Meet Rosemary, a 7-month-old kitten ready to find her fur-ever home with her cat bestie, Dandelion. Photo / SPCA
Meet Rosemary, a 7-month-old kitten ready to find her fur-ever home with her cat bestie, Dandelion. Photo / SPCA
Every year, the SPCA looks after more than 30,000 sick, vulnerable, injured and abused animals. The society’s Hamilton centre has more than 200 animals in its care right now. Two of them are 7-month-old kitten besties, Rosemary and Dandelion.
Dandelion and Rosemary are 7-month-old kittens, though not siblings, they have become inseparable.
Rosemary was found on a roundabout behind the Waikato Hospital by a member of the public. She was terrified, underweight at 550 grams, and heavily constipated.
Dandelion was also found by a member of the public but in slightly better conditions than Rosemary. She was wandering through a skatepark in Hamilton, skinny but fearless.
However, now happy and healthy and having spent more than 180 days in SPCA care respectively, Rosemary and Dandelion are ready to find their fur-ever home together.
This is Dandelion, Rosemary's bestie.
Tracy Bruce, an animal attendant at Hamilton SPCA told Waikato Herald that kittens are better with a littermate to bite, lick, and play with, keeping them from using humans as playthings.
Bruce who is also a temporary foster mother to the duo, described the pair as having distinctive personalities like getting “dumb and smart” in one package.
“Dandelion is so funny... she tends to run into things instead of jumping, she’s so cheeky and loves to play games. She knows you want to pat her so she’ll run away and hide, then sit there and wait for you to come pat her. She’s so high-energy and runs around like a lunatic for a while,” Bruce said.
“Rosemary has this side of her and is still scared and anxious, but then next thing she’s right in your face kissing you and dribbling on you, she pats me on the head if I don’t give her attention.
“She’s so smart, she’s figured out how to let herself and Dandelion out of the playpen when nobody’s watching.”
Bruce said Dandelion settled into life at her temporary house and loved people, but Rosemary needed someone to work with her. Now they both are thriving and play with each other constantly.
“They get along really well with each other and are full on... they even sleep together side by side all cuddled up,” she said.
“They love to climb and I have a really tall cat tree in the lounge and they go up that all the time, much to my delight. They’re best friends.”
For anyone interested in adopting the inseparable duo, head to the SPCA Hamilton website.
There are 220 animals in the care of SPCA in Hamilton, and about 180 of them are felines. Over 90 felines, including Rosemary and Dandelion, are available for adoption.
SPCA Hamilton has over 90 felines, including Rosemary and Dandelion, available for adoption.
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
