So the new kitty we adopted came from the Humane Society. Here comes my new lesson: I need to check into the shelter's testing policies before bringing an animal home. Wow. I though my tough lessons regarding cat adoption were over in 1999. We took Khyda to the vet this Saturday two days after adopting her. It's a good thing we're consciencious enough to care for her extreme shyness AND the fact that we like to introduce any new animal to the house slowly. We hadn't yet let the kids see each other. It's lucky either way that we have such a wonderfull vet. She asked us if she had been tested for kitty HIV and we didn't find any proof of it in her adoption paper work. We had her tested and a few minutes after we got home the vet's office called us and let us know she was clear.
What a relief! Now she could meet the other kids without any risk. We had recently learned a lot about feline HIV. In our previous apartment we had been pampering the "neighborhood kitty" since we moved in. You know, the kind of kitty that goes to everyone's porch to see what lovin' and food it can scrounge up. We honestly had no idea she belonged to anyone. After being there for almost two years we finally saw the owner walking with her. We asked her what was wrong with the cat since we'd noticed her coughing and matted fur and were about to take her to the vet. She told us she had a respiratory infection and that she usually gave her medicine every day. She also said that she normally tolerates more attention after her medication which they gave her in the afternoon and that she might try cut the matts out and brush her. We offered to help her and she accepted for us to come over that next Saturday in the afternoon. When we came over to help out at the appointed time we were met at the door by her husband. He was very rude and ignored my hand instead shaking my boyfriend's hand and ignoring me after that. In any case, he told us that his wife was not available -- not feeling well. He also admitted that their cat had HIV. All that time we had been handling her and feeding her occasionally and didn't know that she was infected with a highly contagious, deadly disease. We could have infected our own kids. I was so mad that they let the cat roam the neighborhood free where other cats roam and could have been infected. I was so mad that the wife hadn't told us the truth when we asked her. I was SO MAD that I thought about reporting them to the animal authorities. We thought about doing a lot of things and finally we just decided to stay clear of the cat and keep our cats safe that way.
I can't believe the Humane Society does NOT test for HIV in their cats. They vaccinate them for it but don't test them -- only for Leukemia. It makes no sense to me at all. The kitten we had adopted from the SPCA just a few months earlier had been tested for both HIV and Leukemia. Of course she had also received the shots she needed for her age before we took her home. IF Khyda had been positive for HIV she could have infected/killed all of our other kids. What a tragedy that would have been.
It made me upset with myself to see that I was assuming such a big agency like the Humane Society would be responsible enough to test the cats for HIV before sending them home to a place with other cats. UNBELIEVABLE!! They KNEW! I told them we had other cats because they asked. I will NEVER adopt from the Humane Society again. And I will NEVER assume that this has been done by any agency. Shame on Humane Society. Shame on me. I have learned another invaluable lesson.
3.20.2006
Our new shelter kitty
Yeah, we've been suckered in again. We're up to five cats now. I have to explain, though, that this one is just extra special. I saw her sweet face and something tugged at me so hard I knew I had to take her home. It took me quite a while to figure out what it was about her that got me like that. Then it finally dawned on me that she looked just like Kiros -- my first cat.
Kiros was a purebred Abyssinian. He was my poorest shopping experience and my greatest love. He was not bred well. He had kennel cough, digestive problems and permanently dilated eyes. Scary, huh? Yeah. In 1999 when I first saw this precious kitty I knew absolutely NOTHING about what to do when looking for a cat. Of course, that starts with NOT going to pet shops but a reputable breeder OR a shelter. Yep. I fell in love with him through the pet shop window. He was playing pick-a-boo with me behind the little tag that had his breed and price. Yeah, price. He was $600! Whoo. I had NEVER seen a tag that big for a cat or anything for that matter. But he had stamped himself in my little heart permanently. I walked away, but kept thinking about him. I thought if he was still there a couple weeks later I might consider getting him. Well, of course what happened was he went on "sale". Yeah, a whole $200 less. Big deal, right? Let me tell ya, seeing him again and the $400 price tag was all it took to seal the deal.
