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Today is a very special day for me: three years ago today, Mom brought me home! It’s been an amazing three years, and it seems like every day, life gets better. Mom makes life so nice for Ruby and me.
Look how tiny I was when Mom first met me! This picture was taken the very first time she met me at the animal hospital where I was staying.Continue Reading
Today is my adoption anniversary! I’ve been in my forever home for two years now! Back then, I thought that day was the happiest day of my life for sure. But every day since then has been even happier, and things got even better when Ruby joined us last year.
I love my life! I love my Mom, and I love my little sister, even if she sometimes is a pain in the you know what. We have so much fun together, and Mom makes our lives so nice.
Look how tiny I was back then!
When I first came here, my big sister Amber taught me how things were done in my new home. Continue Reading
Today is a very very big day for me! It’s my adoption anniversary! A year ago today, Mom brought me home to live with her and Amber! I thought it was the happiest day of my life then, but every day since then has been even happier. I’m such a lucky kitten!
I was a little nervous that day, when Mom came to get me at Great Falls Animal Hospital, where I was staying. Oh yeah, and if you’re wondering how it was possible that Mom was able to resist my considerable cuteness and wait six whole days after first meeting me to bring me home – well, I got myself in a little trouble at the animal hospital. When the foster mom I had lived with before brought me there so more people could see me and so I could find a home (and didn’t that work out just beautifully!), the nice people at the animal hospital wanted to give me a good exam. And let me tell you, when the woman in the white coat tried to stick something up my rear end, I wasn’t having any of it. I whipped my head around and bit her! That’ll teach her to stick things up unsuspecting kittens’ rear ends!
Unfortunately, humans have a whole bunch of stupid laws, and one of them says that if a cat bites a human, she needs to be quarantined and watched for signs of rabies for 10 days. Even though I was current on my rabies vaccination, Mom couldn’t take me home until the end of that quarantine period.
But finally, the big day arrived. As I said, I was a little nervous, but mostly excited. Mom had already told me that I would have a big sister. I looked forward to meeting her! I don’t think Amber was as excited about me coming home as Mom was, she hissed at me a lot and ran from me that first day. I didn’t let that upset me, and instead, proceeded to explore every inch of my new home. There was so much to see! The best part was that there were these huge big windows to look out! I could see birds and trees and people walking by, it was so cool!
By the time it got dark that first day, I was pretty tired from all the exploring. Mom said that she and Amber were going to bed, and showed me where that was. She said I was welcome to join them. Amber added “but remember your place, you’re the new kid here. I always sleep in Mom’s arms, and that’s not going to change just because you’re here now!” At first, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to join them, but as the house got really quiet and dark, I jumped up on the bed with them. I wanted to be close to Mom, but I didn’t want to disturb Amber, so I crawled under the covers and wedged myself against the back of Mom’s legs. Oh, that was so nice! I felt warm and safe. I drifted off and dreamed happy kitten dreams that first night in my new home.
Things only got better. By the second day, Amber and I were already in cahoots, helping Mom unpack a case of cat food.
By the third day, we were hanging out together. Amber taught me lots of stuff about how things are done in our new home.
I really came to love my big sister very quickly. We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together. She got really sick and died just a few short weeks after I came home. I still miss her, and I know Mom does, too.
I never thought I’d find such a wonderful Mom and such a wonderful home. Every day I think it’s the best day ever, and it just keeps getting better and better! I am the luckiest kitten on the planet!
The Conscious Cat has a new family member! Amber and I are excited to welcome Allegra into our hearts and into our home. Well, right now I might be a little more excited than Amber, but so far, things have been going really well. Amber is watching the newcomer from a cautious distance, and if she comes too close for comfort, she lets Allegra know who’s in charge.
