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.

Crazy Cat Lady

I knew better than to comment on my friend's FB status regarding her admiration for her child's recent accomplishment. I knew that by commenting I'd be opening myself up to ridicule and maybe criticism, not from her, but possibly from our mutual FB friends. I knew all that and I commented anyway.

She is my oldest and dearest friend. I love her, and like all of my friends who have children, I am slightly jealous that she gets to be a mom. My comment was in no way intended to degrade her child's accomplishment or her joy in basking in that accomplishment.

I don't have a child to brag about, or a similar experience to share. Instead I have cat stories, so I gave one acknowledging that my cat's acheivement (I swear I heard 'Mama' in a meow once) was obviously not as amazing as listening to your child read to you, but was just as cool.

Not only does my dear friend have a great sense of humor, she knows my heart and how long we have struggled to have a child.

It was a mutual friend, whose sense of humor you either love or hate and at times can border on the unkind, made a comment that on the surface was funny but hurtful to the core. Basically this person commented that after 18 years I proved them right by becoming the Crazy Cat Lady.

Intially it made me laugh. Then I could feel the air slowly escape my lungs. No, no, no, don't cry, Jonelle! The snarky, yet factual part of my brain took over before the weepy, emotional part of my brain could stew in the comment. I quickly responded with, "When you're not able to have children, you become the Crazy Cat Lady."

I'm not proud of the motive behind my response to this person. I'm not proud that I wanted to make this person feel bad about reminding me about my crazy cat lady status, because when it comes down to it, this person was right. I did become the Crazy Cat Lady, not by choice...it just happened somewhere between year 3 and year 5 of trying to have a baby, hormones being overtaken by fertility drugs, the repetitive crash and burn of a medicated cycle and being constantly disappointed with failed IUIs and miscarriages, that I became a Crazy Cat Lady.



Grab your starter kit today.



I'm confused. Because while this comment initially hurt my feelings after a while I really didn't care. In fact, after I posted my reply, I embraced my CCL status by posting this picture from ihazcheeseburger.com. 

Why should I be ashamed of having a cat? Jack has helped me during the darkest days of IF. He has been there when I couldn't be bothered to get up off the couch, because I couldn't stop crying over another failed cycle, or miscarriage. Even now, when I'm having a bad day he will follow me around the apartment to make sure I'm okay. So what if I talk to my cat as if he understands what I'm saying. I'd like to think he actually does understand me, though I know he really doesn't.

People talk about their kids all the time, why can't I talk about my cat? Because if I do, I'm called a Crazy Cat Lady. But if I had a child, and talked about him/her all the time, I'd be called a Proud Parent.

And really, I'm not certain you become a CCL if you only have one cat. I'd like to think that instead of a being a CCL, I'm a Dedicated Pet Parent.

So, I've been called a D.I.N.K, a Woman of Leisure and now Crazy Cat Lady. Excellent.