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Monday, February 4, 2008

Christian? Maybe I should rename him Jewish

One of my concerns, in the wake of Scruffy's death, has been to find a playmate for Shadow. Friday I went down to the Elmsford shelter and filled out paperwork, and I saw several lots of cats, including a beautiful little grey cat with a white chest, who was very affectionate and allowed herself to be picked up. She was absolutely perfect, but then it appeared that she doesn't get along with other cats very well. So, no go. By the time the shelter closed I hadn't found a cat that fit the bill, so I left empty handed.

I had completed the paperwork, however, and although I was up at West Point for the weekend, I did have time to get some of the litter and food that the shelter uses, to make the transition for Hypothetical Cat a bit easier. I returned to the shelter today, and quickly found another nice grey cat, but as I petted him I guess he got overexcited and he bit me with enough force to draw blood. He went back into his cage. The next cat that seemed a possibility, a cute black and white kitty, turned out to be part of a pair, so since I don't have the room for three cats, that cat was also a no go. But the shelter staff led me to a largish grey/brown tabby named Christian, who is about two years old and was a stray until the beginning of the summer. He was very affectionate, and seemed ideal. I guess they checked my references over the weekend, because they let me take him home right then:


For the moment, he is living in the bathroom (which, as was pointed out to me, is much bigger than a cage) so the cats can have the opportunity to get to know each other a bit without having the opportunity to maul each other.

The two cats have sort of met. I had the bathroom door open a crack so they could see and smell each other. Christian seemed curious, as did Shadow, but she also gave a tiny hiss - like a brief bit of soft static on the radio, so I don't think she's ready to accept him yet.

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