MINA

What's your cat’s favorite toy and/or go-to treat?

I don't know if they qualify as "toys", but she's got three woolen catnip mice that serve as a barometer of just how badly she wants my attention. One mouse on the bed is an indication that something is amiss; two mice and she's beginning to get a bit huffy about it; all three and it's quite likely I should pack a bag and leave home. Elsewise she gets a wee bit ferocious with a bunch of feathers on the end of a braided cord, rather than the birds that perch on her window sills.

What is your cat's most unique quality?

Thus far, she has NO interest to speak of in cardboard boxes or people food other than people tuna, but I'm always surprised to realise that even at nine years old she is still learning how to "be a cat", picking up what we consider standard feline behavioural traits one at a time as if, never having been taught, she's had to discover them for herself.

Why should your cat be America’s Favorite?

I think she's unique. Not your standard beauty by any means, but beautiful nevertheless. When we "met" at the shelter I spent 90 minutes talking to her and petting her. She was so terrified that she never once blinked, made a sound or even moved. She's a success story of sorts--an abandoned four-foot who decided being afraid wasn't any fun, and then, given the opportunity, did something about it. WE need to work harder...