This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links. I promise I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Thank you for supporting our blog so we can continue creating free content each week! Learn more on our Privacy Policy page.
Meet the Cats of Mira Manor and learn their rescue stories from owners Brittany and Mark! Many of our readers already know that we are huge animal advocates and love animals. If you follow my Brittany Mira Talks to Animals Meta page, you know one of our biggest desires is to help animals in need. When Mark and I met in 2009, he had a dog named Scarlet, and I had a dog named Mr. Grizzle and a cat named Alice.
Join our email list and help us grow! We promise you will only receive beautiful photos & updates and probably a cute cat photo or two in your inbox!
We’ve always known that animals would be a part of our lives and our relationship, but we had planned to be “empty nesters” for a while once our beloved pets passed away someday. We hoped to travel the world without worrying and stressing about leaving them at home. Fast forward to 2023, and we have now lost Scarlet, Grizzle, and Alice to old age and incurable health issues… but two new and unexpected boys walked into our life with other plans for all of us at Mira Manor.
What is Mira Manor?
To begin with- what the heck is Mira Manor? I’m going to get a little nerdy here for a second – My husband is the biggest Batman fan ever and has been playfully calling the home we moved into in 2020 – Mira Manor (like Wayne Manor), and the name stuck with all our friends and followers! Fun fact: We also have tons of bats in our neighborhood! 🦇 So, of course, I created a fun Instagram and TikTok for our cats and called it The Cats of Mira Manor – I guess it’s our motto now! All of our animal-related content is now under the umbrella of Mira Manor, and our Travel/Adventure Blog, and those social accounts remain under Sunshine and Sand Dollars. I know it’s a lot to keep up with – imagine how I feel creating content for it all, but it’s my two passions in life!
Who are the Cats of Mira Manor?
Technically, Alice is the founder of The Cats of Mira Manor. However, she passed away in October of 2023. Leaving her parents heartbroken but in the healing paws of two new additions to the family – Mooshi and Commander.
Side note: There is also lovely Miss Maizey, who lives here in a separate dwelling with her momma, one of our dear friends, and the official catsitter of Mira Manor! Plus, we have a whole neighborhood full of cats that come and go through our property daily, and as you can imagine, we have named them all.
So who is Colonel Mustard aka Mooshi?
When we moved into our new home in 2020, we unknowingly inherited Colonel Mustard. We quickly noticed that we had a “guest” living under the guest house… whoever it was was very skittish and elusive, and for a while, we weren’t sure if it was just raccoons.
We landscaped and filled in the holes and soon noticed this handsome gray “battle” cat frequently lying in our yard, driveway, porch, and deck. He would appear randomly and disappear for weeks, and we figured it was a neighbor’s cat. Mark lovingly gave him the name Colonel Mustard.
In December 2021, I noticed that Colonel was around more often and appeared to need medical help. He was limping badly, and his eyes were squinty and leaking a reddish goop. I started feeding him, borrowed a humane drop trap and started the process for TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release). We believe he was a pet at some point but was never neutered and likely became aggressive, restless, and destructive. This often leads to male cats being let go or escaping and ultimately left behind. He had been a fixture in our life for a year but was not friendly, and it took me 45 days to earn his trust enough to trap him. Our hopes of TNVR were crushed when we discovered he is FIV+ (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). We weren’t able to release him back onto our property after that diagnosis. Instead, we ventured down an unknown road of socializing, fostering, and ultimately keeping the Colonel for indoor life.
Mooshi (Colonel) had more than ten vet appointments within the first year, along with multiple surgeries. His eyes had to be repaired with Entropian surgery, and he was neutered and had many broken teeth removed. We think he was likely struck by a car. His dental X-rays showed a healed jaw fracture. His front right leg had also been fractured but had healed, leaving him with a mangled paw and forever limp. Even though he seemed like a fancy older gentleman to us, the vet said he was only about 5-6 years old. As difficult as it was to see him sick and injured, I was also validated. I knew he needed help and was happy we could provide it!
During the first two weeks, he lived inside, still very hissy, and barely left his recovery cage. It took him over a month before he played with his first toy. We do love him more than we can even express. He’s brought a joy to us that we didn’t know we needed. Fast forward to today, where he is living his best life with his sectional sofa in our Florida room and converted lanai… he’s a professional couch potato now, but it wasn’t an easy road. He has become the best cuddle buddy anyone could ever want, but that wasn’t right away. With tons of patience, he came around, and all who know him are forever changed for the better. His name changed from Colonel to Mooshi when he became a little lover.
