(Post originally on Minnesota Meow)
Name: Harvey
Nicknames: Mister H, Baby Butt
Born: Early 2003
Lives in: North Saint Paul
Lives with: Amy Jo and Casey Armstrong
When Harvey was a kitten he was found at a pet store by someone and given as a surprise gift to Amy Jo’s good friend Chrissy. Unfortunately, as Chrissy had to go back to the dorms at Saint Cloud State University that autumn, Chrissy pleaded to let Harvey live with Amy Jo. They’ve been together since. Harvey’s lived in Shoreview, White Bear Lake (where he became obese), Hudson, WI (where he lost all the weight) and now he lives happily in North Saint Paul with both Amy Jo and Casey.
A peculiar part of Harvey is his tail; it has a strange bend at the end. If you pet him and run your hand down his tail the last bone isn’t straight and leans off to one side. It’s quite strange. When Harvey was a kitten it wasn’t very notable but now as an adult cat you can tell when he stretches out or walks with his tail in the air. Casey has joked that sometimes it seems like Harvey likes to extend his tail in the air in effort to straighten it.
Harvey also lives with Audrey, a male cat with a female name. Harvey was the more dominant cat and used to beat up on Audrey on a regular basis. They now have calmed down and get along great.
Harvey eats raw food such as cans of tuna fish and frozen vegetables. He’s on a strict diet of one meal a day in the evening.
He periodically rebels against this diet. Amy told me a story:
When I came home the other day, I found a mug that that Casey had left on the counter with stew in it broken on the floor and all the stew gone. That mug was a wedding gift. I then went in the cupboard to find a doughnut. I knew there were three left. The donut container was closed but there was a hole ripped on the top and the doughnuts were gone.
Although it may be unfair to blame Harvey for this matter with no substantial proof, the facts tend to point in his direction.
Harvey has a lot of personality and is sharp as a tack but plays off that he’s dumb… as if he doesn’t know better when he’s getting himself in trouble.
A few weeks ago, overnight Harvey and Audrey opened up a kitchen cabinet and emptied out three 5 pound bags of flour and a bag of crêpe mix. They ate a lot of it, but the rest of it was spread all around the entire kitchen and they made art out of it. Their paws “up to their cat knees” were powdery white.
Casey said that Harvey’s favorite place to lay is on top of the water heater.
Amy Jo added that at night when he’s a good cat he “likes to sleep under the covers like a little man. He’ll tuck himself in. I don’t know how he does it.”
Amy Jo is a bookkeeper and Casey works in IT for a local group of natural food stores. Casey also writes Casey’s Beer Blog.
More photos of Harvey can be found with the “Harvey” Flickr tag on Amy Jo and Casey and Aaron Landry’s Flickr accounts.
