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.