Monday, July 6, 2009

"Gimme a whiskey with ginger ale on the side and don't be stingy, baby."


So yeah, I adopted a cat. My current cat, NooNoo, needs a companion. Not that she would admit it, she's far too regal for that, as her re-enactment of the Princess and the Pea here shows. She's 10 years old (as of saturday) and her companion of several years passed away last fall. I tried bringing home a new friend for her in December and it was an Utter Disaster. His name was Angel and he loved more than anything to chase NooNoo. She spent most of her life living on the fridge. It broke my heart, but I couldn't keep him, it just wasn't right to torture NooNoo like that.

But she's spent her entire life living with other cats (whether she cared for them or not) and I could tell she was a little lost. I had actually broken down and gone to the local Pet Smart to buy a collar and leash with some vague idea that we could go outside together (she wants to be an outside cat REAL BAD, but unfortunately, her previous owner had her declawed). I wasn't sure how it was going to work because I couldn't imagine getting the collar thingy on her, and it would probably be some horribly ending discussion where the collar somehow ended up being on me. Then I noticed they had strays....so I wandered over and was reading the descriptions really carefully. I needed a cat that was good with other cats and not aggressive at all.

See, NooNoo is little, I guess she was the runt of the litter, or else she just has petite genes. She's 4 pounds soaking wet, not that I've ever seen her soaking wet... Where, O Universe, are my petite genes???? I must have eaten them...! :-D

Anyway, I had had a passing idea that I would adopt a kitten (the only thing littler than NooNoo) and even applied to a local rescue society (which shall go un-named). The lady who talked to me was much more interested in judging me in how I had handled the Angel situation (why didn't I isolate him and foster him until he could be adopted, had I followed up on whether he was adopted, did I realize that since I hadn't kept him, he was probably put down). Thanks lady, like I didn't go through enough soul-searching and guilt over how to handle that situation. Needless to say I withdrew my application from that society and felt like crap. Once I realized she was the jerk, not me, I got over it.

After a lot of petting and pondering at the Pet Smart, I determined there was a likely candidate in a female black and white cat named Greta. I wonder what the person who named her was thinking about, Garbo seems too easy, but that's the only Greta I know. They said she was found "living under the porch of a preacher's house" in Marcus Hook (I feel like there's a song in there somewhere, and I suddenly have an inclination to watch quentin tarantino movies now...).

And so, one reviewed application and long discussion with the ladies at the rescue operation later, I have a new kitty.

She's living in my master bedroom for now, which is a HUGE pain in the butt, but I am not rushing this introduction at all. She seems fine to be living in there right now, she's not trying to get out the door or anything, so the intro will happen when I feel it's right.

I wanted to post some nice pictures of her, but this darn cat does not sit still when there's a camera in the room! She's a lot like my nephew Jack, there are a lot of pictures of the back of his head floating around, for instance:











So, you will have to trust me, she does have two yellow eyes, a nose and mouth, and she loves nothing more than to be petted and to shed all over (I was smart enough to get a black and white cat so no matter what I wore, the fur would show up). She's a sweetie and so far hasn't demonstrated any aggressive behaviour at all. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!



5 comments:

  1. Oh, they're precious - NooNoo reminds me of our Eleanor of years ago, also a tiny cat. And, of course, any cat named Greta has to be wonderful....

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  2. Looking forward to meeting Greta, she sounds sweet.

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  3. Leah!!! My beloved cat Tigger was adopted after 2 different families both adopted and then returned him to the SPCA. He was 8 years old when I adopted, so suffice to say not a lot of people were necessarily anticipating he'd get this 3rd chance so to say. I adore him, but he can be a TERRIBLE cat: he attacks at random, he HATES all other cats, he enjoys strewing his cat crackers everywhere, he LITERALLY splashes water about like a nut, he enjoys scattering cat litter around like nobody's business, etc., etc., etc. But with us he's found a home, and I truly believe that Angel will have found his by now. With some cat that enjoys being chased. ;) PLEASE don't allow yourself to feel any guilt: You did the right thing! for you, noonoo, and angel!

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  4. Thanks for the vote of confidence Melissa!

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