Two Tonkinese bonded cats were rescued from the streets and have spent years in foster care learning that people can be kind. Braver together than either could ever be alone, they form the best of teams side by side.
Jagger and JewellCredit: Best Friends Felines
Jagger and Jewell came into the care of Best Friends Felines after being found on the street, two frightened souls who had already learned to be wary of the world and the people in it. From the start, it was clear these two would ask for one thing in return for their trust, and that was time.
Best Friends Felines is a volunteer-run, no-kill cat rescue in south-east Queensland, Australia, one that keeps every cat it takes in with a foster family for as long as it takes to find the right home. Rather than rush the pair, their carers gave them exactly that, letting the two come around in their own time.
Slowly, day by day and year by year, the scared cats who first arrived began to soften, every small step forward met by carers who refused to give up on them. Through it all, the one constant has been each other.
Still a little unsureCredit: Best Friends Felines
When she feels settled, Jewell is the confident half of the pair. She greets her human every single morning, chatty and sweet, and will happily wander over for a gentle pat and a scratch.
She has even grown comfortable being brushed, sitting still while a person works the brush down her back, a kind of closeness she would have shied away from not long ago. "In time she may become a lap cat, but this will take a significant amount of time and patience," Judy of Best Friends Felines, the rescue caring for the pair, shared with LoveMeow.
Their favorite perchCredit: Best Friends Felines
Jagger is a big, handsome boy with a quieter, more timid heart. He is the shyer of the two, though his curiosity gives him away, and he loves to sit and watch his human move around the foster home.
He was a very good boy for the vet, calmly letting himself be lifted out of his carrier and weighed, and he grows a little braver by the day. "He is not at the stage where he will allow pats but is very curious about the goings-on in his current foster home," Judy shared.
Jagger, keeping watchCredit: Best Friends Felines
More than anything, Jagger and Jewell have each other. They are a truly bonded pair who must be adopted together, and their people would not have it any other way. "They take comfort from one another and rely on each other for confidence as they navigate the world around them," Judy shared.
That courage runs both ways. Watching them, it is easy to see how much braver each of them is with the other close by, one always steadying the other.
Never far apartCredit: Best Friends Felines
Their closeness shows most in the ordinary moments, the two of them moving through the day as a pair, one rarely more than a few feet away from the other.
They groom each other, share the best sleeping spots, and settle in wherever the other one already is. Apart, they are two shy cats. Together, they are a team.
Bonded Tonkinese cats greeting each other | LoveMeow Credit: Best Friends Felines
When their long-term foster could no longer keep them, the rescue began looking for someone willing to pick up where years of patient care left off. Both cats have thrived in quiet, calm surroundings, and Jagger in particular does best without the added unpredictability of dogs nearby.
Jagger and Jewell may not be the cats who march straight up and demand attention, but the people who know them understand just how special they are. With a little kindness and understanding, this pair has an enormous amount of love to give.
Braver togetherCredit: Best Friends Felines
Jagger and Jewell began as two frightened cats on the street, unsure of everyone around them. Years later, braver together than they ever were alone, they are ready for the one patient person who will finally call them home, together.
Share this story with your friends. Jagger and Jewell are in foster care with Best Friends Felines in south-east Queensland, Australia. You can view more on Instagram @bestfriendsfelines and Facebook.
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