On July 22, a friend of Sophia's called her. The friend had rescued a kitten that had been staying outside the apartment where she lives. She had asked neighbors if the kitten belonged to them, and each said no. During a heavy rain, she brought the bedraggled kitten in, and knowing that the lease did not permit pets, called Sophia to ask her to find it a home.
Sophia picked up the kitten and called me. She planned to take it to the Humane Society. I told her animals cannot be dropped off without paying a fee, money Sophia didn't have. Although I could have (should have) given her the money, I didn't. It was obvious that he (named "Grayson" by Sophia) had a respiratory infection and needed treatment. No one was going to adopt a sick kitten. Instead of paying the fee to leave the cat at the Humane Society, I made an appointment with our vet to see him the next day.
After spending $250 for the vet's services -- treatment for ear mites, fleas, and worms, as well as a shot for his respiratory infection and testing for feline leukemia, and the first of routine shots administered to cats, Grayson began his stay with me while we searched for a home for him.
Within a few days Dawn said she had told a customer about Grayson, and the woman said she wanted a male gray and white cat to keep her cat company. And that quickly Grayson had a mom. The only problem was that the woman was in the process of remodeling a condo before moving in, and she couldn't take him for at least two weeks, maybe longer. I agreed to keep him provided she would pay for his follow-up vet visit for his second shots. She agreed.
Rather than set up the wire kennel for him, I gave him deluxe accommodations -- the guest bathroom. A bed, litter box, and water (in a small dish, set in a larger pan to catch splashes, placed on top of a cloth to absorb what escaped the pan). Kibble at night for the munchies.
On meds, his stuffy nose cleared up within a few days. His appetite has always been exceptional. And thus the chronicles began.
I had read that kittens sleep 16 to 20 hours a day. Obviously Grayson isn't a typical cat. He is in constant motion, much of it spent trying to befriend Simon and Lilli. Neither of them has been receptive to being near him, let alone in the same room; therefore, when he is up, they have learned to get to my bedroom where I shut them in (and him out). I learned that the only way to get some down time was to put Grayson in his "bedroom" for naps -- *10:00 until about noon, 3:00 until dinner (between 5:00 and 6:00), and down for the night at 9:00. He is awake at 6:30 AM when the neighbors stir, their bathroom being next to Grayson's, so we have breakfast at 7:00. Repeat daily from *.
Grayson's entertainment items are varied: the blue circle with the ball inside, a couple fluffy balls that he carries around in his mouth, a plastic shoe string, and a lavender piece of knitted yarn that he hugs like a it's his best friend but also bites and claws like it's his worst enemy.
Since he doesn't sit still for very long, I was surprised that, while "Serengeti" was playing on television, he was captivated by the big cats and baboons and watched attentively as they ran across the screen. I recorded him sitting and watching the activity for nearly a minute, and he continued to sit for another minute.
He has been a curious explorer and is afraid of nothing, not even the vacuum cleaner. Fast on his feet, I learned to hold him when opening a door to the outdoors; otherwise, he would zip out to investigate. When he's particularly rambunctious, I open the door into the garage (with the exterior door down) and he will explore for several minutes, or he will zip back and forth between the garage and the condo's interior, expending some of the abundant kitten energy.
This morning I heard noise from the pie pan that Grayson's water dish sits in and assumed that he'd run into the bathroom and stumbled into his water. When I went to look, I saw him standing outside the bathroom with the cloth from under the dishes lying beside him. The pie tin was now in the middle of the bathroom floor, the water dish sitting in it nearly empty, and a trail of water marked the route from start to finish -- 3 feet for the dish, 7 feet for the cloth.
I sent daily photos to his adoptive mother. At the end of his third week here, she came to meet him but said she didn't want to take him until the floor coverings in her remodel project were done. Would I please keep him another two weeks? I agreed. His pick up date was August 31. That's today. This past Thursday she called to say she needs an extension and asked if I'd keep him until mid-September. I replied that I had agreed to take care of him, but that he needed to be in his home, not mine. I said that if he is still here in mid-September, she may have him, but in the meantime I will endeavor to find him another family. Someone is going to realize this is the cat of all cats.
GRAYSON WAS ADOPTED LAST NIGHT, September 5, 2019. A co-worker of Bob's stepped forward. Their family cat had escaped the confines of their home and been mauled to death by two dogs. Their 7 year old was told the cat had run away; the older girl, perhaps 12, saw what happened. The girls were told they would get another cat.
When the girls and their mother arrived, she left the girls in the car. She wanted to surprise them. I gathered up papers from his vet visit, the kitten kibble, and the lavender fluff of yarn to send home with him. While Mom carried Grayson, I took the other items. As she approached the car, the older girl, slouched in the front seat with her bare feet on the dashboard, sprung to a sitting position and opened the door as we approached, eyes wide open and mouth agape. She asked, "Is he ours?!" The younger girl, strapped in her carseat seemed puzzled but was eager to take him home. Bob texted last night to say, "Mike said his daughters are in love with him already."
Although I was aggravated at the length of time Grayson was here, seeing that he's with people who wanted him made the extended stay worthwhile. I know he'll be treated well. He's already loved!
Moments at Play
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| Atop my desk |
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Climbing the lamp
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Peekaboo from behind the keyboard shelf
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Simon, curious but not ready to play
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| Grayson, trying again |
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| Thankfully, a nap |
