Meet James the kitten

Yes, we got a new kitten from our local shelter. I spotted his picture online from the shelter's website back in November. Its the most unappealing picture of a kitten in the whole universe, but I wanted him. (And the fact that he was all gray like Jack was a bonus).

James' kitty mug shot

We decided to just browse at the shelter, just to see if he was still there. I wasn't sure if we would be bringing home a kitten, but I was kind of hoping we would.

Upon arrival I was so excited to see all the kittens. Some were very energetic meowing upon eye contact, bouncing around and pawing the glass. All the kittens were selling themselves, except for one solid gray kitten. He lay curled up in a ball snoozing with another kitten oblivious to anyone outside the glass.

I told the shelter worker which kitten I wanted to see and the instant James' kennel was open he woke up and bolted out of reach. Eventually the worker got him and handed him to me in the enclosed area they save for bonding.

The minute James was handed to me, he cling to me and purred, and I knew right then that he was ours.

We filled out the appropriate paperwork and paid the necessary adoption fees. On our way home we bought some kitten food, a small litter box, some kitten toys and a small cat bed.

Once we got home I called our vet and got an appointment for him the next day. We probably should not have had Jack meet him until after the vet appointment, but Jack was not to be stopped and followed us into the second bedroom to see what was in the cardboard carrier.

We got James settled into the second bedroom and he decided to camp out under a small table. I felt so bad that he was so scared of us, but I let him be.

Day 2: Still keeping his distance, but engaging in playtime.

Jack hissed at him the first time he saw James. James on the other hand couldn't stop purring the moment he noticed Jack. They touched noses, briefly, then Jack hissed and bolted from the room.

The next day at the vet's James got the all clear FIV and Fel/Leuk negative, however there was a noticable sore on this head that they weren't sure about. They took a culture and told us that it could possibly be ringworm (culture takes a week). We were advised to keep him separated from Jack, so as not to possibly spread the unsuspecting ringworm to him.

By Day 4, James had started to come out of hiding and surprised me when he came to me and flopped by my crossed legs begging to be petted. And did I mention, whenever he has contact with us he purrs non-stop and kneads.

Happy to lay in my lap, however his eyes look sad.

Toward the end of the first week with James, I noticed that the head sore wasn't getting any better and also similar lesions were now on his paws. I called the vet and they seemed positive that it was ringworm, so I made an appointment for James the next day. They also discovered that in addition to ringworm he had a really bad case of tummy parasites (no wonder his eyes look sad).

We were given a perscription of oral meds for the tummy parasites, shampoo and topical lotion for the ringworm. Yes, I typed that right - shampoo. We were going to have to bathe a kitten.

I was freaking out at first at the thought of having to give a kitten a bath. But really I was freaking out over the concept of having to give Jack a bath *shudder*

James surprised us. He struggled and meowed at first, but really, he was extremely patient and stayed still, most of time, as we tried to lather him up as calmly, yet as quickly, as possible. He did good when we wrapped him in a towel and held him while the shampoo set. He didn't like being rinsed off, but was happy once we wrapped him back up in a towel.

We will see how he copes once we have to do this again on Friday.

He seems to be doing better now that we have been giving him his oral meds for the tummy parasites. He doesn't struggle so much, but he doesn't like it. He mostly struggles with having to have the lotion put on the lesions. But his eyes don't look as sad. We still have to keep him away from Jack, but hopefully they will get to interact soon.

We are discovering that he is a happy little guy, and most likely will end up being a lap kitty.

Wordless Wednesday

Look at that pretty face

While most of my Facebook feed is being filled with my friends 'First day of school pics' of their kids. I decided to post of pic of by furkid. He might not be going to school, but he sure is cute :)

My Boy Jack

We have a one cat. His name is Jack and he is our boy. He has been our boy since January 2006. When we moved from Oxford back to CA, Michael made sure to find an apartment that was pet friendly because he knew how much I wanted a cat. 

Less than a month after moving into our new apartment, I started looking on various websites to find a kitten that needed a home. (I realize now that if I were ever to do this again I would forgo the internet and either just go to our local shelter, or browse through the Pen.ny.sav.er.)

Jack is our Pen.ny.sav.er cat. When we got him he was only 16 weeks, tiny, and scared. His mother looked distinctly different from him. She was a long-haired, cream colored cat with brown seal pointed ears and tail and big blue eyes. I think she was a Birman. We took him home and he stayed a good portion of the day under the ottoman of my papasan chair. Within the week he was into everything and we discovered that he didn't like being in a room by himself if he could help it.

Michael jokes that Jack is my cat, not our cat. Jack gets mad at me on mornings I have to leave for work. Just this morning he was actually sulking, sitting just out of reach with his back to me. Now that I am home he won't leave me alone.

We learned something interesting about him after two years of having him in our home. In February 2008 I had an ectopic pregnancy and had to have emergency surgery. The morning after I had come home, I was in bed resting as my stomach muscles wouldn't let me do much of anything. My mom shut our bedroom door to keep Jack out. Jack kept wanting to go into the bedroom by pawing at the door, but mom kept shoeing him away. He hissed at her...three times. Until that moment, Jack never hissed at anyone.

We finally let him in the bedroom and he jumped on the bed right on my stomach. Of course I screamed and scared him to death. Jack came back on the bed and he was very gentle when he came to me. He stayed with me the whole time I was recovering only laying on my thighs. He wouldn't let anyone near me until they greeted him first.

My favorite was when I was finally able to take a shower (48 hours after surgery). Jack walked into the bathroom to the shower, looked around and then walked out settling himself right outside the bathroom door until I was done with my shower. It was the weirdest thing.

A year later when I was dealing with depression shortly after deciding not to try to conceive anymore, Jack was there too. Sometimes just sitting on the sofa next to me, or on my lap. At times when I was crying, he would just stare at my face with wide eyes not sure what to do with me, so he would just stay with me on the sofa.

He's a funny cat. When he wants to play he'll go in the corner of the living room and meow at the wall (he wants me to get up off my booty and chase him). Sometimes he will hide in a place that is out of my eye line and meow. I'll say, "Where's Jack?" and he will poke his head out for me to see his face. (I'm not kidding, he actually does this.)

Jack is very expressive with his ears and I swear he understands every word we say to him. He likes his tummy rubbed first thing when we come home. He sleeps with his eyes open, and he is afraid of everything (trials of being an indoor cat.)  

Jack has been a great companion during these years in our IF journey. He may be "just a cat" to some people, but to us he's our boy, he's our child with a soft gray furry coat. I think the best part is that he truly seems to love us back...on most days :)

I talk about Jack so much a woman at my work thought I had a son called Jack. *snort* I had to tell her Jack was actually my cat. It was hilarious. Below are a few Christmas pictures. I can't really decide which one will be next years Christmas card.

Christmas 2010. Jack actually posed for this picture. I was originally taking pictures of our Christmas tree and Jack stopped by to show me his good side near the Nativity scene .

Yes, he is not really happy about the Santa hat, but doesn't he look cute?