Koa the kitty queen of Portobello
Koa is a 5-year-old ragdoll cat who was skinny, malnourished and covered in fleas when she arrived in our care as a stray. Koa was with us for a long time, gaining weight and receiving treatment for various medical conditions.
At the same time, volunteer, Lisa, had fallen in love with her and would visit her every time she had a shift. Lisa was still grieving the loss of her beloved 10-year-old ragdoll, Topaz, and wasn’t sure if she was ready to welcome a new family member, but when Koa was finally ready to go home, we all knew Lisa was the one.
Koa settled straight into Lisa’s home. By the first night she was cosying in for cuddles on the sofa, and by the next morning, she’d claimed her spot on the bed where she’s slept ever since. Koa is playful and cheeky, and she loves to try and hunt the pigeons outside the window.
Nowadays, Koa is something of a local celebrity in Portobello.
Lisa tells us: ‘Koa is always very keen to get out and about and has her own ways of telling me – sitting at the door incessantly meowing, running to the door when she sees me put my shoes on and most recently scratching at the door frame!
She absolutely loves it when she’s out; her carrier has a flap on the top that zips open, and she happily sits with her head fully out, sniffing the air and looking ahead on the path we take. On every walk we get people wanting to stop and chat, and when we do, I always tell everyone her story of how she came to me. If I stop and chat for too long, she either starts meowing loudly or ducks down and curls up in the carrier, almost as if she’s in the huff because we’ve stopped moving! I have had a few people tell me they had heard about the lady who carries her cat on walks on the prom, so I think we are becoming a little bit known in Porty!
Portobello is often very busy, and I have mostly kept her in her carrier when there. However, more recently I have been taking her out early in the morning and allowing her out on her lead to explore the prom or the few park areas along the prom.
I know that she really enjoys these outings and she’s often quite sleepy on returning home after all that fresh sea air! I really enjoy taking out and it gives me a bit of a workout carrying her on my front but most of all I like that we make people smile.’