Introducing the Wonder Kitten

It all began as a way to make Red Beard crazy.  

Red Beard is a little dog obsessed (this was before we got the Crazy Pup).  He kept looking up dogs to adopt or puppies to buy, constantly.  It was all, "look how cute" and "he'd love our yard" and "oooh, read this abuse story, maybe we could go meet him".

No don't get me wrong, I love dogs and I DID want a dog  However, I didn't really like the idea of him getting a dog and I got ... well ..... part ownership of the same dog, plus all the work that goes with it.  

I'm a girl, and the youngest, and fairly spoiled - I wanted a pet tooooo (insert whiny voice here).  Though puppies are completely awesome ... and more than enough work for 2 people .... but I just love making him crazy.  Anyway, regardless of how my twisted brain got there, I got my Irish up.  

And I started doing searches of my own ... for BUNNIES.  Because he said that I could NOT, under any circumstances, ever have a house bunny.

Oh really.

It wasn't hard to find 893 bunnies up for adoption, and after he'd been forced to look at 807 pictures of fluffy bunnies, he was starting to lose patience.  His ears were getting red and everything.  

So when I mentioned wanting a cat for Christmas, he was all relieved and agreed instantly!  How smart am I?!

Originally, I was looking for a Bengal to adopt.  We found one for my mom a few years ago, and did a lot of reading about the breed's "quirks" then (whoever wrote those articles left a ton out, let me tell you).  After living with Boris the Animal since 2007, I was pretty sure I knew a thing or two about the Bengel's insane nature, and it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.  I figured I could do a good deed by adopting, and it wasn't like I would ever even attempt to justify spending $1200 (!!) on a kitten anyways.    

My search led me to Purebreds Plus Cat Rescue.  PPCR is fantastic!  They take in any number of cats, from any number of breeds (including hybrids like Bengals and Chausies), collected from various humane societies and SPCAs, and even cats from breeders that have been closed down for any number of horrible reasons.  Just be warned, going on their website will make you cry.  Most of the cats have a story (a sad story!), and PPCR just loves detailing the medical attention or re-socialization many of these cats needed after they were rescued.   Sniff.

The adoption process was lengthy, involving essay questions and a review of my vet records regarding any previous cats I'd owned.  PPCR volunteers calling ALL of the  references I listed, and spoke with my vet.   At first, I was really surprised, but then I realized - PPCR is run by crazy cat people.  OF COURSE they called my references and spoke with my vet.  They don't let their newly rescued babies go to just ANYONE. 

Despite the very cute Bengals and Siamese and Scottish Fold and Persians that I saw and read about and cried over, there was no doubt which of the little fuzzy wuzzies I was destined to take home:

Pick Me! Pick Me!

Meet Wonder Kitten, a Maine Coon kitten adopted the day after Thanksgiving. Well, really we adopted him officially two weeks sooner, but he had a small flea problem that needed handling before we brought him home. He was around 6 months old and 7 lbs when we got him.  Our vet took one look at his feet and said "You know he's going to grow right? He's going to grow a LOT".  Ummm, yeah.  He has.  In just about 10 weeks he's gained 3 lbs and is the size of a normal run-of-the-mill adult cat.  Except, in Maine Coon terms, he's only about half way there.

We were told repeatedly by his foster mommy that he was a Shy Cat.  Didn't take to strangers quickly, may not like us, blah blah blah. 

Wonder Kitten is NOT shy.  

He wasn't shy when we met him at foster mommy's house (he head butted me and started chewing on my thumb, then climbed in my lap, all in the first 3 minutes ... then emptied my purse and started dragging it around the living room).

He wasn't shy on the drive home from Sacramento (he howled until we let him out of the carrier; then slept in my lap and drooled on me for the next 2 hours).

Shut up in a carrier = Angry Kitty

He wasn't shy when we first got him home (he took a huge poo in his shiny new box, ate a bowl of kibble, and snuggled between us on the bed).

He hasn't been shy any day since.  

In fact, he's nosy and obnoxious and insists on helping me with everything I do.

I think his foster mom doesn't quite know what the word "shy" means.  

That's not to say that foster mommy didn't do a good job - he was a little more behind on his inoculations than I liked, but he didn't have ringworm, ear mites, or kennel cough (all common in multiple-cat environments); he was box trained and super socialized and didn't have more than a couple of neuroses.  Though she did name him Harry Potter ... I'm a fan of the entire H/P enterprise, books and movies both, but that is not an acceptable cat name.  He didn't even like it himself.  

All in all, she did a brilliant job raising him from this:

Poor Little Baby Orphaned Harry Potter

To This:

... shy my ass!

Granted, he's got a few issues:

• He drowns his toys in his water dish
• He's addicted to my hair ties, up to and including trying to pull them out of my hair
• He's a pack rat.  His stash is under our bed.  When things go missing, like slippers or socks or pens, that's where they we find them.
• He thinks cell phones = chew toys.
• He's given my dad's Big Scary Hunting Dog an inferiority complex; the Buster Keaton is now in therapy.
• He's farts when he's excited.
• He thinks feet are evil and waits until you're sleeping to attack them
• He loves cough drops and Hershey's kisses and brings them to you in the middle of the night, all slimy.
• The laptop is the warmest place to sleep in the house.
• He seems to think he's the most handsome and precious animal ever to grace the earth

And I have to say, I tend to agree with him.

 He's my boy.  And he's beautiful and fearless and playful and talkative and just a little bit crazy, with all of the same authority problems that his new pet parents have.  

Bring on the puppies.

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Update:  Apparently, issue #45 is that the Wonder Kitten likes trail mix.  Unfortunately, as evidenced by the mess I just had to clean up in my laundry room,  trail mix DOES NOT LIKE HIM BACK.  Cats shouldn't eat dried cranberries and almonds.  Bad messy things will happen.  (gag)