Well as you can probably guess from the title of this post, I got another cat.
Turns out, I called around to see if anyone had a Birman in their shelter, yesterday, and no one did. Still, I was set on a cat or kitten, but I badly wanted one that looked like Grayson. My heart was still grieving for him. But after looking around on the Internet, and finding no other cat that had those markings I decided to go the Animal Shelter and see what they did have.
At the Shelter they had a kitten that looked similar but smaller than Grayson But it was wild with reaching It's little paws through the gated door of it's pen trying to claw whoever got close enough and crying this pitiful loud hoarse cry and climbing up the grate of the door. the poor little thing was all wet probably from turning over his water bowl.
Any way I took pity on it any took it out to go to the little room where you can shut yourself off from the noise of the rest of the animals and just get to know your kitten. But this little kitten couldn't even settle down with lots of petting and coaxing It kept running and jerking around the room and would hardly let you hold him. When I did finally get to hold him I held him quite firmly and snuggled it right up to my chest. It held still for about 10 or 15 seconds and then start clawing and jerking around to get away from me again. The poor little thing was so badly traumatized that I doubted it would ever be normal again. Needless to say I didn't get that little kitten.
As I was about to walk out of the shelter I noticed a little cat in the display Plexiglas pens in the foyer and realized that it was a gold tabby point birman with such delicate markings that it almost looked white. So I took this cat back to the little room and it was adorable. It was curious about the room and had to check out the little cat condo they have there and also climb the five foot excuse for a tree. It made it to the top of the "tree" and had nowhere to go so it sat there a minute and then looked at me as if to say "could you help me down?"
When I picked her up, she purred and purred and as I held her, she kept snuggling up to me, even gently licking my face. She was as sweet tempered as was Grayson and as affectionate as well. She has all the marking of a true Birman right down to the white feet but she doesn't have the long hair and she doesn't look like she is going to be a very big cat as most Birman's are
Anyway, I bought her.
She did have a little trouble with the car ride home but not as bad as Grayson. When I got her home I had to keep her in the "kitty bus" they gave me at the shelter while I disinfected every thing that Grayson had touched. I got a bucket of soapy Clorox water, stripped down to my underwear, and started washing everything inside and out. It's a good thing I stripped down because I was soaked by the time I got everything washed. The next thing I did was to use a mop and mopped the floor of the laundry room and for good measure I mopped all the tile everywhere he could have walked.
By then Joe had come home and helped get the litter box full of litter for me and get everything back in the room as it should be. Then I let the kitten out of the box to look around her new home. She went around the room sniffing everything and finally settled in on her food and water bowels She drank a little and then was ready to be picked up and held. I could tell by the way she climbed up my leg and purred so I picked her up :P
So, anyway, we spent the rest of the day just hanging out together. She didn't want to be left in a room by herself and would follow me where ever I went. Even to the point of getting in front of my feet so I wouldn't get away from her. She did this all the way down the hall. I just about stepped on her a couple of times so I had to pick her up, which was what she wanted all along.
She has turned out as companionable as Grayson was and just as good with the Grand-kids. She lets them pet her and doesn't run away from them, even the little ones. She has two drawbacks:
She has very sharp claws and she sheds like crazy. I am going to have her declawed next week by Dr DeGerring who does a procedure that isn't as painful for the cat. He doesn't take off the claw back to the first knuckle as is the standard practice. He only takes out the claw itself. So the cat can be out of the hospital the same day, you don't have to use any special litter for the litter box, and there isn't nearly the pain and trauma to the animal.
As for the shedding I have bought several of those roller, sticky things that pick up cat hair. I plan to use them ferociously. To save my clothes, I have designated two shirts and two mumus to be used when holding Gold Kitty (for want of a better name. We haven't yet named her). And I am going to train her not to sit on the furniture, as well.
I love this kitten just as much as I loved Grayson. I hope nothing happens to her.
I could hardly believe my good fortune to find that she is "potty trained." She feel so comfortable around us that when I shut her in the laundry room for the night, and shut off the light she just climbed up into the basket that I made for her to sleep in and settled right down - no crying at all. AT ALL. Not a peep.
Now I'm going to have to get a years supply of food and kitty litter for her. But I don't mind in the least. She's worth it.
