Hey everyone! I'm so glad to find this forum.
I'm the proud Daddy of Miss Kitty, a 3 and 3/4 year old tiger cat I adopted from a shelter last fall. She was just 3 years, 1 month when I got her in November, so I picked Halloween as her "offical" birthday.
Miss Kitty was a stray, according to the shelter, and she hadn't been fixed yet. It's clear that although Miss Kitty is not overweight at all she is a bit...well, streched out in her tummy area and had been a mommy to several litters of kittens. She has a tiny waist though, so I always remind her of how svelte she really is.
She was (is) so friendly I had a hard time believing she was a stray. When she arrived at my house the first thing she did was jump right on top of the stove - as I have a gas stove, this worried me! However, the jump was painful for her as she was still recovering from her operation and she hasn't tried since, even now that she's fully healed (a blessing in disguise).
Miss Kitty walked around, checking the house out for about 20 minutes - and then she jumped up on the couch, sat right in the middle cushion, and curled up - immediately going off to sleep. She made herself right at home - and I was happy about it. When she woke up she used the litter box and happily ate her food. I had feared adjustment issues, but Miss Kitty had none.
I woke up in the middle of the night the first evening she was home with me, and I couldn't find her. After about five minutes of looking, I see two adorable eyes staring up at me...from inside the litter box! I had bought a covered one that actually resembled a cat cage/carrier, and poor Miss Kitty was just sitting there staring at me like that was where she was supposed to sleep! I coaxed her out, picked her up and brought her to bed with me - and she hasn't left since. I'm not conveying how poigniant I thought this was - poor Miss Kitty thought the litter box was her new home!
To this day I don't know how long she was a stray, but from her bevahior and trust of humans I don't think it could have been very long. However, with her not being fixed and definately having several litters of kittens, it's hard to imagine she was a house pet very long either. Maybe she's just happy to be somewhere warm and safe where she's treated like the princess she deserves to be - at least that's what I think to make myself feel better, hehe.
Personality-wise, Miss Kitty is about as mellow as a kitty can be. She loves people, but isn't a huge fan of being picked up, ironically. When someone walks through the door, she immediately runs to their feet and brushes herself up against their ankles until you make her stop (or trip over her, hehe). Although she will let you pick her up (and I try to do it as often as possible to get her used to it) she gets a bit stiff and points her extremities in. In the last few months, I've been able to keep her in my lap for 5 or 10 minutes at a time by massaging her face (God, she LOVES that!) but as soon as I take my hands off her she takes off, walks around the room, and immediately does the rubbing against the ankles thing again, LOL. So I know she doesn't hate it, but she doesn't seem to love it either.
Every day is an adventure with Miss Kitty - a happy one. She doesn't jump up on anything other than the dining room table (which I don't ever use anyway) which has become her "area" as it's right in front of her favorite window. It used to belong to my late grandmother (whom I am sure is rolling over in her grave as I say this, LOL) but it has a fuzzy table cloth on it and Miss Kitty adores it.
Sometimes I wonder if Miss Kitty knows how much I adore her - I tell her so constantly. The other day I had to say "no" to her for the first time ever (she tried to claw a plastic sheet I have temporarily blocking off two rooms) and I was amazed that it was the first time I had to do it. She just goes from the dining room table, to her spot on the couch, and the closets she likes to hide in. I sometimes feel bad that she doesn't have a playmate, but unfortunately my allergies can't tolerate more than one cat in the house.
Oh well, I've gone on about Miss Kitty enough - she really is one of the lights of my life. I can't imagine my world without her now - and my heart fills every time I pull in the driveway from work when I see her sitting on the dining room table, in the window, waiting for me to come home. She is so adorable - she watches until my car is out of sight further down the driveway (she even starts going to the door but crooks her head back to still look out the window to make sure it's me like she's on a sitcom - it's the cutest thing ever) and is right there at the door to greet...my ankles.
Thanks for letting me share, guys! It's so nice to find a community of people who love their kitties as much as I do.
