We have a small furry houseguest. Chances are good that he’s just a guest, and won’t be living with us permanently, but we’re certainly enjoying his company while he’s here.
So here’s the story: my coworker Susan has a neighbor who found a four month old kitten in her yard. The neighbor says that the kitten must have been outside for a couple of days, and he literally leaped into her arms. The neighbor and her husband are decidedly NOT pet people (I think one or both of them has allergies), and they walked the neighborhood hoping to find the owner of this kitten (and took him to a vet to see if he had a chip implanted, which he didn’t). Ultimately, they talked to Susan and her husband, and knowing that Susan and spouse had a cat, they somehow got Susan fully involved in trying to find a home for this little guy.
After a few days, the neighbor was getting antsy, and told Susan that if a home wasn’t found for the kitten, he’d be going to a shelter – or maybe back out on the street. The deadline was 7 PM last night, and Jim and I decided to rise to the occasion and foster the kitten until we can find him a good home (and we have several “hot” leads, so, please, no one volunteer right now to take him!).
We picked the kitten up this morning; our vet was kind enough to stop by and examine him an hour later; and he’s proved to be both very healthy and very, very good natured. A star patient for Dr. Reiner: after having blood drawn for the feline leukemia test, he purred madly and waited patiently for the next procedure. Didn’t blink after being given a pill for his worms. Didn’t complain about being given a rabies shot and feline distemper shot. Got a bit frisky after having his claws trimmed, but one claw did get trimmed a bit short and bled a bit, so we’ll forgive him.
After passing the physical exam (no feline leukemia, no fleas, no ear mites), the vet gave us clearance to let Max roam the house freely and interact with Ophy and Pippa. He’s a scrappy little fella, and has arched his back and hissed a bit at the girls, but so far no fights have broken out. At the moment, all three cats are with me in the dining room, by the woodstove. And yes, I know, we probably shouldn’t have named him, but it’s hard to just call him “Cat” or “Buddy.” Max suits him.
Here’s a photo of the cutie, a talkative little lovebug who weighs almost five pounds at barely four months of age, and has extra toes on every single paw (click on image to enlarge):
You have to keep him- He is a CUTIE!!!!
Ah, if only he wasn’t making me all wheezy and sneezy, and if only the girls weren’t totally freaked out.
But Jim and Max are already totally bonded. Making me feel guilty for being wheezy and sneezy.
He certainly looks like he is related to Rudy.
You’ll get over the wheezy sneezy stuff — just as you got used to the girls, you’ll get used to Max! Take Claritin, eat garlic (sorry jim), and just wait it out. Soon enough you’ll be used to him too.
– J
As it happens, I am an expert at reading cat facial expressions. The expression of the cat in the photo above has a very clear meaning — “This human is a sucker for cute, and I’ve got cute in spades. Gimme another week, and this is gonna be my new home. Mwah-hah-hah-hah-hah!”
I knew where this was going from line 1…never let a kittie into your home without expecting it to stay. Just the way no one stops at the shelter “just to look.” I have yet to leave a shelter empty handed, nor have I ever taken a kitten home to “see how it works out.” He’s here to stay, Abs. Load up on the Claritin. You’ve been bitten by the love bug! He is such a cutie!-L
He’s a lovebug, all right. But poor, poor Pippa – she had just started to feel like life was perfect (woodstove, plenty of food, no Rudy, warm laps to sit in), and along comes a KITTEN. Grrrrrrrr.
Hey Abby, Pippa is just a drama queen. She’ll get used to me, and even learn to like me. How could she resist me? I mean, I’m so darn cute and cuddly!
Ah, Max. With all of those toes, I should have KNOWN that you could open up and turn on the laptop, and type proficiently.
Though I must say that your spelling is remarkably good for a four-month-old.
Abby, you have you keep me updated on this! He is absolutely adorable and a complete sweetheart! Well, at least he’s a sweetheart to me, even if not to Pippa and Ophy… Hopefully they get used to him, and you can ba a happy family!
I like Max! He has the same markings I do! Maybe he’s really a DOG!
Hmmm…maybe Max IS a dog…hmmmm…
And Aly – he’s trying his best to fit in, but Pippa is an old cranky bear and can’t stand the sight of him. We’ll see, we’ll see…
Hi Abby! Here’s a lurker coming out in the open for you… I came here from Margo’s website, and it’s fun to catch up with you, so to speak.
I think you might have a literary kitty on your hands. When we visited the Hemingway house in Key West, I learned that most of his cats had extra toes. It would be very cool if you have a cat with Hemingway connections, however distant!
http://www.hemingwayhome.com/HTML/our_cats.htm
Hey, Jackie!
Cool to hear from you! It’s been AGES!!!
The Hemingway connection is very cool, isn’t it? I did some research back when we had Rudy (another double-pawed tuxedo cat), and read somewhere that Lowell, MA is another hotspot for polydactyl kitties. As is some city in England. It sounds like those 3 (Key West, Lowell, and English city) are the main places in the world for double-pawed cats. Cool.
At any rate, Max is very dextrous already. So maybe he’ll learn to type, too, and write his memoirs and earn enough money to pay his keep… 🙂