ASPCA Cat of the Year Award Announced

| Print | By Jo Singer | October 27, 2009 9:57 AM

27-nora_cat.jpgWhile she may not have been chosen as a contender to win the prestigious Van Cliburn International Competition for pianists in 2009, this young lady certainly demonstrated sufficient virtuosity of the feline purrsuasion, thus will be receiving the ASPCA's Cat of the Year Award at their Humane Awards luncheon to be held at the Pierre Hotel on October 29 in New York City.

Nora, the fabulously gifted feline about whom I recently wrote was selected not only due to her mewsical talents, but this kitty, who was adopted by Betsy and Burnell Yow of Philadelphia, Pa., is one of the spunkiest cats to grace an animal shelter in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The shelter staff considered her to be "bossy" noticing she was not very well received by the other cats. It is even conceivable that they may have wondered if a swift adoption would be possible for her. But the Yows obviously saw something special about this feisty grey tabby kitten, bringing her home to join their established clowder.

According to the ASPCA report, Nora was named after the surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington. The kitten with a "feisty" purrsona, immediately took her place as the alpha feline among the Yow's four other cats. However, her musical talents were not revealed until she was about one year old. Betsy Yow, a music teacher, noticed that Nora was fascinated by touching the keys on her piano.

It soon became obvious that stroking the keyboard was her favorite pastime. Several newspapers describe her musical outpouring as a combination of "free jazz" and Phillip Glass. She soon became a hit on YouTube with over 20 million page views, even inspiring a symphony to be written in her honor by a Lithuanian composer.

And while the ASPCA acknowledges Nora's extremely unique talents, they have bestowed this honor upon her to demonstrate that shelter pets should not be considered "castoffs". These lovely animals are, in fact, amazingly wonderful pets just waiting for the opportunity to find forever loving homes, blossoming into truly incredible companions.

The ASPCA concluded their exciting announcement by saying, "Nora is a true testament to the spirit of the Humane Awards, which every year honor exceptional animals as well as inspiring individuals who have dedicated their lives to animal welfare"
Watch the video uploaded to YouTube by burnellyow to watch of this delightfully gifted kitty purrform.

Please leave a comment of conCATulations for Nora and her family for their outstanding achievement.

RELATED TOPICS: ASPCA (10) , Blogs (262) , Cats (117) , Events (16)



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Comments (7)

Lana October 27, 2009 11:02 AM

Way to go Nora! You are one talented and awesome kitty!

Vicki October 27, 2009 12:11 PM

Big Congrats Nora. You are one talented kitty, and are famous around the world.

Margie October 27, 2009 12:39 PM

I can't think of a more deserving kitty as a poster-kit for shelter animals. What an amazing little cat.

jmuhj October 27, 2009 2:58 PM

ConCATulations to the piano PURRformance star! ;)

annie October 27, 2009 3:51 PM

hurray for nora. i have tweeted this article -- citing jo as the author.

Amy October 27, 2009 4:05 PM

She is adorable! Have seen this video on TV, may she have a wonderful long life in her forever home.

Amy Shojai, CWA President November 5, 2009 3:15 PM

Nora has also been honored as "cat of the year" by the Westchester Feline Club, and her human "mom" will be in attendance at their Westchester Cat Show the weekend before Thanksgiving in White Plains, New York. The Cat Writers Association (CWA) will also be in attendance for our annual writer conference, and I look forward to meeting Nora's people!

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