About Lupin
Lupin’s Story: Like Puck, Lupin had a difficult start in life. When he was 2-3 weeks old, Lupin and his siblings were discovered locked in the closet of an abandoned apartment with no mother to be found. They were brought to Purrfect Pals, a no-kill shelter in Washington state, and taken in by a family fostering a mother cat raising a single kitten. The Mama cat and kitten welcomed Lupin and his siblings, and they were nursed as kin.
From the conditions they suffered during the time they were trapped in the closet, Lupin developed a terrible fever. He survived, but lost the tip of his tail due to poor circulation (this is why his tail is sometimes noticeably shorter than Elvis and Puck’s tails in the comic). Soon after his recovery his foster family noticed that while the other kittens came running at the sound of a cat food can, Lupin remained curled up happily asleep. Further investigation confirmed he was deaf. While many cats with blue eyes are born deaf, Lupin has green eyes and all of his white, green-eyed siblings could hear just fine. It’s believed his deafness is a lasting result of the fever.
His rough start did not keep Lupin down long, however, nor did his disability! Lupin came to live with us when he was about 10-12 weeks old. From the beginning he has been friendly, out going, and fearless. He chases the vacuum, stands in the running shower, and he leaps over baby gates like a tiny thundering stallion. (He is very loud). We have to hide the coin dish because Lupin enjoys picking through it with his teeth, carefully selecting a coin, and throwing it down the hall to chase all over the house. (At 2am). He is a delightful, clever cat.
Lupin’s personality: Lupin is brave, curious, and ready for anything. Elvis and Puck were not sure what to make of him at first. He meows like a siren and likes to knock metal pans off the counter. He startles Elvis regularly, and does not seem to understand Puck just wants to be left alone after breakfast to watch birds. Even now sometimes it’s clear there is still some confusion between the three of them, but they love to play and cuddle and have become fast friends.
In our house, Lupin is the cat ambassador to our visitors. While Elvis will stalk from afar and Puck is content to hide under a table, Lupin is in everyone’s lap, rubbing ankles, and bumping chins. He is a very friendly, interested cat and must look into everything all the time. He climbs like a monkey and routinely sneaks into all the cabinets. It is very common in our home to open a drawer and have Lupin pop out.
A typical day for Lupin: No two days are the same for Lupin. One moment he is scaling a bookshelf, the next he is jumping into the (sometimes full) bathtub. He is constantly on the go, until he crashes hard into a nap, curling over a sun spot until his energy returns, his eyes snap open, and he takes off into the curtains for more adventure. He knocks everything over, bats anything under the bed, and yet is surprisingly very careful and not at all destructive. He is so thorough while investigating an object, that his curiosity borders on a scientific respect for the unknown and thus he often cautiously ferries an item away to study it at his own pace.
Likes: Tossing coins, milk carton rings, bottle caps, glasses of water, staring into light bulbs and then chasing the ‘bright dots’ in his eyes, chin rubs.
Dislikes: Boundaries, the smell of mint, not being allowed somewhere.
A sampling of Lupin inside cupboards and drawers.
We still don’t know how he got onto this wall statue.
He is a sweetie puff.
Endlessly interested in everything.
Spilling out of a cupboard.
Looking for Santa.
He is the Man’s best friend.
georgia, how do you think lupin and his siblings got in that apartment? Maybe they were born in there and the mother died possibly from kittenbirth?
We were told that the kittens were found by a realtor showing the apartment to potential renters after someone else had moved out. It had seemed likely that the kittens were left by the previous renter. There was no mother cat to be found, and while they were very hungry and thirsty, it seemed that the kittens had been there less than a week. We asked if it was possible that the mother had them and they were left behind on accident, but told that the closet was entirely empty and so it would have been tough to miss them 🙁 I don’t know if the previous renters were ever prosecuted for animal mistreatment, but I hope that they were if it was intentional.
lupin is adorable and is like my cat other than my cat is not deaf
Where I volunteer we have a mostly white kitty with grey ear tips and the prettiest blue eyes, and he reminds me a lot of Lupin, but with the temperment of Elvis (He intensely distrusts new things and other cats). He’s incredibly curious, and it is next to impossible to keep him away from the other cats and out from under the sink where we keep the cleaning supplies. He tends to bite and/or swat if you try to pick him up when he’s in explorer mode. He’s one I would adopt if I could, especially since he keeps getting overlooked.
He sounds marvelous!! I love cats with personality!
Thanks for taking these special ones in.
Dear Georgia,
I have to say that I love Lupin!!! It would be cool to see some of their backstories in art form, about how they first reacted to each other, if there is ever a time of few ideas (but since when do cats never cause inspiration?). Love your comics, Georgia!!! I especially love to read them with my gray Siamese cat, Finn. Like Lupin and Puck, he had a rough start. He was born on my bed with his two brothers and a sister. His mother, Juniper, was feral, and not the best at raising kittens, so we often had to bottle or tube feed the little scraps! Finn was the tiniest, and soon caught pneumonia. He was often coming in and out of consciousness, and we spent many nights traveling to and from the vet clinics. Finn eventually recovered, shortly after the others were adopted, but his lungs were permanently damaged, and can never become an outside cat, which he would love to be! Like, Puck, he spends hours at our windows, but has the temper of Elvis, suspicious of everyone and everything! He can also remind me of Lupin, because of how kittenish he is, bounding around the house like a horse, knocking items over, climbing our legs, and straight up being crazy!
Thank you for your wonderful comics, and many moments of joy that come with them!
-<3 Cat lover extraordinaire and the proud owner of many cats (including Finn)!
Oh. My. God. That is EXACTLY what happened to my cat and his brother!!!!!!!!
My local paper has just started carrying “Breaking Cat News” and my cat and I love it. Don’t ever stop!
Thank you so much, Jane!
Some people believe that all white cats are deaf. This is not true at all, but it is true that deafness is more common in white cats than in cats of other colors. An interesting factoid is that some white cats with one blue eye and one green or brown eye (itself a characteristic that is much more common in white cats) are deaf in the ear on the same side as the blue eye, but can hear with the ear on the side of the other-colored eye.
Why is his name Lupin?
The Man named him after a gentleman thief detective from a comic he enjoys. (After Lupin kept stealing his pens from his desk, haha)