So him and his little 14 week Abyssinian butt went home with me that day. He had the most beautiful face, tiny head, blue body with a peach belly. He LOVED to hug. I would come home from work and he would jump into my arms and hug me with a KungFu/Koalabear grip that would velcro him permanently to my neck for a good five minutes. Yeah, he didn't care one bit if I had two arms full of groceries or not. I got pretty good at holding the bags secure with my forearm and putting the palms of my hands down to block his view of whatever landing spot he had planned for those ready-to-spring haunches. It was like a video game where instead of being the one to shoot you are the target intent on blocking the laser sight to save your own life.
He was so fun. His favorite thing after the ninja hugs was paper-ball soccer. He would come running from any spot in the apartment the second he heard paper crumpling. He had excellent ears. His attention was undivided for that little paper ball. I tossed it and he would bring it back in his mouth and then bat at it. I would bat back and that's how soccer happened. He would intermittently bat the ball and run with it across the linoleum. He entertained himself very well.
He was also a very polite kitty. I would eat Asian style on the floor with a short table for my plates and food and lean back on the couch edge of the fouton couch. He would come up behind me on the fouton and tap me on the shoulder when he wanted attention. I had not had experience with cats before and had never heard of this. It really impressed me that he was so "polite". Just another endearment.
One of the strangest and most endearing things he did was holler for me from across the apartment. It seemed that he lost track of me and missed me all of a sudden. He would holler and when I called back to him he would race back and come to me like he was so very relieved and desperately happy that he had found me again. The look in his eyes is indescribable. He was so intense in every way. I will never forget Kiros.
So now you can understand why this new kitty got me. We've named her Khyda. She has the same Kiros eyes and the most incredible colors I have ever seen. Her markings make her look like a mix between an Abyssinian and a Bengal. My only sadness at the moment is that she seems to have suffered a bit of trauma in her short life. She's most skiddish and seems to duck a lot when approached. I'll be looking for help in this regard online. Since my first cat in 1999 I've learned A LOT about cats (Miss Khyda makes 5 along with Mataki, Yeti, Yoshi and Tika) but if anyone has any suggestions I'm always willing to learn more.
At the moment we've housed her with food, bed, litter box and all in our room -- separate from the other kitties. She seems quite comfortable there. Today I've set up the other kitties in the second room and opened the door to the main room for Khyda to come out when she's ready without fear of running into the other kitties. I figure she needs time to explore the house without any confrontation. She's been looking at the open door for the last two hours and hasn't come out. I've put the food and water next to the open door so she can have some incentive to come close and maybe take a better look "out". I can hear her eating right now. If she comes out it will be really cool. We want to do everything we can to help her adjust and get to a more trusting frame of mind without inadvertently adding more stress. You know?
Cats, animals in general, are so rewarding and such a pleasurable learning experience for us. I truly believe animals edify humans. Los animales nos edifican.
Kiros was a purebred Abyssinian. He was my poorest shopping experience and my greatest love. He was not bred well. He had kennel cough, digestive problems and permanently dilated eyes. Scary, huh? Yeah. In 1999 when I first saw this precious kitty I knew absolutely NOTHING about what to do when looking for a cat. Of course, that starts with NOT going to pet shops but a reputable breeder OR a shelter. Yep. I fell in love with him through the pet shop window. He was playing pick-a-boo with me behind the little tag that had his breed and price. Yeah, price. He was $600! Whoo. I had NEVER seen a tag that big for a cat or anything for that matter. But he had stamped himself in my little heart permanently. I walked away, but kept thinking about him. I thought if he was still there a couple weeks later I might consider getting him. Well, of course what happened was he went on "sale". Yeah, a whole $200 less. Big deal, right? Let me tell ya, seeing him again and the $400 price tag was all it took to seal the deal.
So him and his little 14 week Abyssinian butt went home with me that day. He had the most beautiful face, tiny head, blue body with a peach belly. He LOVED to hug. I would come home from work and he would jump into my arms and hug me with a KungFu/Koalabear grip that would velcro him permanently to my neck for a good five minutes. Yeah, he didn't care one bit if I had two arms full of groceries or not. I got pretty good at holding the bags secure with my forearm and putting the palms of my hands down to block his view of whatever landing spot he had planned for those ready-to-spring haunches. It was like a video game where instead of being the one to shoot you are the target intent on blocking the laser sight to save your own life.
