Hello kitty
This weekend was quite a momentous one for us, because we finally did what we’d longed to do for ages and got a cat. We had cats throughout my childhood, but apart from looking after my parents’ current cat while they were away, I hadn’t felt that we could keep a cat because we were always renting and therefore in a bit of a precarious position. Now that we have our own house, and Mr. Bsag is often at home during the day, it seemed like the perfect time to give a cat a home.
The new member of our household — who we have named Cleo — is a rescue cat. Despite being a pedigree cat (a Somali), she was stray for an unknown length of time and is consequently very skinny and needs careful feeding up to get her back to a healthy weight. The person who found her said that she was sheltering under a car in the recent downpours, and when she tried to venture out and felt the rain on her face, she’d cry and run back under the car. So I think it’s safe to say that she’s not a hardened feral cat.
We had to transport her a fair distance in the car to get her back home, and we were worried that she’d be really stressed in the carrying box. Despite the fact that we had a bit of a nightmare journey because of a junction closure on the M40, she was really good. She complained a bit occasionally (rather quietly), particularly around roundabouts, but the rest of the time she just slept or looked at the world going past.
She is the most affectionate, sweetest-natured cat I’ve ever come across. She just loves being next to people, getting lots of cuddles and strokes and purring for England. She’s also gorgeous to look at, with very soft, thick fur around her neck and chest and hindquarters, and big, bushy fox tail. It always baffles me that anyone could mistreat or abandon an animal, but when it’s a cat as loveable as Cleo, it’s really bizarre.
Before anyone says, “But I thought you cared about wildlife!”, she’s going to be an indoor cat. She seems to be very content to be in a nice, warm, dry house (none of that nasty wet stuff, thanks very much), and because of her history, and the busy road out the front of our house, it seems like the best idea. So the birds in our garden are quite safe from her. Somali cats can often be trained to walk on a harness and lead, so if she takes to that we could stroll around the garden with her to give her some fresh air and exercise when it’s sunny.
Anyway, she’s settling in well, and I hope she’ll be really happy and secure with us. I have tried to take a few pictures (don’t worry — this blog won’t become wall-to-wall cat pictures), but they aren’t very good. This is partly because the moment you get the camera out, she wants to come over and see what’s up. Consequently, unless you have lightning reflexes on the shutter, you get endless shots of a blurry nose filling the frame. I’ll see if I can take her by surprise over the next few days and get a picture that does her justice.
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Cleo sounds so wonderful (the story about her crying in the rain tugged at my heart) and very, very lucky to have found such a wonderful home!
by Kai @ 08/07/2007 6:19 pm • Permalink •
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Congratulations, I wish you all much companionable (?) pleasure. Being a dog owner I can never resist the feeling that people with cats on leashes are somehow trolling for canines with a tempting dog bait.
by jc. @ 09/07/2007 5:35 am • Permalink •
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Oooh ... she sounds wonderful - and slightly exotic. Congrats and cheers to many years of cat love.
I have a sweet 8 yr old golden retriever who came to live with us a year ago, but I'm really a cat person at heart. Growing up, there was always a cat in our home. I've lived with both indoor and outdoor cats, and I now firmly believe that all cats should spayed/neutered and should be indoor pets. In my experience, they are just as happy or happier, and they live longer, healthier lives.
Saw this at a pet show in Toronto, Canada: For the truly pampered cat. http://www.thecatsden.net/
by Jannine @ 09/07/2007 12:44 pm • Permalink •
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I was a dog person until four feral kittens showed up in our carport and we kept two... which we trained to harness. It's quite easy, as long as you let Cleo play with the harness first, put it on her around the house a bit, put the lead on so she gets used to dragging it (and when it gets caught, she learns what that feels like, and that you'll free her).
She's a lucky cat!
by Pica @ 09/07/2007 1:11 pm • Permalink •
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Congrats on the addition to the family! Looking forward to seeing some pics.
by Debbie @ 09/07/2007 1:43 pm • Permalink •
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Kai: I think we're the lucky ones to have her in our home
j.c: Heh :-D I think we'd only walk her in the back garden to avoid that problem.
Jannine: Yes, she seems to be getting on fine inside. Actually, because she's so thin and lost so much muscle mass, she's relatively weak and lacking in energy. Hopefully that will come back when she's put some weight back on, but for the moment, she has a short bout of jumping onto windowsills or other perches, then lies down for a snooze. Preferably on a convenient human.
Pica: That was roughly what we were planning on doing, though I think we'll leave it until she's a bit stronger before trying.
Debbie: Thanks! I took a couple today which are a slight improvement, but she seems to have an unerring instinct for looking cute in the worst possible lighting conditions.
by bsag @ 09/07/2007 4:39 pm • Permalink •
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The very thought of having a cat on a harness - Arrrrgh!
by Jonathan Briggs @ 09/07/2007 6:38 pm • Permalink •
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Charge the batteries in your camera - you're gonna be taking gazillions of photos!
by Mr.D. @ 10/07/2007 11:43 am • Permalink •
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Soooo wonderful! And looks a bit like mine
I adore cats!!!
by Gil @ 13/07/2007 9:16 am • Permalink •
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So nice...
by Dana @ 03/12/2007 1:17 pm • Permalink •
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Cats are awesome. You should put lots of pics up.
Here is a cute cat pic to cheer everyone up.
http://www.lolcatpics.com/guide-to-lolcats-introduction/
by StalkerB @ 21/02/2008 1:24 pm • Permalink •
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pedigree cat? never heard about such cats before, anyways, congrats))
by Article Creator @ 03/04/2008 9:22 am • Permalink •
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