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Dec. 15th, 2007 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
saucy_dryadFor all the mountains of paperwork and reference checks (and not having the information for said references ready to hand) and endless questions and forms, the adoption process actually went something like this:
"Hi, this is G. You were in today and expressed an interest in Bebe. You can come get her tonight, if you want."
Really? I mean, I know what a good pet owner I am, but how do you know?
As it was, Don and I went in the next afternoon (that is, today). Saturday. In Bergen County. On Rte. 17. At a PetSmart. Two weeks before Christmas. ::shudder::
We waited a good long while, but the outcome was this: there's a one-eyed kitty in Don's office, shut away from the other cats for a few days until 1. she gets to the local vet, who is fully wonderful and 2. she has a chance to settle in, and the other kitties can start catching her scent and getting somewhat used to the idea that there's another critter in town.
I'm worried over a couple of things, kitten-wise:
~Her eye is rather weepy. The head of the adoption agency expressed hope that living in a non-cage, less cat-heavy environment might see some improvement there. I do hope.
~She's very gassy. WOW, is she gassy. Might be diet or stress related.
~She's sneezing. A lot. Being around so many other kitties might have given her a cold; certainly the pastel tortie in the cage beneath her was sneezing up a storm, too... but our girl sneezed so hard that snot flew from her nose, and it was tinged with red. I'm sure her nasal passages are mightily aggravated, and blood vessels may have broken. I refuse to get panicky until I get her to the vet on (hopefully! oh, please let it be!) Monday.
I'm delighted and gratified over a few things as well:
~She slept most of the way home. It's a good forty - fifty minute drive, depending on traffic. That's a long time, even for a wee kitten who's spent most of her life in cages or being shuttled back and forth from shelter to prospective home to another shelter and so on. She mewed for a bit, then settled down. I was greatly relieved. And yes: I did ride in the back seat with the carrier while Don drove. I didn't want her to be all alone.
~She used the litterbox! Yay! Keep in mind the troubles we've had with Zee, and the fact that they used pellets in the litter trays at the pet store. Our wee kitten is a champ: used the box with clumping litter three times already. I suspect she may be a genius.
~Kitten is mad playful. I'm not sure why I thought the damaged eye might impair her play skills/drive. As it is, she's so delighted to be out of her cage, she's racing around Don's office like a wild thing. She particularly likes the felt mouse and the miniature Farscape DRD.
~Kitten is also mad cuddly. In between bouts of playing, she'll race over for drive-by skritching. When I was on the phone with my sister, kitten curled up in my lap, purring wildly (alas, the gassiness was also in evidence, but hey - cuddly kitten trumps all!).
~Kitten is astonishingly alert. Whenever we come into the room, her head pops up, ears perked, good eye bright. As adorable as i thought she was behind plexi-glass, that's nothing to the kitten I'm seeing now. It may be silly to say so, and I'm no doubt projecting my own emotions onto the wee sma' creature, but it's as if she knows she's home.
Pictures tomorrow! If you wish to send healthy thoughts her way, they would not go amiss.
Oh, and name-wise, currently leaning toward Esme, Magrat or Selena. This may change on a moment's notice.
"Hi, this is G. You were in today and expressed an interest in Bebe. You can come get her tonight, if you want."
Really? I mean, I know what a good pet owner I am, but how do you know?
As it was, Don and I went in the next afternoon (that is, today). Saturday. In Bergen County. On Rte. 17. At a PetSmart. Two weeks before Christmas. ::shudder::
We waited a good long while, but the outcome was this: there's a one-eyed kitty in Don's office, shut away from the other cats for a few days until 1. she gets to the local vet, who is fully wonderful and 2. she has a chance to settle in, and the other kitties can start catching her scent and getting somewhat used to the idea that there's another critter in town.
I'm worried over a couple of things, kitten-wise:
~Her eye is rather weepy. The head of the adoption agency expressed hope that living in a non-cage, less cat-heavy environment might see some improvement there. I do hope.
~She's very gassy. WOW, is she gassy. Might be diet or stress related.
~She's sneezing. A lot. Being around so many other kitties might have given her a cold; certainly the pastel tortie in the cage beneath her was sneezing up a storm, too... but our girl sneezed so hard that snot flew from her nose, and it was tinged with red. I'm sure her nasal passages are mightily aggravated, and blood vessels may have broken. I refuse to get panicky until I get her to the vet on (hopefully! oh, please let it be!) Monday.
I'm delighted and gratified over a few things as well:
~She slept most of the way home. It's a good forty - fifty minute drive, depending on traffic. That's a long time, even for a wee kitten who's spent most of her life in cages or being shuttled back and forth from shelter to prospective home to another shelter and so on. She mewed for a bit, then settled down. I was greatly relieved. And yes: I did ride in the back seat with the carrier while Don drove. I didn't want her to be all alone.
~She used the litterbox! Yay! Keep in mind the troubles we've had with Zee, and the fact that they used pellets in the litter trays at the pet store. Our wee kitten is a champ: used the box with clumping litter three times already. I suspect she may be a genius.
~Kitten is mad playful. I'm not sure why I thought the damaged eye might impair her play skills/drive. As it is, she's so delighted to be out of her cage, she's racing around Don's office like a wild thing. She particularly likes the felt mouse and the miniature Farscape DRD.
~Kitten is also mad cuddly. In between bouts of playing, she'll race over for drive-by skritching. When I was on the phone with my sister, kitten curled up in my lap, purring wildly (alas, the gassiness was also in evidence, but hey - cuddly kitten trumps all!).
~Kitten is astonishingly alert. Whenever we come into the room, her head pops up, ears perked, good eye bright. As adorable as i thought she was behind plexi-glass, that's nothing to the kitten I'm seeing now. It may be silly to say so, and I'm no doubt projecting my own emotions onto the wee sma' creature, but it's as if she knows she's home.
Pictures tomorrow! If you wish to send healthy thoughts her way, they would not go amiss.
Oh, and name-wise, currently leaning toward Esme, Magrat or Selena. This may change on a moment's notice.
