A New Prince

Empire awake.  

Empire, at rest on a sofa at the rescue place.

Meet Empire!  (He's named after the apple variety, not the governmental entity, because his mother's name is Apple; his siblings also have apple variety names.)  We are bringing him to live with us on Friday--the pictures with this post were taken by the woman who runs Fosterlings, the cat rescue operation that has made it possible for him to survive and begin to thrive, and for us to adopt him.   

Empire (or "Empy" for short) is only a bit over 4 months old  He's younger than the other cats I have adopted, but he has a combination of playfulness and an odd maturity for his age that is appealing to me.  He is also willing to be petted, and tolerates being picked up.  Like Zola, he is part Maine Coon, as the pictures demonstrate (the large, tuft-filled ears, the larger-than-average paws). Clicking on the photo should get you a much larger, detailed version of the same photo.

EDIT:  (2/15/2021)  I learned when I got his file after the adoption papers had been signed that Empy was born 9/20/2020 (like Sugar, he was born in a rescue facility to a mother who had been rescued).  That means he'll be exactly 5 months old this Saturday.  Unlike Sugar, the woman who placed him with us knows who his father is.  He is a large Maine Coon she describes as "25 pounds of solid muscle."  

2ND EDIT:  (2/19/2021) After checking his records, I can confirm that Empire will be 5 months old exactly tomorrow, February 20, 2021; he was born on September 20, 2020.

3RD EDIT: (3/10/2021)  I misread the form containing Empy's birthdate: It's actually September 16, 2020.  Close enough, though, to confirm that he'll be 6 months old next week!