Happy Tail: Noodle (formerly River)
In the annals of Annex Cat Rescue adoptions, there is perhaps no Happy Tail happier than that of Noodle, formerly named River and also formerly a street cat who was simply waiting for someone — anyone! — to recognize that a cosmic mistake had been made and she actually belonged indoors, preferably with a cuddle buddy and a plastic spring toy.
Rewind to mid-2024 and enter tireless trapper Rosary. When asked if she remembers lovely River/Noodle among the literally hundreds of cats (yes, really) she humanely captures each year, Rosary says, “Oh, I couldn’t forget that one.”
She explains. “A man who ran a winemaking business fed cats near the Ingram Transfer Station in North York. I convinced him to allow me to TNR his cats. One day he contacted my friend who cares for a colony nearby, saying he found one of the three kittens injured. The kitten had a horrific injury and was kindly euthanized.
“I promptly trapped the other two kittens even though the man had wanted to give one to his friend. River and her brother Fox made it out alive from that colony as did Momo, currently up for adoption. I’m always so happy to see photos of them grown up and in loving homes.”
River and Fox landed that autumn with prolific ACR foster Nazia, who recalls River as “gentle, sweet, and a little bit shy at the beginning” and Fox as her “brave little protector.” Fox was adopted first; soon after, Stephanie spotted River on the ACR website.
“About three months earlier, I lost one of my cats — 18-year-old Lucy who died in my arms — and I felt like I needed another companion for myself and my cat Tuna,” Stephanie explains.
“River checked many boxes for me. She needed a buddy cat, which I had, and she was playful but also quite calm. I wanted a cat with a sweet demeanour, which is what Lucy had. Lucy and Tuna — who is a very rambunctious four-year-old ginger cat — got along well. I was hoping for a similar personality.”
Any doubt that River/Noodle landed at exactly the right place evaporated just 48 hours after she arrived in Stephanie’s home.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Stephanie laughs. “I kept Noodle in one room and Tuna was sniffing at the door. By day two, I felt they were ready to meet because there was no hissing or aggressiveness being displayed. It was just curiosity.
“I opened the door and Noodle came right out. Tuna sniffed her for a minute, hissed once or twice and that was it. They began playing and by the third day, they were sleeping beside each other. It was incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
In addition to her gentle disposition, Noodle — renamed to reflect what Stephanie describes as her slinky “noodle-like and squiggly” movements — delights Stephanie with her unusual relationship to gravity.
“She weighs nothing, but when she gets off furniture or is walking down the stairs, it’s like a human is walking down the stairs. She is heavy on her feet which is the funniest thing. She is not a graceful cat.”
And then there are Noodle’s “silent meows.”
“She just opens her mouth and rarely does a sound emerge. And when it does, it is the teeniest little squeak,” Stephanie says. “It’s the cutest.
“Adopting through Annex was a wonderful, thorough, and quick process. It was clear the mandate was to ensure the cat went to a loving home. I highly recommend the rescue to anyone thinking of adopting. And Noodle is just the happiest, sweetest, most beautiful cat. I could talk about her forever.”
-Kim Hughes