Jenni, Joey, Emma and Matthew have all been here to see the new kitty and to play with her. She was so cute with them and played with the cat toy with them for about 10 minutes. Emma hasn't yet made the connection that this isn't Grayson. I don't remember if it was me or her that first said the name but at one point she called the kitten "Goldson."
I just LOVE this little kitten!!! Thanks Heavenly Father, I honestly didn't think I'd ever find a cat so lovable and sweet as Grayson was but this one is! Thank You again.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sad, Sad Heart
I had a dream early Tuesday morning that I had gotten a cute little kitten with a gray tabby face and a plain body. I realized when I woke up that I really did want a cat after all these years without a pet. I prevailed upon Joe and his heart was softened and he finally agreed to let me get one.
I went to the Animal Shelter in Lindon that very day (Tuesday) to get a kitten and thought I would have to settle for a gray tabby. That was alright with me. But when I went into the room where they had the cats, the very first cubby hole/pen I looked in, there was the exact kitten I saw in my dream! I could hardly believe it.
On the way home from the shelter I stopped by Emilee's house to show Emma (age 4) my new kitty. She was so cute with him. She hardly dared touch him but when she finally got up her nerve she petted him very softly and he immediately rubbed up against her leg. She was thrilled. I told her she could come over to Grandma's house any time she wanted to to see the kitten. She took me up on it and came over the very next day (Wednesday)to see him again.
That night (Tuesday) Steve and Michelle brought Jenni (6)and Joey (3 1/2) up to see the kitten and after being in the room only a few minutes, Steve started sneezing. I had completely forgotten that Steve was allergic to cats. He said it was all right just so long as the cat didn't come in their bedroom at all, which I readily agreed to. Joey had no interest in the kitten but Jenni just loved him and had a good time petting him and holding him.
The next day (Wednesday) David brought Annika (4 1/2)and Mieka (2)over to see the kitten. He was a little nervous about them but he didn't run away. The girls kept trying to snuggle up to him and he would move 3 or 4 inches and sit down and then they would move up to him again. This happened over and over as the three of them made their way around the room. He did let them pet him though and they were very soft with him.
Later that night Jenn and Jan came over to see the kitten and fell in love with him. He was so cute with them, snuggling up to Jan's neck and pushing his nose into her hair. When Jenn saw him she immediately said he was a Blue Tabby Point Burmese kitten. I had never heard of the breed but he had darling markings. I thought he was a cross between a tabby and a Siamese. He had the tabby face and his body looked like a Siamese. His tail was black with gray rings going up about halfway. His legs looked like a tabby with little rings going down the leg to black feet. He had the sweetest temperament. He was soooo affectionate with everyone who held him. He purred every time he was picked up and wanted to nestle up under your chin. And he loved to be petted and petted and petted.
He was "potty trained" (what do you call it for kittens....? I can't remember) and when we left him in the laundry room (where we had his bed) for the night he cried for a couple of minutes and then settled down on a little rug we have in there and went to sleep. During the day he liked to sit under our big dining room table and watch the world go by.
The saddest thing happened yesterday (Friday). All of a sudden in the afternoon he suddenly got really sick. He started throwing up until there was nothing left to throw up and then there were dry heaves. Luckily we were able to get the last appointment of the day at the Vet's.
After checking him over the Vet said he was very sick with one of four possible illnesses which were all fatal. He said it could be distemper, leukemia, a virus he had picked up at the shelter or feline something or other - it had a long name too hard to pronounce. He said there was hardly any hope for the kitten. Maybe a 5% chance that he would live, he said, and as sick as the kitten was, he was sure the kitten wouldn't live.
When I came home from my mission, I knew he was really sick. His whole personality had changed. No cuddling or purring and he didn't even want to lay on my bed with me. As I took him out to the car to go to the Vet, I picked him up so I could put a towel in his carrier and he threw up again. As I was driving him to the Vet there was NO crying out, out of fear of the car ride, as there had been on the way home from the shelter. He was just silent.
When the Vet said if it were his kitten he would put him down I thought my heart would break. I did end up having him put down and then spent the rest of the night crying off and on. I feel a little better today but am still very sad. He was the cutest, sweetest little kitten I have ever had. Jenn is going to try to find another kitten with the same markings for me. I need to get everything disinfected first, but I hope we can find one.
