Blog Number Two

           When our dog was alive and very old, we added the cat. We didn't think it would be kind for him to spend his remaining years with a furry object he could neither see nor hear, launching itself into his face. That's why we got the three-year old cat. Kitty was surprisingly kind to the old boy. He knew the dog was the alpha animal in the household and behaved accordingly. 

Tiger, wasn't too happy about this rather large newcomer. Tiger was a confirmed cat-hater in his youth. He barked and growled then just decided to pretend he didn't exist. It worked for him. Kitty (isn't that name creative?) nudged the dog a few times trying to engage him in play, but failed. So Mister Kitty sat in the window sill, Tiger on his floor pillow and they both avoided eye contact, but as time passed, they started sleeping together. 

            Kitty had a few "issues" in the beginning. Wouldn't play, wouldn't purr, wouldn't sit in our lap and didn't like to be petted. Did I mention that he scratched and even bit us? Our Vet told us, when you rescue an adult animal, you have no idea what trauma he may have been exposed to. So, we decided patience was our best ally. We were determined ours would be his "forever home." We persevered. Although he never learned how to play with "cat toys", after a few months he started sitting in our lap and purring. And definitely stopped the scratching and biting.    

             At the time, we had a big RV. We let Kitty sit in the unit in our driveway many times before taking his first trip. You should have seen the look on his face when we finally backed out of the driveway. "The house is moving!" He stuck to the dog like glue. If Tiger thinks everything is okay, then it must be okay. He finally learned to sit on the dashboard (while in motion), take walks on a harness, allow us to cut his nails and get brushed every day. He was now on the fast track to becoming an official member of our family. 

           On one of our walks, Kitty ate a day lily. I didn't think anything about it at first. After all, dogs eat all sorts of flora and fauna. Even Kitty had chunked down a couple of geckos and crickets. When he stopped eating, I took him to the vet. His kidneys were failing. It cost $800 to save my $50 shelter cat. 

          I took a good look at myself in the mirror. 

          Good grief, I'm becoming a cat fancier!