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Happy New Year, everybody!
Dec. 31st, 2021 09:29 pmI see that I haven't posted at all since August. My New Year's resolution is to get back to Dreamwidth.
Jareth, alas, never came home. I saw him briefly the night after he disappeared, then never again. We know, horrified, that some sort of beast got him.
Some weeks later, we couldn't deal with a catless house any more, so we went to the local Humane Society. While we waited, a teenager who was waiting for her dog to be spayed played with the kittens. When the Humane Society remembered we were there, the kittens were pretty much tired out.
So we all sat on the floor. My husband picked up a feather wand. A small black cat immediately started pouncing on it. Then she jumped on his shoulders. Then he tried to play with other kittens, and the small black cat immediately started jumping on the toy because it was hers. Small black cat was a bushel of personality in a cup and a half of kitten, and it was immediately clear that she was coming home with us.
Meanwhile, my son was slowly grabbing and petting another kitten. She cuddled up with him and started purring. She was a ticked Manx; a "stumpy", meaning that she had a small bobcat tail rather than being tailless. This apparently bodes well for the condition of her spine; Manx cats can have spinal problems.
We came home with the black kitten (the teenager cried, because she'd been hoping to adopt her; her parents reminded her that she had five cats at home) and the Manx. The black kitten is Diana; the Manx is Byakko. We opened the cat carrier, and Diana sprinted out and immediately took charge of the household. Byakko hid, and eventually sprinted out. Then she hid in the console radio that came with the house, which I hope someday to restore. She stayed there for two weeks.
I called the Humane Society and they told us to cuddle Byakko by force. We managed to track her down, then shut her into our son's room. Slowly, she became our son's cat; she sits in his lap. Diana was admitted to the room for regular visits; Diana became Byakko's emotional support cat. At one point Diana was asleep on our son's bed, and Byakko came out of the closet, bopped Diana on the nose, and Diana followed Byakko into the closet.
Four months later, Diana is the queen of the household; she goes where she wants, when she wants, and demands due tribute. Byakko went from following Diana around when Jim and I were sleeping, to walking freely around the house. Currently she will walk three or so feet into our bedroom, then think better of it and turn around.
It's good to have a house with cats.
Jareth, alas, never came home. I saw him briefly the night after he disappeared, then never again. We know, horrified, that some sort of beast got him.
Some weeks later, we couldn't deal with a catless house any more, so we went to the local Humane Society. While we waited, a teenager who was waiting for her dog to be spayed played with the kittens. When the Humane Society remembered we were there, the kittens were pretty much tired out.
So we all sat on the floor. My husband picked up a feather wand. A small black cat immediately started pouncing on it. Then she jumped on his shoulders. Then he tried to play with other kittens, and the small black cat immediately started jumping on the toy because it was hers. Small black cat was a bushel of personality in a cup and a half of kitten, and it was immediately clear that she was coming home with us.
Meanwhile, my son was slowly grabbing and petting another kitten. She cuddled up with him and started purring. She was a ticked Manx; a "stumpy", meaning that she had a small bobcat tail rather than being tailless. This apparently bodes well for the condition of her spine; Manx cats can have spinal problems.
We came home with the black kitten (the teenager cried, because she'd been hoping to adopt her; her parents reminded her that she had five cats at home) and the Manx. The black kitten is Diana; the Manx is Byakko. We opened the cat carrier, and Diana sprinted out and immediately took charge of the household. Byakko hid, and eventually sprinted out. Then she hid in the console radio that came with the house, which I hope someday to restore. She stayed there for two weeks.
I called the Humane Society and they told us to cuddle Byakko by force. We managed to track her down, then shut her into our son's room. Slowly, she became our son's cat; she sits in his lap. Diana was admitted to the room for regular visits; Diana became Byakko's emotional support cat. At one point Diana was asleep on our son's bed, and Byakko came out of the closet, bopped Diana on the nose, and Diana followed Byakko into the closet.
Four months later, Diana is the queen of the household; she goes where she wants, when she wants, and demands due tribute. Byakko went from following Diana around when Jim and I were sleeping, to walking freely around the house. Currently she will walk three or so feet into our bedroom, then think better of it and turn around.
It's good to have a house with cats.