Even so, Grayson (we named him that) was an answer to my prayers. The Lord knew that the kitten was going to die before He even sent that dream. To have the dream fulfilled, by finding the same exact kitten at the shelter as the one in the dream, was the perfect thing to reassure me that I do have gift of dreams. It was something I had been praying about and now have my answer. It was one of those tender mercies that the Lord gives us from time to time.
I'm still not sure what the purpose of having the kitten die was, though. Maybe I didn't pray hard enough for the kitten's life. I don't know. When I went to the Vet I really didn't expect him to say the kitten had to be put down. It was such a shock. After that I didn't think to pray at all. All I thought of was that they were going to put him down and how bad I felt about that. I will try to think to pray in the first place and then pray harder next time (although I'm hoping there won't be a next time.)
Still, I trust in the Lord that His purposes have been fulfilled in this matter. 
The 'bing' part is the little bell sound the collar made.
Here's the back of the picture Jenni drew. We're still working on spelling!
And finally, here is a pic that Jenn (mom's daughter) found on the net that looks fairly close to what Grayson looked like.
I went to the Animal Shelter in Lindon that very day (Tuesday) to get a kitten and thought I would have to settle for a gray tabby. That was alright with me. But when I went into the room where they had the cats, the very first cubby hole/pen I looked in, there was the exact kitten I saw in my dream! I could hardly believe it.
(This isn't a picture of my kitten, but is the closest one Jenn could find on the internet)
On the way home from the shelter I stopped by Emilee's house to show Emma (age 4) my new kitty. She was so cute with him. She hardly dared touch him but when she finally got up her nerve she petted him very softly and he immediately rubbed up against her leg. She was thrilled. I told her she could come over to Grandma's house any time she wanted to to see the kitten. She took me up on it and came over the very next day (Wednesday)to see him again.
That night (Tuesday) Steve and Michelle brought Jenni (6)and Joey (3 1/2) up to see the kitten and after being in the room only a few minutes, Steve started sneezing. I had completely forgotten that Steve was allergic to cats. He said it was all right just so long as the cat didn't come in their bedroom at all, which I readily agreed to. Joey had no interest in the kitten but Jenni just loved him and had a good time petting him and holding him.
The next day (Wednesday) David brought Annika (4 1/2)and Mieka (2)over to see the kitten. He was a little nervous about them but he didn't run away. The girls kept trying to snuggle up to him and he would move 3 or 4 inches and sit down and then they would move up to him again. This happened over and over as the three of them made their way around the room. He did let them pet him though and they were very soft with him.
Later that night Jenn and Jan came over to see the kitten and fell in love with him. He was so cute with them, snuggling up to Jan's neck and pushing his nose into her hair. When Jenn saw him she immediately said he was a Blue Tabby Point Burmese kitten. I had never heard of the breed but he had darling markings. I thought he was a cross between a tabby and a Siamese. He had the tabby face and his body looked like a Siamese. His tail was black with gray rings going up about halfway. His legs looked like a tabby with little rings going down the leg to black feet. He had the sweetest temperament. He was soooo affectionate with everyone who held him. He purred every time he was picked up and wanted to nestle up under your chin. And he loved to be petted and petted and petted.
He was "potty trained" (what do you call it for kittens....? I can't remember) and when we left him in the laundry room (where we had his bed) for the night he cried for a couple of minutes and then settled down on a little rug we have in there and went to sleep. During the day he liked to sit under our big dining room table and watch the world go by.
The saddest thing happened yesterday (Friday). All of a sudden in the afternoon he suddenly got really sick. He started throwing up until there was nothing left to throw up and then there were dry heaves. Luckily we were able to get the last appointment of the day at the Vet's.
After checking him over the Vet said he was very sick with one of four possible illnesses which were all fatal. He said it could be distemper, leukemia, a virus he had picked up at the shelter or feline something or other - it had a long name too hard to pronounce. He said there was hardly any hope for the kitten. Maybe a 5% chance that he would live, he said, and as sick as the kitten was, he was sure the kitten wouldn't live.
