Sniffle.... the kitten is gone.

[tikatu]

Penny went to the shelter today. As much as we all really wanted to keep her, the realities of life with five cats and a soon-to-be adopted puppy carried the day. Since the Hubby didn't have to go to work until late, HE got to be the one to do the dirty deed. I did the vast majority of my bawling the night before. It's really amazing how quickly they can get under your skin.

I'm sure she'll find a home soon. She's feisty and fearless and extremely adorable, especially with that little bobbed tail. 

More pictures.

There's that tail!



Stripes on her legs...



You can really see the peach and gray patches here



draped over my arm and sleeping



on the steno shelf...



Uh, no. This one isn't Penny; it's Callie (the Girl's cat), on that same steno shelf. Twice while Penny was with us and curled up on the shelf, Callie jumped up (not seeing Penny from her vantage point, I suppose). They sniffed each other, then Penny hissed first! Callie got down so fast... never mind that she was at least four times Penny's size!



Bye, Penny.

Comments

[ellieet.livejournal.com]

It's okay, Tika. I remember feeling a bit gutted when two of our Phoebea's three kittens was sold; but we got to keep the third, and the big fat kitty-kat is sprawled out next to me now as I'm typing, purring for England.

You'll have fun when the other cats arrive; all kitties have their own personalities, and they're all (kinda) loveable!

[tikatu.livejournal.com]

Actually, Ellie, the other four cats are here already. Callie, who is in one of the pictures, was the first; we got her back in 2000. Then Tika came a couple of months later. Then Ink Jet in 2001, and finally, his momma, Cotton. Their ages range from 6-8 years old, and I think a kitten (a bossy little one, at that) is too much of a disruption for them. The puppy will be disruption enough - when we get one.

I understand how you feel about your cat's kittens being sold. We did sort of the same thing with Cotton's last litter. She brought them to us because we were feeding her (her owners weren't really paying much attention to her). So we kept her safe until the kittens were old enough, and two were adopted out. Cotton's previous owners took one of the kittens (the prettiest one), and we kept Ink Jet, figuring that no one would want a black male. It was hard to see the kittens go, especially when we knew at least one was going to a home that really wouldn't take care of him (he disappeared less than two weeks later).

Fortunately, Cotton's owners decided they were going to move and leave her behind, so we asked if we could keep her. They said yes, so she came to live with us. Took a couple of years for her to get used to us, but she's a sweetheart. And no more kittens for her, either.

[ellieet.livejournal.com]

Ooops, sorry, got my wires crossed with the 'adopted puppy' comment; silly me!

We've had four cats in our lifetime; Max, our first cat, came with the house and we also brought kitty Phoebea from a farming family friend way back in 1996. Max was run over by a car just shortly after we brought her home; I'm not sure of the exact circumstances, but I hope he didn't wander off because we were neglecting him. To save Phoebea being lonely, we brought another growing kitten from the same family, who was actually born to her sister and was therefore her nephew, and we called him Tom.

Then Phoebea got a male admirer, and ended up with three buns in the oven; three tabby kittens who were born to her in May 1997. Because I was so pleased to have kittens in the house, I never left them alone and made life very difficult for Mother Phoebea. We kept the one whom we believed was a girl and called 'White Rose,' but when the vet re-classified him as a boy we changed his name to Tiger; a cat who, ten years on, spends his days sleeping, kneading his paws into my lap, and being a constant irritation to his mother; last night they had a real ruckus in the dining-room, you could've heard them fighting a mile off!

So, um, yes. Those are my pets - or rather my brother's, but as he's not here they look to me for attention. Lucky me...

Don't worry; you did the right thing for Penny and your other cats by sending her on her way to another home. I'm sure she'll be a very happy kitty. :)