MKD
I'm the proud Daddy of Miss Kitty, a 3 and 3/4 year old tiger cat I adopted from a shelter last fall. She was just 3 years, 1 month when I got her in November, so I picked Halloween as her "offical" birthday.
Miss Kitty was a stray, according to the shelter, and she hadn't been fixed yet. It's clear that although Miss Kitty is not overweight at all she is a bit...well, streched out in her tummy area and had been a mommy to several litters of kittens. She has a tiny waist though, so I always remind her of how svelte she really is.
She was (is) so friendly I had a hard time believing she was a stray. When she arrived at my house the first thing she did was jump right on top of the stove - as I have a gas stove, this worried me! However, the jump was painful for her as she was still recovering from her operation and she hasn't tried since, even now that she's fully healed (a blessing in disguise).
Miss Kitty walked around, checking the house out for about 20 minutes - and then she jumped up on the couch, sat right in the middle cushion, and curled up - immediately going off to sleep. She made herself right at home - and I was happy about it. When she woke up she used the litter box and happily ate her food. I had feared adjustment issues, but Miss Kitty had none.
I woke up in the middle of the night the first evening she was home with me, and I couldn't find her. After about five minutes of looking, I see two adorable eyes staring up at me...from inside the litter box! I had bought a covered one that actually resembled a cat cage/carrier, and poor Miss Kitty was just sitting there staring at me like that was where she was supposed to sleep! I coaxed her out, picked her up and brought her to bed with me - and she hasn't left since. I'm not conveying how poigniant I thought this was - poor Miss Kitty thought the litter box was her new home!
To this day I don't know how long she was a stray, but from her bevahior and trust of humans I don't think it could have been very long. However, with her not being fixed and definately having several litters of kittens, it's hard to imagine she was a house pet very long either. Maybe she's just happy to be somewhere warm and safe where she's treated like the princess she deserves to be - at least that's what I think to make myself feel better, hehe.
Personality-wise, Miss Kitty is about as mellow as a kitty can be. She loves people, but isn't a huge fan of being picked up, ironically. When someone walks through the door, she immediately runs to their feet and brushes herself up against their ankles until you make her stop (or trip over her, hehe). Although she will let you pick her up (and I try to do it as often as possible to get her used to it) she gets a bit stiff and points her extremities in. In the last few months, I've been able to keep her in my lap for 5 or 10 minutes at a time by massaging her face (God, she LOVES that!) but as soon as I take my hands off her she takes off, walks around the room, and immediately does the rubbing against the ankles thing again, LOL. So I know she doesn't hate it, but she doesn't seem to love it either.
Every day is an adventure with Miss Kitty - a happy one. She doesn't jump up on anything other than the dining room table (which I don't ever use anyway) which has become her "area" as it's right in front of her favorite window. It used to belong to my late grandmother (whom I am sure is rolling over in her grave as I say this, LOL) but it has a fuzzy table cloth on it and Miss Kitty adores it.
Sometimes I wonder if Miss Kitty knows how much I adore her - I tell her so constantly. The other day I had to say "no" to her for the first time ever (she tried to claw a plastic sheet I have temporarily blocking off two rooms) and I was amazed that it was the first time I had to do it. She just goes from the dining room table, to her spot on the couch, and the closets she likes to hide in. I sometimes feel bad that she doesn't have a playmate, but unfortunately my allergies can't tolerate more than one cat in the house.
Oh well, I've gone on about Miss Kitty enough - she really is one of the lights of my life. I can't imagine my world without her now - and my heart fills every time I pull in the driveway from work when I see her sitting on the dining room table, in the window, waiting for me to come home. She is so adorable - she watches until my car is out of sight further down the driveway (she even starts going to the door but crooks her head back to still look out the window to make sure it's me like she's on a sitcom - it's the cutest thing ever) and is right there at the door to greet...my ankles.
Thanks for letting me share, guys! It's so nice to find a community of people who love their kitties as much as I do.
MKD
