The second day of kitty's presence in our house began with a bath. He had shelter on him and needed to be cleaned off better than a cat can do. I washed him in the big new sink in the laundry room and it went significantly better than I thought it would. After I toweled him off and was holding him, he literally climbed up my body and sat on my shoulder where he proceeded to rub my face and love on me. Was he trying to share in my warmth or what? He is a bit of a snuggler though. Even at the shelter he wanted to be up by my face and even licked and nibbled on it.
Having a kitty on my shoulder reminded me strongly of this early marriage/nursing school photo of me with Ditch on that same shoulder at probably about the same age. Wow I was young (23).
I put kitty in the sunny window and let him be since he was in quarantine until we felt we could trust him.
Another reason he wasn't allowed in the rest of the house was we wanted to be sure he was healthy. He had been at Petsmart and then returned to the shelter for a cold (sneezing and watery eyes). He was being treated with antibiotics but I wanted to visit the vet to be sure nothing more serious or contagious was going on. Also I discovered that the little white bit of skin under his nose that I had noticed the night before was something else and I didn't know what it was! I initiated mandatory hand-washing for all children (and adults) after handling the cat and worried the cat was going to drop dead, we would have to return him, or he was going to have long lasting health problems.
I was able to get into the vet on Wednesday and was mostly reassured. The vet said the antibiotic should cover the cold and that if the symptoms persisted, then we'd have to reevaluate
(he's been fine since though). She also thought the white spot was just a scab, perhaps white since it was in a moist area. She pulled the scab off and since then it's healed and is normal looking. She thought the cat maybe just ran into something or got into a fight. I had them de-worm the kitty again since he seemed to be a little stinky and I was worried it was due to worms. Since being tested he is parasite free. I am still a little worried because he's a more messy cat than I remember them being. I am hoping that's all there is too it, him being a messy male, and not something infectious like Giardia going on. It makes me frustrated because we didn't want a money pit! As if we didn't have enough expenses with four kids (one of which swallowed a marble on Monday) but I think we'll treat for it anyway like the vet suggested.
Luna was watching the kitty pretty closely Wednesday morning during school. See that little clawed paw?! HA! Kitty wanted out badly but he still hadn't been to the vet yet, plus we didn't have the time to commit to watching him outside the laundry room yet.
Finally Thursday night arrived and with it the end of the usual weeknight busyness. We let the kitty out and introduced him to Luna. I guess they had been face to face a few times already when the door opened and the cat would sneak out of the bathroom or the dog would rush in. But finally they met properly and it was...interesting. The cat ran for cover and Luna would chase and run circles around the cat if she could. Then the cat would puff himself up and scratch at her. Luna would nip and the cat would claw and bite. The kids thought it was hilarious. Also that night we decided to call the kitty Fuzzball Meow Meow. Evie wanted Fuzzball and Ezra wanted Meow Meow. However, two weeks later hardly gets called either of these names. Since then Terry suggested Mr. Meowgi like from Karate Kid and then Trouncer since he trounces Luna in a fight. Trouncer is his official name, though he's still rarely called that. Mostly he's just Kitty or The Cat.
Kitty came upstairs after a while in the schoolroom where he hid beneath the couch and chair and school table. He really enjoys Luna's big water bowl. Cute little tongue.
Luna was trying to be good but it's difficult for a curious puppy when something so new and interesting and fun shows up!
That evening was rather stressful because they'd fight and we'd worry Luna was going to kill the stinking cat. Alternatively we'd worry the cat would embed a claw in Luna and she's die due to infection. All this worry made us easily irritated and the kitty would go back in the laundry room for a respite for all of us.
Kitty needs to figure out good places to hide from the dog if he doesn't want to get played with. This wasn't one of the better ones (under the recliner is) but it was pretty cute nonetheless. And Luna needs to figure out how to leave the cat alone if she doesn't want trounced.
Friday morning brought our favorite time of week, special breakfast, coffee, and The Price Is Right. I thought it was super cute that even Terry was holding the kitty that morning.
Evie was snuggling and also keep on eye on fighting.
At the same time I took a little video and caught Terry saying something we thought was super funny.
Two evenings later, after a long weekend of dog and cat fighting, it was sweet, and reassuring, to see them getting along and actually snuggling. It gave me hope that they wouldn't "fight like cats and dogs" forever.
Monday morning, September 25, I found Ezra snuggling the cat as he usually does but in an unusual position. He carries that cat around in a way that cats do not like, just draped across both arms with his front and back legs just dangling. This cat seems to be totally fine with it most of the time, like in this instance. Ezra draped him over his chest while he was watching something on the TV and the cat totally went with it, submitting like a good relaxed kitty, and going to sleep in this awkward position.
It was even more obvious from above. So cute! This made me happy to have a kitty. I do like it when he's purring nicely on me or the kids and he's not fighting with Luna or making a mess.
This is another good place to keep away from the dog, plus it has built in entertainment courtesy of the fish.
On Tuesday while I was studying for small group I was reminded of another thing kitties often do - lounging all over whatever you're doing.
The next Wednesday I was sitting downstairs waiting for Jana to come and get Noah when the cat started snuggling up on me. He kept putting his butt in my face! Cats do this, I don't know why, but I am not used to it anymore and think it's totally gross!
But it made me laugh too. Ha!
The next Friday, the 29th, began with kitty again submitting to Ezra carrying him around, this time to snuggle with while they read books on the loveseat.
Samuel wanted a turn snuggling and getting photographed with the kitty. Awww.
Then kitty did some snuggling with me.
Dawww, what a nice kitty.
The next day no one felt very well (Evie was sick) and we spent a lot of time lazing around watching movies. Even the kitty was tired. Love that little yawning tongue. Ha!
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