Tawny

So I said I was not in the market for a new cat, but that does not seem to have stopped me from getting not one, but two.

A friend of mine's mother had nine cats, and offered me one. Actually, she offered me two, but it turned out that only one of them appeared to be suitable for children; the rest of them were all too shy, except for the one who is reported to have bad litterbox behavior. BTDT; no thanks.

He is an eleven month old orange tabby, by the name of Tawny. He was very friendly towards me when I first met him, and then when the kids and I picked him up he went right up to both of them. He didn't much enjoy the car ride, and then when we got home to the new environment he was kind of scared, and hid behind the toilet for a while. But now he runs around the whole house like he owns the place, and is indeed very interactive for the kids.

Chloe

Three days later, someone posted on freecycle, she was moving and couldn't take her cat to the new apartment. 2 years old. Female, spayed, tortoiseshell, long but not persian-length hair, very soft, except where there are horrid mats, of which there are infinite. It was such a huge job I decided I needed professional help, so she'll be shaved soon -- I got a couple pictures quick before she got ugly though! It'll take some time to grow out after that, but she'll be gorgeous in the end.

I believe Chloe is not as friendly as she would be if Tawny weren't here. Too bad; I was hoping for a Mottle-replacement. There was a bit of horribleness in cat interactions at the beginning, which is starting to settle down.

Ken said, "You're done now, right?" Yes, really I am.

More, Later

The cats enjoy watching a squirrel atop our bird feeder. We call it "Kitty TV". You can see Chloe is growing out of her shave job now -- compare fur at the base and tip of the tail.

Tawny camoflages himself with a toy.

Less, Later

Tawny didn't stay out of the road. RIP 9/21/06. I'll miss him and his great interactivity. But I think Chloe will be happier in a one-cat household. Perhaps she'll get less skittish without the competition.

More Again, Later

Chloe has settled into definitely preferring a one-cat household. She will sit on my lap while I'm working for awhile, and snuggle with my feet while I'm reading (I'd rather my lap, but I'll settle for this). She doesn't like to be carried and she startles easily, but all in all, she's a pretty good cat.

She has some amusing favorite spots:

All Done, Later

Chloe lived for 14 years. She died in the wee hours of the morning, Feb 20, 2019, at home in her sleep. I had the in-home euthanasia appointment scheduled for that day, but she beat me to it.