Welcome to the Land of Misfit Toys...
That's all I kept thinking as our newest family member was getting somewhat acclimated to his new home.
The journey that we started on back in November didn't end quite like we had planned.
I don't know which one of us made the comment a few months back that we should get another kitty.
Our immediate first reaction was that we didn't need another cat - good grief, one more thing to worry about is the last thing we wanted.
Somehow, we found ourselves on Petfinder.com.
We casually browsed the website for well over a month before we decided that maybe we were at the point where we could offer a home to a kitty in need.
We narrowed down the cats based on criteria we all agreed upon and the numbers dropped from over 14,000 to around 500 and then we narrowed it down to the top five.
That is when we started visiting local shelters, I started sending emails and making telephone calls.
All in an effort to find a kitty that would be gentle enough for Addie.
As I worked through our list, it happened that the kitty on the very bottom of our list somehow seemed to have the personality that might work for our crazy household.
We set up a meeting and went to meet him...
all the while with a heavy heart.
After all, he was at the bottom of our list and the one who we thought would be our least favorite of them all.
My heart just dropped when I saw him.
He was by far the skinniest, sickest and craziest cat of them all.
On the way back out to the car, Julien said that we had to get him because he needed a home so badly.
The cat had no manners, he was in serious need of a large vet bill, his little back bone was pressed against his skin, he was hungry...and he wanted nothing more than to put his head on my shoulder and let me pet him.
My heart overtook all sensible logic and against my better judgement, Addie and I went to get him...and took him straight to the vet.
He was a sick little kitty and was quarantined from our kitties for the first week before we took him to our new vet.
Our new vet suggested we either find him a new home or keep him away from our kitties - forever.
We left the kitty at the vet for four days and when we came back to get him this past Monday, the vet seemed a little more encouraging.
He sent kitty home on Amoxicillin and with a Rx for Zithromax in hopes that a large dose of antibiotics would clear up his terrible infection.
I have refused to bond with kitty. He has been living on our sun porch since we brought him home.
He sleeps on the sun porch or in the hall bathroom at night, enjoys the view on the porch during the day and while we are home in the evening, he spends his time curled up on whoever has an available lap.
He is making good progress with his health, which means he is breaking through the stone cold wall of my heart.
This was day two when we brought him home.
Julien convinced me to go to the craft store and buy supplies for them to make the kitties new toys.
They did a fabulous job and Addie loved playing with the new kitty.
He is 9 1/2 months old and there is no telling what he has been through since birth.
I can tell you that he wants nothing more than to spend time with our kitties and he wants nothing more than to be next to us.
He is gentle and is going to be a giant - his paws are the size of a lions.
He should be well enough to start spending all of his time in the house within the next few days.
We decided on a name.
Since the odds were against him and he has spent his life as the underdog, we decided to name him Rudy.
The odds may have been against him, but he is overcoming the odds and winning over the heart of everyone who meets him.
He may not be the kitty we set out to bring into our home, but he is the kitty that God sent to us and we are growing to love him more each day...
despite his lack of manners...
So far, Rudy has made several odd choices...
Julien stepped into the shower and before the door was closed, Rudy stepped into the shower with Julien...and stood there, pawing at Julien's leg while the water poured down.
Rudy stuck his head in my coffee this morning. I have to say that I was more perturbed than he was.
Then tonight, he jumped on the table and curled up next to Addie's plate during dinner. She was less than happy about it and I can't quite describe to you the emotions that it brought about in me.
Chris took him in the living room and had a little chat with him and told him that in some parts of the world, he would have been dinner for pulling a stunt like that.
Whew....poor kitty has some learning to do.
