additions to the family
so tonight I'm getting another cat. His name at the shelter is Hurley, but that has got to go. I've tentatively named him Dylan, though I'm not 100% committed to that name (can most of you figure out the name theme?).
I met him two weeks ago when I went home for the weekend. He is at the Animal Protection Association in Louisville. The APA has until recently been located in a house in Jeffersonville, IN, but the man who owned it and let the APA use it has recently died, and his family has been forced to sell the house in order to pay his bills or something like that. So the APA has had to get another place, but it's quite a bit smaller, so they went on various news shows and pleaded with the public to come adopt their animals because they were having to downsize. I'd been thinking of getting a second cat for awhile (to even the odds with Amy's cats! and also Simon is used to having cats around so I want him to have a brother for when Amy and I go different places this summer and after graduation. and also I love animals.)
So Dylan nee Hurley is 8-9 mo. old, solid gray, and absolutely beautiful. He's quite a bit smaller than Simon, though I'm not sure if he's done growing since he's still so young. He reminds me of Simon's temperament...very laid back, content to just lie in your arms and cuddle, very affectionate...in general just very sweet. And playful. There was another cat at the shelter who was obviously his BFF (best feline friend)...this cat was almost completely orange, with white paws and a white vest coming down his chest and across his belly, and also a white patch right on his nose crossed by orange, making him look like he has freckles. The two of them played together and laid together and followed each other around somewhat. I suggested that my parents adopt the orange one (shelter-named Dino), so that he and mine could be step brothers (or something) and see each other when my parents cat-sitted (-sat?) or I went home to visit. To my surprise, they said "Sure!" and adopted him. He's very playful, and has the somewhat unfortunate habit of nibbling, particularly fingers. It's not too bad until he works his way down so he's biting with his molars back near the jaw hinge...very painful!
He has been named Oliver, and is fitting into my parents' place well. Fiona (their first cat) is not very happy, but she's adjusting slowly. They apparently both sleep on my parents' bed, until about 5 am when Fiona wakes up and realizes that she has inadvertently shared a bed with the dreaded intruder, and leaves in a huff. (Why does she not notice this when she comes up to the bed in the first place, you ask? Good question, one I asked myself. It turns out that my parents' bed is big enough that Oliver can be snuggling with my mom and fall asleep and not be visible to Fiona when she comes up to sleep between my dad's feet.)
I didn't get to take Dylan nee Hurley home two weeks ago because he apparently had to have surgery to remove (as I understood it at the time) a benign growth on his bladder. However, after his pre-op exam, I called the woman at the APA and found out that it wasn't a growth, it was some kind of a kink in the tubing, or something? and in any case, the doctor couldn't find it, and gave him a clean bill of health. So he's free and clear and mine as of this evening! And I will have my own vet check him out, cuz that whole surgery-then-no-surgery and growth-nongrowth-kink thing was kind of odd.
Now I need to clean the house to get ready for him. I'm heading to Louisville after I finish a really important teleconference that starts at 1, which could drastically effect my future in the Forensic Science field. I'll get the kitty around 5, then grab a quick dinner at my parents' house while Dylan is encouraged to eat a little and use the litter box, and then back to WV. A lot of traveling in one day, but I want to have as much time as possible with him in our house here in Huntington before I start back at school on Monday. I plan to introduce Simon within the first day or so, and let them get used to each other and Dylan get used to the house before introducing Stouie and Ava in limited doses, maybe by the end of the weekend, or early next week (depending on how everyone's handling things). The boys will probably all be fine, after a little requisite posturing and rear-end-sniffing. Ava is the concern...she still hisses at and beats up on Simon when she gets a chance, and isn't real sure about me yet either. But she's generally fine just staying in Amy's room and minding her own business, so I don't think it will be TOO big a problem.
Off to clean and prepare for the teleconference. Wish me luck!
I met him two weeks ago when I went home for the weekend. He is at the Animal Protection Association in Louisville. The APA has until recently been located in a house in Jeffersonville, IN, but the man who owned it and let the APA use it has recently died, and his family has been forced to sell the house in order to pay his bills or something like that. So the APA has had to get another place, but it's quite a bit smaller, so they went on various news shows and pleaded with the public to come adopt their animals because they were having to downsize. I'd been thinking of getting a second cat for awhile (to even the odds with Amy's cats! and also Simon is used to having cats around so I want him to have a brother for when Amy and I go different places this summer and after graduation. and also I love animals.)
So Dylan nee Hurley is 8-9 mo. old, solid gray, and absolutely beautiful. He's quite a bit smaller than Simon, though I'm not sure if he's done growing since he's still so young. He reminds me of Simon's temperament...very laid back, content to just lie in your arms and cuddle, very affectionate...in general just very sweet. And playful. There was another cat at the shelter who was obviously his BFF (best feline friend)...this cat was almost completely orange, with white paws and a white vest coming down his chest and across his belly, and also a white patch right on his nose crossed by orange, making him look like he has freckles. The two of them played together and laid together and followed each other around somewhat. I suggested that my parents adopt the orange one (shelter-named Dino), so that he and mine could be step brothers (or something) and see each other when my parents cat-sitted (-sat?) or I went home to visit. To my surprise, they said "Sure!" and adopted him. He's very playful, and has the somewhat unfortunate habit of nibbling, particularly fingers. It's not too bad until he works his way down so he's biting with his molars back near the jaw hinge...very painful!
He has been named Oliver, and is fitting into my parents' place well. Fiona (their first cat) is not very happy, but she's adjusting slowly. They apparently both sleep on my parents' bed, until about 5 am when Fiona wakes up and realizes that she has inadvertently shared a bed with the dreaded intruder, and leaves in a huff. (Why does she not notice this when she comes up to the bed in the first place, you ask? Good question, one I asked myself. It turns out that my parents' bed is big enough that Oliver can be snuggling with my mom and fall asleep and not be visible to Fiona when she comes up to sleep between my dad's feet.)
I didn't get to take Dylan nee Hurley home two weeks ago because he apparently had to have surgery to remove (as I understood it at the time) a benign growth on his bladder. However, after his pre-op exam, I called the woman at the APA and found out that it wasn't a growth, it was some kind of a kink in the tubing, or something? and in any case, the doctor couldn't find it, and gave him a clean bill of health. So he's free and clear and mine as of this evening! And I will have my own vet check him out, cuz that whole surgery-then-no-surgery and growth-nongrowth-kink thing was kind of odd.
Now I need to clean the house to get ready for him. I'm heading to Louisville after I finish a really important teleconference that starts at 1, which could drastically effect my future in the Forensic Science field. I'll get the kitty around 5, then grab a quick dinner at my parents' house while Dylan is encouraged to eat a little and use the litter box, and then back to WV. A lot of traveling in one day, but I want to have as much time as possible with him in our house here in Huntington before I start back at school on Monday. I plan to introduce Simon within the first day or so, and let them get used to each other and Dylan get used to the house before introducing Stouie and Ava in limited doses, maybe by the end of the weekend, or early next week (depending on how everyone's handling things). The boys will probably all be fine, after a little requisite posturing and rear-end-sniffing. Ava is the concern...she still hisses at and beats up on Simon when she gets a chance, and isn't real sure about me yet either. But she's generally fine just staying in Amy's room and minding her own business, so I don't think it will be TOO big a problem.
Off to clean and prepare for the teleconference. Wish me luck!