KITTY!!!!!
Yay! kitty!
We drove down to TN on Friday after work so we could pick up kitty on Saturday. The drive down was pleasant enough once we got past the DC area traffic, and we got to indulge in yummy Angus burgers from Hardees. We stayed in Greeneville TN, at a really lovely historic hotel. We had breakfast at a local greasy spoon - the food was tasty and our total bill was $6. If it weren't for the lack of friends, family, local attractions and cultural center - we could live like kings in Greeneville.
We took the explorer so there would be plenty of room for everything - we set up a litter box, a little pet bed and the cat carrier, food, water and a few toys. We decided that we would take turns sitting in the back seat (with the other seat folded down) hanging out with her.
We got to the place and it was a nice set up. Darlene runs "A Second Chance Adoption" out of her home, which is a gorgeous place out on a farm with plenty of land. She had 17 cats this season as well as some horses. We met the kitties (about a dozen, plus two momma cats) and played with all of them for awhile. We wore them out playing with the feather toy, and as they started to get the post-play sleepies we decided that would be the ideal time to head out. It was really hard to leave with only one cat, but we really had decided we wanted to see how things worked with just one kitty. It was hard because they were all so cute, but with Checkers (the black and white kitty in the petfinder picture) having been adopted just the day before, it was easier than it would have been if she was still there.
Her name was Batzy, but that didn't seem quite right. Originally we thought we were going to adopt Eclipse, another black kitty from the same litter, but we really wanted a girl kitty and they had gotten the sexes mixed up on the petfinder page. So we got rather attached to the name eclipse, or 'clipsie as we expected we would call her, before we realized that Batzy was the female, so Batzy is now 'clipsie. She is soooo tiny - 2 pounds 3 ounces! She's 8 weeks old and was the runt of the litter. The momma cats aren't huge, so we may end up with a smallish cat which would be cool.
I was prepared for a miserable trip. Cats often don't like car rides - they yowl, they pant, some throw up or get diareaha. I was prepared for this but hoping for the best. What we got surpassed my highest expectations. She was a little freaked out in the first 5 minutes. She panted a little and looked a little agitated, but she seemed to like her carrier. We got the type that opens on top as well as the side so Fred was able to pet her. It didn't take long for her to get used to things and she calmed down and spent much of the trip catnapping in her pet bed. She explored some, and ate some food, used her litter box and even played. She was such an amazing kitty. In the entire 8 hour trip, she meowed like 4 or 5 times max.
Here are some pictures we took on the trip: http://fred-and-xie.smugmug.com/gallery/161044
Rather than introduce her to the whole house at once, we're starting her off slowly, so her home base is our bedroom. She quickly mapped where the food and litter box were and how to get back to them - a very crucial step. At first I was worried that I might have to drive back down to TN next week to pick up one of her litter mates, cause as she first explored the bedroom, she appeared to be looking for them, but within an hour she seemed completely content again. She was settled and was happy to curl up near me while I was on the computer. We bribed her with chicken baby food and were able to trim her nails, but discovered that tiny kitten + chicken baby food= seriously stinky poo. I didn't know such a tiny kitty could make such an enormous smell. We'll have to keep that in mind for the future.
She cuddled up with us last night, sleeping on various bits of us though she seemed to favor our feet. We was an absolute love muffin. We had great playtime this morning and she really has started to bond with us. I'm very excited. She seems to love being the center of attention. I am so happy to have a cat again!
We drove down to TN on Friday after work so we could pick up kitty on Saturday. The drive down was pleasant enough once we got past the DC area traffic, and we got to indulge in yummy Angus burgers from Hardees. We stayed in Greeneville TN, at a really lovely historic hotel. We had breakfast at a local greasy spoon - the food was tasty and our total bill was $6. If it weren't for the lack of friends, family, local attractions and cultural center - we could live like kings in Greeneville.
We took the explorer so there would be plenty of room for everything - we set up a litter box, a little pet bed and the cat carrier, food, water and a few toys. We decided that we would take turns sitting in the back seat (with the other seat folded down) hanging out with her.
We got to the place and it was a nice set up. Darlene runs "A Second Chance Adoption" out of her home, which is a gorgeous place out on a farm with plenty of land. She had 17 cats this season as well as some horses. We met the kitties (about a dozen, plus two momma cats) and played with all of them for awhile. We wore them out playing with the feather toy, and as they started to get the post-play sleepies we decided that would be the ideal time to head out. It was really hard to leave with only one cat, but we really had decided we wanted to see how things worked with just one kitty. It was hard because they were all so cute, but with Checkers (the black and white kitty in the petfinder picture) having been adopted just the day before, it was easier than it would have been if she was still there.
Her name was Batzy, but that didn't seem quite right. Originally we thought we were going to adopt Eclipse, another black kitty from the same litter, but we really wanted a girl kitty and they had gotten the sexes mixed up on the petfinder page. So we got rather attached to the name eclipse, or 'clipsie as we expected we would call her, before we realized that Batzy was the female, so Batzy is now 'clipsie. She is soooo tiny - 2 pounds 3 ounces! She's 8 weeks old and was the runt of the litter. The momma cats aren't huge, so we may end up with a smallish cat which would be cool.
I was prepared for a miserable trip. Cats often don't like car rides - they yowl, they pant, some throw up or get diareaha. I was prepared for this but hoping for the best. What we got surpassed my highest expectations. She was a little freaked out in the first 5 minutes. She panted a little and looked a little agitated, but she seemed to like her carrier. We got the type that opens on top as well as the side so Fred was able to pet her. It didn't take long for her to get used to things and she calmed down and spent much of the trip catnapping in her pet bed. She explored some, and ate some food, used her litter box and even played. She was such an amazing kitty. In the entire 8 hour trip, she meowed like 4 or 5 times max.
Here are some pictures we took on the trip: http://fred-and-xie.smugmug.com/gallery/161044
Rather than introduce her to the whole house at once, we're starting her off slowly, so her home base is our bedroom. She quickly mapped where the food and litter box were and how to get back to them - a very crucial step. At first I was worried that I might have to drive back down to TN next week to pick up one of her litter mates, cause as she first explored the bedroom, she appeared to be looking for them, but within an hour she seemed completely content again. She was settled and was happy to curl up near me while I was on the computer. We bribed her with chicken baby food and were able to trim her nails, but discovered that tiny kitten + chicken baby food= seriously stinky poo. I didn't know such a tiny kitty could make such an enormous smell. We'll have to keep that in mind for the future.
She cuddled up with us last night, sleeping on various bits of us though she seemed to favor our feet. We was an absolute love muffin. We had great playtime this morning and she really has started to bond with us. I'm very excited. She seems to love being the center of attention. I am so happy to have a cat again!