By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
LeAnn Frankfather’s cat won’t have to get dressed up for photos if he wins America’ Favorite Pet-feline division. Bowie Bow Tie isn’t a tuxedo cat, but the handsome Blue Russian mix comes with his own white-on-gray bow tie.
Bowie, for short, is vying to be the top meow-er on the cat version of America’s Favorite Pet competition. He has made it through seven of nine divisions and is looking for votes from the local community to catapult him into the top cat position. The win earns him a cover on Modern Cat magazine and a $10,000 prize—which Frankfather plans to share half with the Toledo Humane Society, where she fell in love with the cuddle-cat.
The bluish-gray three-year-old cat joined the Bowling Green family about nine months ago after they were looking to fill a void left by the unexpected death of seven-year-old Buddha, a black Bombay mixt that was their beloved fur baby.
Buddha’s death from a fast-moving autoimmune disorder left a hole in her and her husband’s hearts. “We were devastated,” she said. On a day she was feeling especially sad, she visited the Toledo Humane Society to be among their cats. She had petted, played and talked with a clowder of cats for about two hours, looking for any that were snuggly.
In the last cat room she visited, she saw a cat that had been sleeping, She went over and started petting him and looked at his information. His shelter name was Hubba Bubba. Immediately, she knew that was a sign that he was the cat for her, because Buddha’s shelter name had been Bubba.
“I started crying in that room, and I knew, ‘This is my cat. This was supposed to happen,’” Frankfather said. “He was purring and he had this look in his eyes that was gentle and tender. It felt so right.”
He had come in as a stray about a month earlier, but he was stunning, she said. She put down a deposit and went home to pick up her husband to introduce him to Hubba Bubba at the Toledo Humane Society. They finalized the decision and took the gray cat home after he had a dental procedure to remove a cracked tooth.
With the help of friends and family, Hubba Bubba was given a new name, tied to his formal look with the white bow tie on his chest. He has found his furever home in the Frankfather house.
Though he’s definitely LeAnn’s cat—sleeping wrapped around her head or neck at night or never more than an arm’s length away from her—her husband is his “spare human,” she said. And Bowie loves everyone he meets.
He is not your stereotypical, aloof and temperamental cat. He is gentle, kind-hearted and very affectionate. Bowie has even endeared crotchety old Maverick, a 13-year-old tuxedo tabby who is perfectly happy by himself. However, they look like yin-yang when the best friends snuggle together.
In addition to his love of snuggling, Bowie also loves to play. His favorite toy is a laser. When he hears the click of the laser being turned on he’s ready to go and can play all day. He also loves when he hears the shaking of the treat package. He doesn’t care if the treats are soft, chewy or crunchy, or any flavor. He’s up for whatever is offered.
He gets a half cup of dry food in the morning and his evening meal is a quarter-cup of dry and a quarter-cup of wet food, “heated up, of course,” Frankfather said.
With the nicer weather starting, he loves to sit at the open windows and watch the birds. “He makes a chirping noise, that scared me when I first heard it,” she said. But now she loves to hear his special little sound of happiness.
Bowie needs to be in first place to move on to the eighth of nine rounds. “The community of friends and family have really rallied around this competition. They clearly love cats.” Frankfather said. ”I never thought we’d be in this position right now. We are two rounds away from a $10,000 grand prize.”
The Frankfathers have committed to share half of the prize with the Toledo Humane Society, where they found Bowie. They also are considering building him a climbing wall that he can enjoy.
One vote a day is free, or voters can pay for more votes to count. The contest is a fundraiser for PAWS, whose mission is to help cats, dogs and wild animals thrive in happy, healthy homes or in their natural habitats. Frankfather estimates Bowie has helped raise about $3,000 for the fundraiser to date. Friends and family have supported his candidacy, as well as “some incredibly generous strangers,” she said.
Now they are asking for more community support to help Bowie reach the top for the grand prize and to be featured in Modern Cat magazine.
“He is the cat that everyone wishes they could have. He’s sweet, he’s affectionate adorable. And he just knows how to do the right thing at the right time,” she said.
He will snuggle if you are sad and chirp and head bump if you are happy, she added. If you are full of energy, he’s ready to play.
To vote for Bowie Bow Tie, visit his page at America’s Favorite Pet.
