Friday, February 3, 2012

Wednesday

You might wonder why I'm publishing a post titled "Wednesday" on a Friday.  But this post isn't about what day of the week it is...it's about the most recent addition to our family - a kitty cat named, Wednesday.  Isn't she beautiful? [smile]
I've been wanting to do a post about her for awhile now - but if you've ever had a kitten you might know that it's very difficult to get them to sit still!  The only opportunity I've had to get some good photos of her has been while she's slept.  But now, a few months have passed and she's just at the brink of beginning to 'settle down'.  She's definitely still a kitten!  But she's been having more calm moments than before and I was finally able to whip the camera out one recent sunny day while she was just waking up from one of her 2 dozen naps a day.  Cats have the life, do they not?

We adopted her after a spontaneous trip to our local mega pet store - which we visited on a whim because 'maybe there would be some kittens in there and maybe we might adopt one'.  We've had several cats over the years, but the oldest one - a cat named Luna - had just passed away a few months prior and my boys and I were really missing her.  I had told them that someday we'd get a new kitten, but not right away.  It was the first time in my life that I didn't have a cat and I thought I should enjoy not having a litter box to scoop for a bit.  However, it didn't take long for it to feel like 'something was missing'.  It was so strange not to have a cat around and I really missed it.  I didn't have my hopes up the day we walked in the store and I reminded my boys to do the same. 
Yet, when we saw Wednesday, we were immediately sold.  She was a bit older than I had anticipated adopting, as I wanted my guys to experience what it was like to have an itty bitty kitten...she was 4 months old.  But she was very petite and even though she wasn't a 6 week old kitten, she didn't seem much bigger than one.
The store we were at didn't sell cats or dogs themselves, but they showcased adoptable pets for a local rescue organization named Animal Nation.  Wednesday was rescued from a hoarders home when she was only a few days old, along with her mother and brother.  She was kept with a 'foster family' until she was old enough to be separated from her mother and then went on to the pet store, where she would hopefully be adopted. 
I was curious as to why she hadn't been adopted already as she was clearly a gorgeous cat.  But as it turned out, she wasn't the friendliest around other cats and Animal Nation wanted her to be adopted into a home that promised she'd be an 'only child'.  This limited the potential she had in finding a home, but for us it was perfect - as I wanted only one cat. 
Photobucket
The adoption process took an agonizing 4 days or so - due to the thorough investigation this agency does into the backgrounds of all it's potential adopters [which for the sake of the animals, is a good thing of course].  That was hard for me because once I fell for her and had realized she was going to be our baby, I didn't want her living in a cage for a moment longer than she had to.  However, the wait was worth it because she's been the best cat ever - better than we could have ever asked for!
I mean, will you look at that face?
She's been an angel with the boys.  Even when she gets in a frisky mood - like, when you just want to cuddle and she just wants to play - she always uses the gentlest of gestures with all of us.  She'll bite, as all kittens do, but when she does it's as if she 'knows' that she needs to be soft.  It's a playful thing, never aggressive.  She's also very smart - every day she's amazing us with some new thing she's learned.  She loves playing with pens and pencils.  She'll find one on a table, a counter, a desk and swat it to the floor.  Then she'll carry it around the house in her mouth, the same way a cat might carry a mouse and hides them under things.  Her favorite place is under the rugs. 
The day we brought her home we bought a bunch of toys for her.  The favorite has been these little catnip mice [as seen in this photo of her on her first day home with us].  When I was sick last week, there was one day I felt so badly that I just needed to sleep for a few hours.  She must have known something was amiss with me because when I woke up she had gathered every toy mouse she could find around the house and laid them down on top of my comforter, as a gift.  When I awoke there were 5 or 6 of them laying next to me...and there she was - curled up, sleeping next to me too.  I gave her a kiss and said, 'thanks for thinking of me'.
It's been over 15 years since I've had a kitten and I had forgotten how hysterical they are...and also how much work they can be at times!  The first few weeks there wasn't much sleep happening around here - with her standing by, ready to attack my feet under the covers with even the slightest movement I made.  But it's all been worth it as she's been so much fun for all of us.
I hope that if you're a local reader and you're ever in the market for pet adoption that you'll consider Animal Nation.  I've seen the amazing work they do and its astounding the amount of time, energy and love they put into all their strays.  All of it wouldn't be possible without the dedication of the volunteers they have, who visit the animals throughout the day to give them play time and love...along with caring for their needs.  Wednesday is blessed to have full time play and love now, but there are many more that haven't been so lucky.  Even if you're not looking to adopt, Animal Nation is always looking for more volunteers and would gladly accept a tax deductible donation that helps cover the costs of caring for their animals.  You can also learn more about what they do and the animals that need loving homes on their Facebook page.

7 comments:

Laurie {Simply Scratch} said...

Love the name! She is purrrrtay! {lame joke I know} But really, kittens are the best!

Elizabeth @ chronic venture said...

such a beautiful cat!

Anonymous said...

the gif you made with captions is pretty cool :) Wednesday is one cute cat. Congrats on the new family addition!!!

Lauren Brown said...

She is just adorable! Good thing she is an 'only child' or you'd have more!
And I love the Photoshopped picture...very cute!

katie said...

@laurie @elizabeth @foxflat @lauren
thanks everyone! :)

Anonymous said...

She's beautiful! Gorgeous photos too!

Anonymous said...

Don't know who is the lucky one...
You in finding Wednesday OR Wednesday in finding you.

She is stunning.

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