He was so fun. His favorite thing after the ninja hugs was paper-ball soccer. He would come running from any spot in the apartment the second he heard paper crumpling. He had excellent ears. His attention was undivided for that little paper ball. I tossed it and he would bring it back in his mouth and then bat at it. I would bat back and that's how soccer happened. He would intermittently bat the ball and run with it across the linoleum. He entertained himself very well.
He was also a very polite kitty. I would eat Asian style on the floor with a short table for my plates and food and lean back on the couch edge of the fouton couch. He would come up behind me on the fouton and tap me on the shoulder when he wanted attention. I had not had experience with cats before and had never heard of this. It really impressed me that he was so "polite". Just another endearment.
One of the strangest and most endearing things he did was holler for me from across the apartment. It seemed that he lost track of me and missed me all of a sudden. He would holler and when I called back to him he would race back and come to me like he was so very relieved and desperately happy that he had found me again. The look in his eyes is indescribable. He was so intense in every way. I will never forget Kiros.
So now you can understand why this new kitty got me. We've named her Khyda. She has the same Kiros eyes and the most incredible colors I have ever seen. Her markings make her look like a mix between an Abyssinian and a Bengal. My only sadness at the moment is that she seems to have suffered a bit of trauma in her short life. She's most skiddish and seems to duck a lot when approached. I'll be looking for help in this regard online. Since my first cat in 1999 I've learned A LOT about cats (Miss Khyda makes 5 along with Mataki, Yeti, Yoshi and Tika) but if anyone has any suggestions I'm always willing to learn more.
At the moment we've housed her with food, bed, litter box and all in our room -- separate from the other kitties. She seems quite comfortable there. Today I've set up the other kitties in the second room and opened the door to the main room for Khyda to come out when she's ready without fear of running into the other kitties. I figure she needs time to explore the house without any confrontation. She's been looking at the open door for the last two hours and hasn't come out. I've put the food and water next to the open door so she can have some incentive to come close and maybe take a better look "out". I can hear her eating right now. If she comes out it will be really cool. We want to do everything we can to help her adjust and get to a more trusting frame of mind without inadvertently adding more stress. You know?
Cats, animals in general, are so rewarding and such a pleasurable learning experience for us. I truly believe animals edify humans. Los animales nos edifican.
3.09.2006
Hola, wass up?
How's everybody? I'm joining y'all to see what's so fun out here. My Sweety loves it. He blogs constantly and has way too much fun. Is there such a thing? No.
Que onda? Anyone else craaaazy about animals? Yeah, we have a zoo. OK, we have two zoos. We have the West and the East Zoo. Cats stay on the West side of the house and the other side belongs to the rabbit, snails and bettas. All together we have 14 critters here. We love it and we want more. I can't be the only animal fiend out there. The only thing we're waiting for is a bigger house. Well, we could get the dog as soon as we fix the fence. At this time, however, we're so spoiled with the easy care cats that we're not sure we are ready for a dog. We just got the Netherland Dwarf bunny a week ago and it seems like a good way to break in to that higher-maintenance routine. She sure is adorable. Who knew they could be so fun? It's been a blast so far to have the bunny here. We've waited five years to find the perfect dog and to get the house ready. What's a couple more years, right?
Yep that's it for tonight. Have a good one. Buenas noches.
Que onda? Anyone else craaaazy about animals? Yeah, we have a zoo. OK, we have two zoos. We have the West and the East Zoo. Cats stay on the West side of the house and the other side belongs to the rabbit, snails and bettas. All together we have 14 critters here. We love it and we want more. I can't be the only animal fiend out there. The only thing we're waiting for is a bigger house. Well, we could get the dog as soon as we fix the fence. At this time, however, we're so spoiled with the easy care cats that we're not sure we are ready for a dog. We just got the Netherland Dwarf bunny a week ago and it seems like a good way to break in to that higher-maintenance routine. She sure is adorable. Who knew they could be so fun? It's been a blast so far to have the bunny here. We've waited five years to find the perfect dog and to get the house ready. What's a couple more years, right?
Yep that's it for tonight. Have a good one. Buenas noches.
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