Annie Blue

In the midst of everything (and to answer the most recent poll question), Annie Blue joined our furry family on Monday, September 17th.

Her addition is somewhat of a joke because everyone who knows me knows that I've always hated (HATED!) cats . . . until Miss Kitty came to us, that is. And, it only worked with Miss Kitty because she was so "different". She was a wild cat and always did "her business" outside - asking at the door to go out like the dogs. She never got on furniture, etc., until we invited her. She was (is) the perfect cat (although she seems more like a dog).

Then, somewhere along the line, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have a couple of barn cats . . . except we don't have the barn yet.

So, call it fate, call it kismet, call it . . . insanity?! Whatever you name it, I was visiting a friend who mentioned that she thought her cat was pregnant, and the proverbial seed was planted. I dropped the concept of getting a kitten to Tom - probably being more vague about the whole idea of it than my mental plans already indicated. Then we happened to visit the friend - quite accidentally - a week after the kittens were born, and I was hooked. I think even Tom was.

So, fast-forward a few weeks to the time when the kittens would nearly be ready to go home, and Tom's dad was getting sicker and sicker. We knew traveling and being gone from home for a bit were ahead of us. If I waited until the kitten was 8 weeks old to bring her home, I was worried that Ernie's passing would soon follow and she wouldn't have had any time to adapt to us and her new home before we left her. So, the executive decision was made to pick her up just past her 7 week birthday. But, Murphy's Law struck (as always happens), and Ernie passed away fewer than 48 hours later . . . giving Annie Blue only 6 hours to get to know Tom and 4 short days to get to know me.

Fortunately, she has taken it all in perfect stride and is NONE the worse for wear for being shipped to my folks' for the time that we were gone. I think the transition between here and there and then back here again was made easier by the fact that she was with Maisy and Tucker the whole time. And, I'd stopped at my folks' on the way home from picking her up, so she already knew them - albeit for a very short period of time.

Anyway, all's well that ends well, and Annie Blue's a doll! The only transition that's been difficult is Miss Kitty's acceptance of her . . . which is zero. There haven't been any physical fights, fortunately . . . but only because Miss Kitty's hissing and growling keep Annie Blue at a sufficient distance . . . although the kitten is soooooo eager to have a new cat mommy! ;) Maybe in time . . . !

(In these pictures, aside from the first one where she's perched on the [still unfinished] stairway in the house, Annie Blue is exploring the airy walls of the woodshed . . . her first foray outside.)