When I came home from my mission, I knew he was really sick. His whole personality had changed. No cuddling or purring and he didn't even want to lay on my bed with me. As I took him out to the car to go to the Vet, I picked him up so I could put a towel in his carrier and he threw up again. As I was driving him to the Vet there was NO crying out, out of fear of the car ride, as there had been on the way home from the shelter. He was just silent.
When the Vet said if it were his kitten he would put him down I thought my heart would break. I did end up having him put down and then spent the rest of the night crying off and on. I feel a little better today but am still very sad. He was the cutest, sweetest little kitten I have ever had. Jenn is going to try to find another kitten with the same markings for me. I need to get everything disinfected first, but I hope we can find one.
Even so, Grayson (we named him that) was an answer to my prayers. The Lord knew that the kitten was going to die before He even sent that dream. To have the dream fulfilled, by finding the same exact kitten at the shelter as the one in the dream, was the perfect thing to reassure me that I do have gift of dreams. It was something I had been praying about and now have my answer. It was one of those tender mercies that the Lord gives us from time to time.
I'm still not sure what the purpose of having the kitten die was, though. Maybe I didn't pray hard enough for the kitten's life. I don't know. When I went to the Vet I really didn't expect him to say the kitten had to be put down. It was such a shock. After that I didn't think to pray at all. All I thought of was that they were going to put him down and how bad I felt about that. I will try to think to pray in the first place and then pray harder next time (although I'm hoping there won't be a next time.)
Still, I trust in the Lord that His purposes have been fulfilled in this matter.
-- ADDENDUM --
Hey all, this is Chelle. Mom asked me to put some pics on her post, but by the time I got up here to do it, she was gone, so I called her and she said she wanted the following pics on this post.
First off, Jenni drew a picture of the cat, and gave it to mom. Here's Jenni's rendition of Grayson (I was the one who thought of that name, by the way!)
The 'bing' part is the little bell sound the collar made.
Here's the back of the picture Jenni drew. We're still working on spelling!
And finally, here is a pic that Jenn (mom's daughter) found on the net that looks fairly close to what Grayson looked like.
He really was such a sweet kitty! Bye little Grayson! We'll miss you!
ok, I think that's all!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Since I can't post on my blog I'll post on Jenn's
PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS PUBLISHED ON JENN'S BLOG, BUT SHE FINALLY HELPED ME LOG OUT, SO IT'S NOW POSTED TO MINE.
Good Times!
We celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday. 42YEARS!!! Yikes!!! I must really be getting OLD!!! We had a great time. We just had a nice easy going morning and then went out to have some fun in the afternoon. We went to See's and each got 6 of our favorite chocolates. I didn't know Joe had decided to go on a sugarless diet just the day before and since it was a Special Day and I allow myself to have chocolates on any Special Day I asked him to let me get my chocolates and he indulged both me and himself. I'm glad he didn't tell me he was off sugar because I wouldn't have tempted him if I had known and I would have missed out on my Special Day chocolates.
Just so you know, the Special Days are any major holiday, my birthday and our anniversary. So let's see, each year that's my birthday, Valentines Day, Mother's Day, our anniversary, Thanksgiving day, Christmas and New Years. It's a loooooooooong wait from Mother's Day to our anniversary but it gives me something really great to look forward to. Here's to lemon and key lime truffles.... yummm even thinking about them tastes good.
So after the chocolates we went to Deseret Book and each bought a small book (read not too expensive.) We spent some time that morning looking over all the movies that were out there and couldn't find any we both wanted to see so we went to Hollywood Video and rented three movies. We went home and started watching one that I had picked out. Turns out it was a grade B+ movie (not so bad as a grade B movie, but really close) It was long and rambling and repeated some scenes over and over and had TWO parts to it. We only got part way through the second part before we gave up on it. Joe said he thought it was a "made for TV" movie because of the repeated scenes. Anyway, it wasn't worth watching.
Then, in the evening, we went to Out Back for dinner with Jan and Jenn and then over to Emilee's for a few minutes until the girl's all went to Zumba (a dancing workout that Emilee teaches in their dance studio above the rental center) We stayed for just a few minutes longer with Daniel while Matthew threw a fit because his mother AND the girls left. He finally settled down a little because Daniel asked him to open the door for Grandpa and Grandma so they could go home and the thought of that distracted him from thinking about the fact that everyone important had gone (sorry Daniel, but there it is.)
