Sunday, March 15, 2009

Flabby Cat, and the new kitten

We've had our cat Daisy for nearly 10 years. We got her when she was 8 weeks old, and have loved her dearly ever since. She is a fantastic cat! I've always loved cats, and after years of having just 1, I thought it might be fun to have 2 :) . Daisy used to be beside herself whenever we were gone for a weekend. She would follow us around for days, meowing incessantly. Also, if she thought she was alone in the house, she would howl and howl in the most pathetic way...you'd think someone was torturing her by the sounds of it.
My husband is not a cat lover. However, after he agreed to get Daisy, he fell in love with her too. Before agreeing to getting a cat he laid down ground rules saying "okay, you can get a cat, but it has to be an inside cat (as to not get dirty and bring in bugs and stuff from outside), I will NOT feed it, I will NOT change the kitty litter, and it may NOT sleep on the bed". We brought Daisy home, and the first night he is feeding her, changing her kitty litter, AND she slept on the bed. It's pretty much been that way ever since. Daisy is spoiled, and whenever someone comes over they mention how fat she is. We hardly notice because we are used to her fluffiness. However, a recent visit to the vet confirmed that she was overweight. Poor thing.
I've joked several times over the years about how Daisy needs a playmate, to which Steve has laughed and said NO.
Last fall, I mentioned to Steve that I had seen a flier for a really cute kitten, and he asked questions (as if he might not say no). Shortly after this he was going to be leaving for a week long class in Seattle. I heard him telling someone about his trip and how he might come home to a new cat. Hmmmmm.
So, while he was gone and the kids were in school I went down to the local stray cat rescue and perused the kitties. Long story short, I came home with a 6 month black kitty named Gabby. Gabby thoroughly enjoys Daisy, but the feeling is not mutual. For about a month after getting Gabby Daisy was MAD, and I mean completely out of character, totally pissed off kitty. Growling when we picked her up, or petted her too long. She refused to sleep on our bed anymore, and there were none of our nightly cuddles in bed. I felt really bad!!!
Plus the kitten is a night owl, and likes to kneed everything and nuzzle your hands and try to get under the covers...all of this at ungodly hours of the night. We had been locking her in our bathroom, which was working out fine until she starting trying to claw herself out. I really thought I was going to have to return her...it just wasn't working out. Then we decided to lock her in the laundry room, which has worked out so much better.
Anyway, Gabby really enjoys chasing Daisy throughout the house! They tear through the house, sliding around the kitchen like cartoon characters. Usually this ends in Daisy growling and them swatting at eachother. It's actually pretty comical. Then they will lay next to each other by the fire and be just fine. Daisy is back to sleeping with us and nightly cuddles, and in general is back to her old self.

AND, the funny thing is that she has lost 2 pounds!!! All you need is someone to chase you (sprints) several times a day...and someone stealing your food while you are not around, and you too can lose weight. I told Steve that this was a good workout plan, to which he volunteered to chase me around if I wanted. To which I replied that I was pretty sure I could out run him, so maybe it would be a good workout plan for him. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think you are on to something. It's not fat, it's "fluffiness." When I overindulge, I'll be fluffy. Love it.