Hunting.. from the window ledge.
Yesterday we added a new cat to our family brought home a foster cat. He’s a tiny, but gangly, little guy who does not seem particularly concerned about much of anything. He’s been wandering around the house like he’s always lived here. His name is Ernie, in theory, but I’ve been calling him Saul Goodman – or ‘s all good, man – because he’s the sort of cat who can help you with your legal woes.
The reactions of the other resident creatures has been interesting to say the least. Daisy, after the first swipe Saul Goodman took at her nose, has been completely uninterested. She looks at him, and then basically wanders away to chew on something.
Zooey has pretty much been non-stop barking because OHMYGODTHERE’SANOTHERCATINTHEHOUSEDOYOUPEOPLEKNOWTHIS?! I’ll be crating her for the morning, while I’m at work, and praying that I can get through an afternoon conference call without her getting hysterical in the background. (“What’s that? No, I don’t hear that howling noise.. Maybe we have a bad connection?”)
Isadore VonFluffypants-Maru, however, is mad. She’s been yowling and growling and snarling and hissing at poor Saul Goodman. (He doesn’t seem to be concerned and, this morning, even hissed back at her – which she found a bit shocking, I think. He just keeps running past her, crawling into her crack-pipe box..and otherwise making her mad.) Maru has been alternating between pouting and anger, parking her butt on the kitchen counter for a bit and refusing to eat treats. Then grudgingly taking the treats. Then being mad again.
We told the kids that we were fostering Saul Goodman for a while – an unknown amount of time – so that, if everyone didn’t get along, we wouldn’t be breaking anyone’s heart by returning him. A good plan, except that one of the kids has already basically suggested that we’d be idiots not to take this ‘kick ass cat!’ and offered to chip in $100 of his savings to pay for the adoption fee. Right. I think he’s on to us.
At any rate, other than the theatrical yowlings of Maru explaining to us all the ways in which we have ruined her life, things seem to be going well. So far we’ve only got a few camera-phone photos of our new family member our temporary guest, but you can see a bunch of really, really good pictures here. Let’s be honest: those are probably the best you’ll ever see of him, given his new owners’ temporary captors’ skill with a camera.
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awwww!
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Love cats. $100 adoption fee? You are kidding, right?
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It’s actually $175 for the adoption fee through Toronto Cat Rescue – still cheaper than the Humane Society – and through a really awesome organization. We adopted Isadore VonFluffypants from TCR, too. I very much believe in what they do.
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Back when I was a kid, cats at the pound were $25, but they didn’t have any healthy looking ones, so in fifth grade I paid the ultra high price of $5 for a cat (yes likely from horrid breeding conditions, and she came with ticks in her ears and didn’t have solid poop for the first two weeks of living at out house).
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I only had one cat, ever, that came from a pet store (a gift from a boyfriend) and the rest were barn cats, or “free kitten!” claimed from a cardboard box, from the countryside. One was given to me by a friend who needed to rehome a cat. And I will say that there was nothing wrong with any of my cats – but they certainly lived a different lifestyle than my more recent cats, and I’d likely do it differently if I were able to go back in time with my current knowledge.
There are a few reasons why I am happy to pay $175. The first is because I agree with how TCR works and, so, I support that. They’re not just working to find homes for cats, they’re also working toward ending the cat overpopulation issue. And that’s important to me.
The second is because I very much like how the person fostering the cats treats them – and I’m not just saying that because she’s a friend of mine. They are well cared-for, living in a home, regularly handled and pet and attended-to, fed well and carefully observed. She was able to tell me all sorts of things about him (and our other cat) that made it easier on us – and him – to have him move into our home.
But yes, $175 is a lot of money anyway. :)
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Our cat came from the Humane Society here in town. I think it was $100. She was 8 weeks old and immediately developed an upper respiratory bug. They paid for the treatment and she has been fine ever since.
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I don’t have any issues, really, with most of the Humane Societies. That’s where we got Daisy! (in Hamilton, not here).
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ah, I miss that little twerp. And so does Kokomo. He and Ernie and Maverick were total pack buddies, and now Kokomo wanders around a little lost, looking for his third leg. It’s pathetic.
Violet, thank you for the kind comments about TCR and his foster home (us!). I know a lot of people scoff at the adoption fee, but a ‘free’ kitten will cost you over $200-300 MINIMUM just for spay/neuter and first shots (I’ve called around for prices, and I’ve found as high as $700. yikes!), never mind what else it comes with (like parasites). And yes, in a foster home setting, we don’t just want to get rid of the cat, we want to make sure it’s the best match possible, both for you and for the cat. We are very invested in the little monsters that live with us.
We are very, VERY happy that Ernie has a new home with you guys. It makes giving him up a little less painful!
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