.