I can has cat?

[sqbr]

It's a little early to go to bed and the list of "lj posts I really should get around to writing" keeps getting longer, so although I am a bit unwell and thus not at my most coherent, I post.(*)
About....

Our new cat!!! Her name is Kira (originally Piper, but really. Piper?). We got her from the cat haven last Saturday. She's about 2 years old, short hair, and her fur is like you got an orange tabby and a gey/brown tabby and randomly mixed their coats up in splotches, with white patches at her nose, tummy and feet. She's very pretty.

She was shy but friendly at the cat haven but spent the whole car trip clawing frenetically (but silently) at the box. She spent the whole first day alseep under the sink in the laundry, but then decided to come out and explore. Her whole attitude reminded me of a soldier in enemy territory, carefully and quickly sneaking into a new area, looking around, then quickly retreating back to base to regroup. She's quite friendly, but unless her eyes are actually closed always has a wary, penetrating glare. She has an unfortunate tendency to stick her claws into things (she enjoys pulling herself along the carpet on her side using only her claws) but seems to have figured out that excessive scratching of us or the furniture is a Bad Idea quite quickly.

Since we're both watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine at the moment I came up with the name Kira (also after the character from ACOS) Which, yes, is Very Very Nerdy. She's been happily going from lap to lap watching Star Trek, Heroes, and 24, so is living up to the nerdiness of her name quite well :)

Oh, and mandragora2003: She wasn't interested in the door-hanging toy you gave us to start with (I think the rest of the house was too exciting), but spent some time today happily attacking it.

(*)Also, I'm waiting for my shiny new ipod to finish synchronising. It's name is Faramir (To go with Eowyn the PDA and Mirrormere the imac) and I love it too, but not as much as Kira :)

Comments

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Always happy to hear about a new kittie, and good for you for giving a home to an adult cat from the Cat Haven. They're in my will :-)

Great cat name BTW.

[alias_sqbr]

We were thinking about a kitten, but they said that if they were going to be home alone all day we'd need two, so we decided an adult was best. I think it was the right decision, she's plenty adorable :)

My sister bought a cat from a pet shop a few years ago and it was totally messed up, it's not a healthy place for them to grow up. I can't see why you wouldn't go to a cat haven unless you had a very specific kind of cat in mind (they don't always have kittens, for example)

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

If they're in a pet shop long enough to "grow up" that's a bit of a worry. I did get Pumpkin The Birman from the local pet shop, but I knew the owner well, and I'd always wanted one of that breed (Birman, not pet shop owner). Not enough to have gone out shopping for one, but enough for it to be not quite a total impulse buy when fate thrust him upon me.

Having picked three cats from the Cat Haven for myself and about half a dozen for the family while I was growing up (all at least adolescent) I assure you that their personalities can still be a little bit wonky! Still, buckets of love, affection, an understanding of cat anatomy and reflexes, the odd bit of cheese and plenty of mouse-on-a-stick playtime wins them over every time.

BTW I only ever had one cat at a time growing up. Cally was my first cat after I moved out of home and she was at least a year old when we got her. She was OK for a few months when I was working part time, but soon after I went back to full time work she started to go a bit nutty so that was when we got a second one to keep her company. Worked a treat. That was Cat haven Squishy.

Hmmm. Sorry for the cat history lesson but they've been very much on my mind of late.

[alias_sqbr]

I'm always up for some educating :)

Sorry, yes, she was still a kitten from the shop but we got the feeling she'd been there from too young an age.

We might end up getting a second cat if Kira looks like she needs it. We'd have to get special permission from the real estate agent though since the lease only makes provisions for one.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Cats will suffer from personality problems if they are separated from their mothers at too young an age. Pet shops often have them as young as six or even five weeks because they look cute, but 5-8 weeks is the time with the mother and siblings that they learn a lot of socialisation skills.

In particular, a kitten separated from its mother too young will tend to attack everything (such as temptingly wiggly human fingers) because that is the period when the mother applies discipline and teaches dominance and submission skills.

Good luck, and lots of photos please.

[alias_sqbr]

Well, that relies on distantcam, he's the photographer in the house. Though Kira may end up being a life model for my practice sketches :)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

This post has no pictures. =(

[alias_sqbr]

I know, Cam is the photographer and he hasn't uploaded any of them yet despite me bugging him. Maybe when I'm feeling better I'll put some up.

[sonictail.livejournal.com]

So did you end up getting one of the new ipods, or is Kira one of those "dual use" cats?

[alias_sqbr]

Don't be silly. Faramir is a boys name, obviously they're different.

photo?

[thanners.livejournal.com]

Any piccies? (c:

Re: photo?

[alias_sqbr]

Isn't she cute?

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

You have a cat! She sounds adorable (and you guys think up the geekiest names ever - I like it).

[alias_sqbr]

I pity our future children :)