Who is Commander Creamsicle aka Orange Cat?
On Dec 13, 2022, Mira Manor was at it again. Another Tom cat (Mooshi arrived the year before) was hanging around our house. His eyes, nose, and ears looked messed up. The first time anyone spotted him was Dec 9, 2022, but he was gone when I arrived home. The next afternoon, Mark texted me to come outside quickly because an Orange “Mooshi” (Colonel) was under the car. I came out, and there he was. Mooshi’s identical twin, only orange! I died! He looked worse than Mooshi did the year before. Both eyes looked bad: crusty nose, scabs and hair loss, visible mites, messed up ear, and not neutered. Sigh. Dec 7, 2021, was the first time Mooshi came around and needed medical help. Dec 9, 2022, and here comes Commander Creamsicle – thank Mark for that name again!
Mooshi and Commander comparison photo from the first time we fed either. They had the same body structure, cheeks, eyes, ear shape, feet, and striped tails. We wondered if they might be siblings…. But boy, were we wrong, lol- they are different, like night and day.
Instead of it taking over a month to catch him like it did Mooshi, the neighbors helped this time and caught him within a few days… he was so weak and sad… that’s how close to death he was.
It was a busy 24 hours for Mira Manor as he was rushed to the vet. Commander was also FIV positive and was too sick to be sedated. Our goal was to get him healthy enough for surgery and socialized because, holy cow, he was aggressive and feisty. He drew blood on me almost daily for over a month, lol!
Commander was dealing with upper respiratory, ear, and eye infections, hookworms, fleas, ear mites, and strange thinning hair all over his head and legs. He got ear drops and injectable antibiotics, but we had to do eye and nasal drops twice a day with a feral cat we didn’t even know. The orange cat also had severe dental disease and needed to be neutered. He was 50/50 on purring and hissing, but he loved food! He weighed 13 pounds and was estimated to be 5-6 years old… exactly like Colonel Mooshi.
Commander did very well for a guy at his breaking point. He had 12 vet appointments in his first three months with us. Once he was healthy enough to be sedated, he was neutered, with a dental exam, deep ear cleaning, and three teeth removed. Plus, an entropion eye surgery, microchip, and additional vaccines, and we battled hookworms and tapeworms multiple times.
He “tries” to be a good boy but is still feisty sometimes. He loves toys, scratching posts, and cardboard to destroy; head pets and kisses are acceptable. Watching him relax after such a horrible life on the street is lovely. He sleeps like it’s his new full-time job and is good at it!
Over the last year, Commander has taken a few steps forward and a few steps back each week, it seems. Our poor guy has been battling every FIV symptom known to man and has great days and very sad/scary days. We LOVE him so so much. He is such a character full of surprises- we hope to win this battle and keep him healthy and happy for as long as possible.
What is FIV?
FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus) is a viral infection that affects cats. It causes affected animals to have a weaker immune system. FIV is one of the most common and consequential infectious diseases of cats around the world. In infected cats, FIV attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to many other infections. Transmission for FIV is through bite wounds from an infected cat. There is no cure for the disease.
FIV symptoms:
-Poor coat condition
-Fever that keeps coming back
-Lack of appetite
-Inflammation in the mouth and gums
-Chronic or recurrent infections in the eyes, skin, upper respiratory tract, or bladder
-Constant diarrhea
-Persistent eye problems
-Seizures
-Behavioral changes
-Signs of neurological disorders
-Symptoms of FIV in cats can also include slow and steady weight loss
Commander has fully embraced indoor life, and other than a few random health mysteries and being a very destructive boy, he is an entirely different cat. Of course, we will continue to do anything we can for him. Starting in 2024, we plan to introduce Commander to the rest of the house. He has done fantastic in what I refer to as his recovery room, but it’s time for him to become an even more significant part of our family. Fingers crossed, this guy will continue to thrive!
The boys have been spoiled by our supporters, friends, and family. They have lots of items they love from Amazon – check out their favorite items and buy them for your own cats at home!
As of January 2024, the boys have been introduced during supervised play dates and have been doing well. We talk more about it in this Facebook LIVE video from Jan 19, 2024.
Join our email list and help us grow! We promise you will only receive beautiful photos & updates and probably a cute cat photo or two in your inbox!
About Us
New to our blog? Find out more About Us and How you can support our blog for FREE!
What a great blog. Love hearing all about Commander and Mooshi. I also loved your live today.
Thank you so much – we really appreciate your kind words and for being here!
They are precious!❤️