Meet Lola and Rik!
You’ve seen them all around Petzi Social; great supporters of the beautiful and artsy pet pictures, cats of all kinds, and literary references…
Meet Lola and Rik!
Lola and Rik live with their human pet, a New York artist who finds inspiration in windows. Her watercolor paintings of windows and what is beyond them “become magical portal[s] to transport the viewer”. Lola and Rik are sister and brother who came to their New York home by way of foster home and adoption. The cat that owned their home before them was a gray “Bodega Cat” – a cat kept at the corner store down the block but was mostly left to his own devices and to fend for himself. He decided to make a home in the artist’s apartment and was known as Elephi. As expected, a quick witted artist gives quite the witty cat names. The name Elephi comes from a children’s book, Elephi: The Cat With The High IQ by Jean Stafford. As do Rik and Lola’s names: Rik is named after Rikki Tikki Tavi, the valiant young mongoose, in a short story in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. However, it was clear Rik suited him better than Rikki in the end. Lola, strong, curious and adventurous, is named after Anna Lavinia, similar in character but human in nature, from Beyond the Pawpaw Trees by Palmer Brown. Lola seemed to fit as the perfect nickname.
The now 4-year old cats were in foster care when their human pet was looking to adopt a new cat after Elephi had passed. The search was very specific: male and gray. The two had been found in a parking lot and rescued. The adoption agency wouldn’t split up the sibling pair and so it was both or none. The artist who was notoriously allergic to cats came to meet them at their foster home and spent hours with them trying to see if there would be any reaction but it seems it was meant to be. After paperwork, inspections, and jumping through all kinds of hoops (don’t worry their artist is also a celebrated hula hooper) the two finally found their one true home. Their artist spoils them with glorious amounts of cat toys and portraits, and showers them with love, pettings, and treats, of course!
Christmas time brought them a Petzi Treat Cam which they were fond of immediately. Lola, a little too fond maybe, likes to try and show the Cam who’s boss – just like with her brother – by sticking her paws inside to try and reach more treats. If it’s not treats she’s munching on it’s the corners of paintings and coffee table books. In fact, their artist had to send the Petzi back in for repairs due to a little extra paw poking and prodding. It had just arrived back home, all ready for action, the day of our interview!
Jane and Erik (of the famous Cat Wedding), good Petzi Social friends of Rik&Lola (the account name), had a bet going with the artist about how long it would take for Lola to get the better of the Cam again.
Marco’s human pet is the artist’s nephew and can be found on Petzi Social too (King Marco). The artist and her nephew are the two cat people in the family and like to send each other little cat gifts and stay in touch through the app when he’s not spending the summer in NY.
Rik is a mellower cat than his sister; sweet and loving. Although physically bigger than his sister, he let’s Lola call the shots. You’ll find him lounging in the sun in most of his Petzi posts but when night falls he hunts. He likes to show his affection for his human pet by bringing his prey to her bed in the middle of the night, usually a cat toy but recently a cockroach. His human seemed very appreciative with all her shrieking.
When I asked the artist what about her fur-babies makes her smile she said, “Everything about them!…That little furry face is that thing that can just change my whole outlook no matter how bleak it is, none of this mishugas that we have in the rest of the world….just pure loving wonderful positive energy.”
Thanks for sharing that energy with us and the PetziCommunity!