I found Allegra on Facebook on the page of a local veterinary hospital. When I contacted the page administrator for more information, I was told that she was seven months old and “very very sweet, loves cats, loves dogs, loves people, loves life!” I knew I had to meet this little girl. The first time I met her, I spent about an hour in an exam room with her. She was your typical ADHD kitten – discovering and exploring everything, whether it was a stethoscope hanging from a hook on the wall or a syringe cap on the floor. She didn’t pay all that much attention to me, but I started to fall in love with her anyway. However, I didn’t want to make a hasty decision. I had only just begun to even think about bringing another cat into our lives. I didn’t know whether I wanted a kitten or an adult cat. So I went home, slept on it, thought about it – and I just couldn’t get Allegra out of my mind. I went back to see her again the next morning. And that’s when I just knew. She was meant to come home with us.
Her background, as far as I know it, is this: she was rescued from a county shelter in Maryland, and fostered by two different foster moms. Her most recent foster mom described her as a “total love bug lap kitty” who loved to follow her everywhere.
I brought her home yesterday morning. And so a new chapter in our lives begins. Allegra spent most of yesterday exploring her new home. She was particularly fascinated by windows – something she hadn’t been able to enjoy for the last ten days when she lived at the animal hospital. Everything seemed to delight her – bumble bees flying by, leaves blowing in the wind, squirrels rushing by outside. It’s so much fun watching her discover her world.
Amber is not so sure this was a good idea just yet. I’m sure you’ll hear all about it from Amber herself soon. And you never know, Allegra might eventually want to contribute to The Conscious Cat, too, once she adjusts to her new home and new life.
Happy Mother’s Day from the Conscious Cat!
If you’re fortunate enough to still have your mom in your life, be sure to tell her that you love her today, and every day. My mother passed away 15 years ago, and I still miss her. Even after all these years, I still feel a pang when I see Mother’s Day cards appear in stores.
But I also celebrate Mother’s Day as Amber’s Mom. Amber was a mommy herself when I first met her, so I thought I’d share her story here with you today.
In the spring of 2000, Amber and her five kittens were brought to the animal hospital I managed by a client who had found the little family in her barn. Despite being emaciated and scrawny-looking, Amber’s eventual beauty was evident even then. Her kittens found new homes in fairly rapid succession.
However, nobody was interested in the beautiful mommy cat. She spent her days in the big adoption cage in the hospital’s waiting area, but with the constant inflow of homeless kittens that is typical for spring and summer, nobody wanted to adopt an adult cat. I had recently lost my almost sixteen-year-old soul mate cat Feebee, and the grief over his loss was still very fresh. I did not think I was ready for another cat, but coming home to an empty house was becoming increasingly difficult.
One weekend in July, I decided to take Amber home, “just for the weekend”. I wanted to give her a break from the abandoned feral kitten we had placed with her after her own kittens had all found homes. The kitten was a rambunctious six-week old grey tabby, and Amber was becoming increasingly exasperated with his constant need for attention. As far as she was concerned, she had done her mommy duty with her own kittens.
After living in a cage for all these months, Amber was initially a little overwhelmed by having access to an entire house, and she spent most of that first weekend near or under my bed. By Sunday evening, she began to relax a little and started exploring her new environment. I liked having her gentle and peaceful energy around the house, and I decided that she could stay a little longer. Not quite ready to acknowledge that she was home with me to stay, I told everyone that I was “just fostering her”. Somehow, the flyers advertising that she was available for adoption never got distributed, and she only returned to the animal hospital for regular check ups.
Amber is a gentle, loving cat with a wise old soul. For the past nine years, her peaceful and solid presence, not to mention her almost constant purr, have been bringing love and affection into my life every day. She enjoys sleeping in our sunny living room, curling up with me when I sit down to read or to watch television, and watching the birds at the feeder on our deck.
She is a teacher to the core of her being, and she is my writing muse. There are days when I sit down in front of the computer and stare at the blank screen with no idea of what I’m going to be writing about, but as soon as she comes into the room and curls up on the window perch next to my desk for a long nap, I feel inspired, and the words start flowing.
Animals come into our lives for many reasons. Some very special animals touch our souls and change us forever. Amber is one of these special animals.
