(no subject)
Many of you may know that for a long time, Matt and I have been looking for a companion for Burnbright. Unfortunately, we've had several opportunities that fell through. The first involved a cat named Oliver that belonged to family of one of my coworkers--who the owner decided, because he was declawed, shouldn't go to a home with a cat with claws.
Last weekend, we visited the place that Feline Friends of New Hampshire has set up in the new Petsmart in Salem, NH. We immediately fell in love with a Main coon-ish cat named Chunky, who we were all ready to take home--to the point of filling out all the screening paperwork. However, just as I was finishing up, one of the volunteers told me that he wasn't good with other male cats, and always wanted to be the dominant male. We were disappointed, but filled out the paperwork anyway for a general screening, so that we could adopt cats from them in the future.
This weekend we went in to check out the selection of cats again, and to bring them some contact info that we still hadn't had a chance to provide them. This time, one of the same volunteers from last week was there, and seeing that we were serious enough to come two weeks in a row, she let us in to play with and pet the selection of cats.
The choice came down to two: a sweet teenytiny spayed female named Delilah, or a slightly bigger shorthair red tabby neutered male named Sunshine. (Silly names, all, I have to say). It was a hard choice! Delilah was very affectionate, and would have made a great lap cat--something that I don't really have with Burnbright. However, she wasn't very playful at, probably as a result of being a barn cat all her life. That would not make a very good companion for Burnbright. The fact that she could have fit in a teacup at twice his age didn't help.
So we turned back to Sunshine. We expected to have to wait awhile, but they approved our paperwork on the spot. . The long and short of it is that we took Sunshine home today.
So right now, Sunshine is closed in the bedroom with all his necessities, and Burnbright has the run of the rest of the house, while the cats get used to each other. We did let them out (supervised) for a short time--there was hissing and growling (mostly on Burnbright's part), but no fighting, but we decided to keep them apart a while longer before trying another play time. This, I figure, is pretty standard, and nothing to worry about--Burnbright is bound to be territorial, and we KNOW he doesn't hate other cats, so it's really just a matter of time.
Sunshine, as I mentioned, is a red tabby. Strange thing is, he seems to have Siamese (or Oriental Shorthair) points on him: he has darkish tinges on his feet and head, and he also has the dark gums of this breed, as well as a traditional Siamese head. He also sounds like a Siamese, boy! He's been crying a lot for attention, and he's got that Siamese yodel.
I'd also forgotten how much shorthairs shed--I've taken maybe ten slicker brushes full of hair off this guy, and it shows no sign of stopping. He's a wiry sort of shorthair, too, the kind of hair that is sharp and sticks to you.
Other details of Sunshine? Well, he loooooooves to eat (made a beeline for it) and is a little overweight, as a result. He acclimated fairly quickly to the house--unlike Burnbright, who spent the first few days hiding and not eating. He loves being petted, especially around the ears and on his belly, although I can't say he's really a lap cat.
... have I mentioned he has a really lame name? He doesn't seem to respond to Sunshine, so we'll probably rename him. Options we've considered include Yamamaya (nevermind that he looks nothing like a yamapikarya... pika meow meow!) No surprise that we've also considered Pika Meow Meow (although that's a little too cute.... but just Pika might be acceptable). Our friends suggested Van Helsing (I think we were talking about the movie), and I'm fond of Oscar Wilde. I suppose my posting pictures will certainly help, but suggestions for names will be taken in the box below.
Brought up to standard May 23, 2016. We lost Yama in January of 2013. I still miss my little yamapikarya :(
Last weekend, we visited the place that Feline Friends of New Hampshire has set up in the new Petsmart in Salem, NH. We immediately fell in love with a Main coon-ish cat named Chunky, who we were all ready to take home--to the point of filling out all the screening paperwork. However, just as I was finishing up, one of the volunteers told me that he wasn't good with other male cats, and always wanted to be the dominant male. We were disappointed, but filled out the paperwork anyway for a general screening, so that we could adopt cats from them in the future.
This weekend we went in to check out the selection of cats again, and to bring them some contact info that we still hadn't had a chance to provide them. This time, one of the same volunteers from last week was there, and seeing that we were serious enough to come two weeks in a row, she let us in to play with and pet the selection of cats.
The choice came down to two: a sweet teenytiny spayed female named Delilah, or a slightly bigger shorthair red tabby neutered male named Sunshine. (Silly names, all, I have to say). It was a hard choice! Delilah was very affectionate, and would have made a great lap cat--something that I don't really have with Burnbright. However, she wasn't very playful at, probably as a result of being a barn cat all her life. That would not make a very good companion for Burnbright. The fact that she could have fit in a teacup at twice his age didn't help.
So we turned back to Sunshine. We expected to have to wait awhile, but they approved our paperwork on the spot. . The long and short of it is that we took Sunshine home today.
So right now, Sunshine is closed in the bedroom with all his necessities, and Burnbright has the run of the rest of the house, while the cats get used to each other. We did let them out (supervised) for a short time--there was hissing and growling (mostly on Burnbright's part), but no fighting, but we decided to keep them apart a while longer before trying another play time. This, I figure, is pretty standard, and nothing to worry about--Burnbright is bound to be territorial, and we KNOW he doesn't hate other cats, so it's really just a matter of time.
Sunshine, as I mentioned, is a red tabby. Strange thing is, he seems to have Siamese (or Oriental Shorthair) points on him: he has darkish tinges on his feet and head, and he also has the dark gums of this breed, as well as a traditional Siamese head. He also sounds like a Siamese, boy! He's been crying a lot for attention, and he's got that Siamese yodel.
I'd also forgotten how much shorthairs shed--I've taken maybe ten slicker brushes full of hair off this guy, and it shows no sign of stopping. He's a wiry sort of shorthair, too, the kind of hair that is sharp and sticks to you.
Other details of Sunshine? Well, he loooooooves to eat (made a beeline for it) and is a little overweight, as a result. He acclimated fairly quickly to the house--unlike Burnbright, who spent the first few days hiding and not eating. He loves being petted, especially around the ears and on his belly, although I can't say he's really a lap cat.
... have I mentioned he has a really lame name? He doesn't seem to respond to Sunshine, so we'll probably rename him. Options we've considered include Yamamaya (nevermind that he looks nothing like a yamapikarya... pika meow meow!) No surprise that we've also considered Pika Meow Meow (although that's a little too cute.... but just Pika might be acceptable). Our friends suggested Van Helsing (I think we were talking about the movie), and I'm fond of Oscar Wilde. I suppose my posting pictures will certainly help, but suggestions for names will be taken in the box below.
Brought up to standard May 23, 2016. We lost Yama in January of 2013. I still miss my little yamapikarya :(