Bringing Home Kitty

So... We have a cat.

Here's the picture Ava drew for the Cat to welcome it to our home.

We brought it home on Tuesday night and followed all the instructions we could find on how to help a cat make an smooth transition to a new home; we placed it's carrier in a closed space and then Ava Grace and I waited to see if the cat would want to come out....

It did not, but after a few moments of sitting completely still as statues ( I think Ava Grace was holding her breath), she slunk out of the carrier and darted under the bed.

Fine enough, I had the expectation that it would do just that, so we tiptoed out of the room after arranging it some water and food and closed the door to the room, leaving it open just a crack in case it made sounds of distress and we could come to its aid.

An hour later it was time for Ava Grace to get her jammies on and we both thought it might be a good idea to check in on our scaredy cat and say a little reassuring "good-night".

Only the cat was not to be found.

For almost an hour we searched ever crook and cranny of the blessed house thinking we should rename this elusive beast "phantom"... that is if we ever saw it again.

Ava, of course, sobbed that the cat didn't like us... Kevin was sure it was hiding somewhere plotting how it was going to leap out at him when he least expected... and I just kept shaking my head in disbelief... getting a little creeped out as the minutes passed at just how dematerialized the cat was...

Then we found it... hiding in the bowels of Kevin's dresser where we left it with some food and water to just wait until its poor nerves begin to settle and she realizes we're actually pretty nice and really like her.

She is after all, a beautiful cat. She's a 2 year old Seal Point Siamese Cat that needed a home full of people who could give it tons of attention ( which seems a little laughable in the present circumstances). She's a very affectionate cat apparently and her previous owners worked long hours and weren't around to spend much time with her.

We found their ad online on Friday night and on Sunday morning before church we went out to meet her and "audition" to be the family deemed worthy to take her home.
We were up against a few other families so I took a little pride in the fact that we made our first impressions well, all done up in our Sunday-best.

The cat didn't seem too impressed with us, but when I mentioned we were a homeschooling family, the previous owner's eyes shone, thinking that might be just what this cat needed.

Maybe this cat is just what we needed too? Who knows?

Peeking at Kitty from her hiding place under the bed

I have never really been an enthused animal lover to date, but I do have a respect for them and I maintain that to have a relationship with an animal is a unique experience unlike any other relationship you could have. Animals are a facet of God's creation that teach us more about ourselves if we are willing to invest in them; I believe they increase our respect for life in general if we are fortunate enough to be able to have them.

The whole thing came up when a stray cat wandered into our yard last week and spent a good hour and half playing with us and our kids (it was obviously someone's cat because it was well groomed, but it had no tags on... I think it was having a sort of "Ferris Bueller Day Off" catching mice in the field and cutting in on family badminton games like ours)
Anyway, it was one of those really good-natured cats that come along every so often and it was such a nice thing to hang out with such a friendly animal... it got us thinking.

And thinking only leads to dangerous places...

so, now we have a cat.

We've named her Juno and for the first two nights she remained under our bed and Kevin's dresser, wary and distressed that at the very least these bumbling new cat owners could at least get her name right!

Finally she ventured out to Ava Grace and let us at least get a look at her. On Thursday morning she was ready to go exploring and has very tentatively been going about the house stopping to smell, scratch (she's de-clawed) and meow at certain things. Ava Grace decided the cat would feel  more at home if she sang to it... constantly. So, she's been crawling around after it on all fours singing "I have decided to follow ...Juno, no turning back.... no turning back"

Cracks me up, but it's true; there's no turning back now.

We do indeed have a cat.

cheers.