Yuki, Yoko And Yani: Huntington Pets Of The Week

HUNTINGTON, NY — Yuki, Yoko and Yani are the Grateful Paw Cat Shelter's Huntington Pets of the Week.

The bi-color kittens, all around 5 months old, were born in a trap to a feral mother.

"Not a good way to start your life," said Debbi Larkin, president of the shelter.

The trio was rescued by a trapper in Babylon. A volunteer called Grateful Paw Cat Shelter, which then took the kittens in.

Yoko and Yani look very much alike.

"They have very unusual names, but that makes them more intriguing," Larkin said.

There is a story behind one of the names.

About a month ago, two people visited the shelter to make a donation. They had been following the shelter's story the past five years and wanted to check the building out.

The man and his wife adopted a kitten from the shelter in 2016 at its old location. The kitten was also a bi-color cat named Bernie Sanders. The wife's name was Yuki. She recently died of cancer.

"Yuki’s mother was the other visitor that day, and she couldn’t wait to pull out her wallet to show us a picture of their cat..and proceeded to tell us that Bernie Sanders was her daughter's lifeline while she was battling cancer, and without that cat she never would have fought as hard as she did," Larkin said. "The gentleman then took out his checkbook to leave a very nice donation and was thrilled that we were back in business again after helping him and his wife. We knew that we currently had three bi-color kittens in foster care that did not have names yet..so to honor his wife we decided to name one of the kittens after her. There were tears all around and much happiness because we were able to adopt one of our cats to a loving family a few years ago when they needed it and we can keep her spirit alive with one of the new kittens."

Yuki, the one with the harlequin face, is very playful, vocal, affectionate and a purring machine, according to Larkin. Yuki can also be very sassy and will follow her human around constantly.

Yoko, her sister who is on the shy and timid side, adores Yuki but will come out to play when the toys appear. She loves to be held, but you have to reassure her you mean no harm, Larkin said. Yuki and Yoko can usually be found sleeping together like bookends.

Yani is very playful and outgoing and will chase his feather toy for hours.

"He tries to be the big brother to his sisters, but all bets are off once the food or treats appear. He has a voracious appetite so you better have the pantry well stocked!"

Yuki, Yoko and Yani have all been vetted, tested negative for FELV and FIV, spayed or neutered,
and litter box trained.

They will be entering the shelter Thursday and will immediately be available for adoption. They will be joining the other kittens at the shelter, so there should be lots of kitten mayhem in the room, Larkin said.

If you are interested in meeting Yuki, Yoko and/or Yani, you may call the shelter at 631-757-4517, email cats@laphuntington.org, visit the Facebook page or visit at the Grateful Paw Cat Shelter.

The rescue is at 3 Verleye Ave., East Northport, and visiting hours are Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

The shelter is also open from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday nights only for those who cannot make it during the daytime hours.

"Let's give these three babies a new lease on life, don’t you think they deserve it?" Larkin said. "And how can you not fall in love with those adorable faces?"