A great time was had by all.... that would be both of us :)
Good Times!
We celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday. 42YEARS!!! Yikes!!! I must really be getting OLD!!! We had a great time. We just had a nice easy going morning and then went out to have some fun in the afternoon. We went to See's and each got 6 of our favorite chocolates. I didn't know Joe had decided to go on a sugarless diet just the day before and since it was a Special Day and I allow myself to have chocolates on any Special Day I asked him to let me get my chocolates and he indulged both me and himself. I'm glad he didn't tell me he was off sugar because I wouldn't have tempted him if I had known and I would have missed out on my Special Day chocolates.
Just so you know, the Special Days are any major holiday, my birthday and our anniversary. So let's see, each year that's my birthday, Valentines Day, Mother's Day, our anniversary, Thanksgiving day, Christmas and New Years. It's a loooooooooong wait from Mother's Day to our anniversary but it gives me something really great to look forward to. Here's to lemon and key lime truffles.... yummm even thinking about them tastes good.
So after the chocolates we went to Deseret Book and each bought a small book (read not too expensive.) We spent some time that morning looking over all the movies that were out there and couldn't find any we both wanted to see so we went to Hollywood Video and rented three movies. We went home and started watching one that I had picked out. Turns out it was a grade B+ movie (not so bad as a grade B movie, but really close) It was long and rambling and repeated some scenes over and over and had TWO parts to it. We only got part way through the second part before we gave up on it. Joe said he thought it was a "made for TV" movie because of the repeated scenes. Anyway, it wasn't worth watching.
Then, in the evening, we went to Out Back for dinner with Jan and Jenn and then over to Emilee's for a few minutes until the girl's all went to Zumba (a dancing workout that Emilee teaches in their dance studio above the rental center) We stayed for just a few minutes longer with Daniel while Matthew threw a fit because his mother AND the girls left. He finally settled down a little because Daniel asked him to open the door for Grandpa and Grandma so they could go home and the thought of that distracted him from thinking about the fact that everyone important had gone (sorry Daniel, but there it is.)
A great time was had by all.... that would be both of us :)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
This and that, "that" being the holidays
November!!! I can't believe the year has passed so fast. I have lost another 5 lbs through my OA group and doing the 12 steps. (Who would have ever thought doing a spiritual program would be the the key to my success?) Half of my grandchildren started Kindergarten (not really, but it seemed that way.... several of them actually did, though,)
When it snowed last week I had the Christmas Spirit sweep over me. I was ready to put my tree up and start the whole holiday thing going.
Halloween was fun this year. We had some fantastic costumes in our family. One Daughter-in-law had the hottest witch costume. She looked fantastic in it. And three little girl, ages 4, 6, and 7 (my son Michael's daughters) all had matching replicas of the BYU cheerleaders uniforms. They were adorable!!!
I look forward to Thanksgiving. We have such a large group of family for dinner that I can hardly hear myself think. It is fun though.
But Christmas is the best of all. We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and start Christmas music that day. Having a huge breakfast on Christmas morning has become a tradition. It's all so fun and special and spiritual.. I really hope we get to go see the lights on Temple Square. If Joe doesn't want to go again this year, I'll just have to go with the girls.
Anyway, fun times ahead, for this year at least.
When it snowed last week I had the Christmas Spirit sweep over me. I was ready to put my tree up and start the whole holiday thing going.
Halloween was fun this year. We had some fantastic costumes in our family. One Daughter-in-law had the hottest witch costume. She looked fantastic in it. And three little girl, ages 4, 6, and 7 (my son Michael's daughters) all had matching replicas of the BYU cheerleaders uniforms. They were adorable!!!
I look forward to Thanksgiving. We have such a large group of family for dinner that I can hardly hear myself think. It is fun though.
But Christmas is the best of all. We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and start Christmas music that day. Having a huge breakfast on Christmas morning has become a tradition. It's all so fun and special and spiritual.. I really hope we get to go see the lights on Temple Square. If Joe doesn't want to go again this year, I'll just have to go with the girls.
Anyway, fun times ahead, for this year at least.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
