The Arrival

Well, as of today (5:35 CST) we went from a family of 3 to a family of 4. Tabbitha officially has a little sister.

And no – for the record – the transition was not an easy one.

It started at the vet clinic. Last week when I brought little Gimpy Kitty in, the vet techs and vet made it clear that they would not be able to adopt her themselves. Then they brought out the vet tech that owned 17 cats.

I am not kidding.

She didn’t seem like a cat person. Or a crazy cat lady… She didn’t have wool socks with sandals or shake kibble in her overstretched jacket pockets. But she still had 17 cats.

It was crystal clear that although these wonderful people loved animals and while they thought that Gimpy Kitty had a very sweet nature and disposition, they would not be adopting her. Which is one of the many reasons why Nathaniel and I (along with Tabbitha’s permission) decided to adopt Anabelle.

Well that, and the fact that I don’t think any one could or would love her or take as good care of her as I could.

So you can imagine my surprise when I showed up at the clinic, Tabbitha’s cat carrier in tow…. For the record – it’s a carrier meant for a mid-sized dog. Not kidding on that one either. When Tabbitha goes to the vet or moves across country, I like to make sure that she has plenty of room to stretch or to stand up. So I got her a mid-sized carrier.

Good enough reasons, don’t you think?

Well, the carrier is the perfect size for Anabelle, her litter box, a few towels, and a bowl of food and water. It is deluxe kitten style all the way.

And as one of the vet techs handed over Anabelle, all the others came to the lobby and asked if they could hold her “just one more time!”

Who was I to resist.

After 10 minutes of “good byes” (I kept telling them that we would be back next Wednesday for another round of x-rays and her 2 week checkup), more petting, lots of cuddling, and while observing these women making odd noises while holding a gimpy kitty, I gently told them that, “we have to get going…”

They waved – all 5 of them – while I was getting into the car. (Huh – and they said that they couldn’t adopt her…)

After an uneventful drive home, Anabelle and I entered the house. And that’s where the real fun began.

It went sorta like this:

Marit: “Where’s my little girl? Tabbitha! Come meet your new sister!”

Nathaniel: “Oh look – here comes the House Monster to meet the Meat Puppet! This should be interesting…”

Tabbitha: (ears back, tail twitching, heckles rising) “Growl….Hisss…..Growl!”

Anabelle: meow.

Tabbitha: “Hisssssssss…. Hiisssssssss…….growl….”

And then the House Monster charged the kennel. Luckily Anabelle chose that exact moment to loudly “meow”, so Tabbitha was a bit distracted. But she still managed to dance around a bit, growl some more, hiss, and attack both Nate and myself.

So all in all, the introductions went pretty well.

I’m expecting it to be rough for the next few weeks. Both for House Monster and Meat Puppet. They’re going through a lot of changes – and change itself can be tough. Tabbitha is used to being an Only Child and getting whatever she wants. Case in point: the cat is 18.2 pounds.

Enough said!

And Anabelle – well, not much is known about her. Except that she’s feisty, she’s got a very delicate nature, and a strong will to survive. And two gimpy front legs. But that’s okay, because we love her just as she is.

Just because I broke my back doesn’t mean that I’m all that different. And Nathaniel AND the House Monster continued to love me – broken back and all, mood swings and all, good days bad days and all – just as I was. And still am.

So Anabelle should expect the same.

Only in the mean time she’ll need to be prepared to endure some hissing, growling, and general ill temperedness from her Big Sister. Because for now, Tabbitha is not the happiest of campers. We even tried bribing, er, coaxing her with Cat Treats. She ate the treats, but was still in a bad mood.

Big surprise there. (uh - that was sarcasm...)

So big changes at our house as of late. Anabelle has come home, Tabbitha is not a happy big sister, and Nathaniel and I are trying to figure it all out. THIS is why we don’t have kids (just yet). We think that we’ve got it tough with two cats – but this is nothing compared to children.

Then again, at this rate, it’ll be a while before we actually produce human offspring. (Can I get any more technical name wise?). At this rate, we may as well have 17 cats. And then I really would be the crazy cat lady.

On second thought, nix that idea. I’ve already got extra kibble and I like to wear wool socks with sandals. Kibble and an additional 15 cats would not bode well for my sanity. Or marriage.

In the meantime, we’ll just have to wait and see how things settle down. Right now, Little Meat Puppet is asleep, Nathaniel is also asleep, and Tabbitha is looking out the window onto the deck. Looking for frogs and other things that move in the night, no doubt.

And me – well I’m holding my breath, waiting to see how it all pans out tomorrow. Fingers crossed, they’ll be best friends before we know it. Then again, I’ve learned that there are no guarantees. For now, let’s just give it time.