Three Weeks With Caroline

Hi, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well.

We picked up Caroline three weeks ago today. I thought I'd give you an update concerning her transition into our family. Be prepared for cuteness overload. 

I am smitten with this kitten. 

I took her to the vet last week. She thinks that Caroline isn't a year old yet. She changed her age on her chart to 9 months based on her size and the way she acts. Bill and I thought she was still a kitten too.

She got a clean bill of health. She had no ear mites or nasty parasites and she is caught up on her shots.  

She is sleeping pretty well. At first she wanted to be touching either Bill or I to fall asleep. 

She is napping independently but is still sleeping with us at night.

 

She is like a small child and gets cranky when it is nap time. 

I was concerned how a new cat would get along with Dixie. 

They are getting along pretty well. They have had a few tense moments but Dixie has handled our new family member with ease. Dixie won't admit it but there has been a little jealousy. 

She seems to enjoy Caroline. After we lost Ringo, Dixie just slept all of the time. 

Caroline has caused Dixie to engage a little more. This was very unexpected but we're happy about it. I hope it will help Dixie stay more youthful and playful. 

Caroline has gotten into her fair share of trouble. 

She's scared me a time or two. 

She makes us laugh. 

 

She doesn't have a problem riding in the car. 

I was very concerned about this. Ringo didn't seem to mind it but all our other cats hated the car. 

We head to the new house almost every weekend so this was super important.

 It was such a relief that she is a good traveler. 

She meows a little at first but then settles down for a nap. 

She doesn't want me to drive so Bill is doing all the driving. 

I'm sure taking her to another house was confusing but she sniffed around the new house and then settled right in, 

She quickly found a favorite spot for a nap. 

She loves the screened in porch. 

I mean, who doesn't love a good screened in porch? 

 Caroline acts like she has never been outside. All of our other were inside and outside cats. This worked well with all the coming and going that occurred with our family of five. All of our felines enjoyed long lives except for one orange tabby.  

So far I am not letting her out without a harness and leash. Bill let her out once to roam the backyard. 

When we brought her back inside, she immediately wanted to go back out. I'm not sure an inside cat with limited outside privileges works. I still need to do some research but for now she is staying inside. 

It has rained most of the last month, anyway. It's too wet and muggy to be outside. 

It's time to say 'hello' to the mosquitoes. 

Bill had to make a door that locked for the dog door. 

Dixie hates going out in the rain to potty anyway so she hasn't missed the dog door. 

I love this kitty. She is perfectly snuggly which I really missed when we lost Ringo.

It's like all our former pets got together to send us a perfect little kitten. 

We feel very blessed that Caroline has fit right into our little family unit. 

That's about it for now. 

I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Katie 

Sweet Caroline Our New Kitty

Hi, Friends, 

How are you? 

I'm refreshed after a good night's sleep. 

I picked up Caroline after five on Tuesday. She'd been fixed at around eight that morning. Which I understand but I didn't love the idea that we would be bonding with her when she was uncomfortable. 

I expected her to be very sleepy. She was not. 

Bill wasn't home from work when I got home with her. I probably should have done my research on an introduction of a new pet into the family but I didn't. 

Bill got home and we introduced Dixie to Caroline. There is a mutual interest and distrust at the same time. Our animal shelter isn't great about providing a lot of context for their animals. You can release a pet if there are too many animals in the home and that is the reason they listed for Caroline's release. Dixie's too, for that matter. It would be good to know if there were other dogs in the home as well as cats. I know that she was in a home with other cats. They were all released together. She doesn't seem unfamiliar with dogs. Dixie is well acquainted with cats. She and Ringo tolerated each other but secretly, I hope that they were closer when we weren't around. 

I kept the carrier on the sofa with me during the evening. Caroline could escape to her carrier if she felt uneasy around Dixie. It was a good plan except that about the time that I was ready for bed, Sweet C was ready to play. Then she began to bother her incision. I was tempted to run out and get a cone collar of shame but those have never worked for us. They are an epic waste of money, in my opinion. Every animal we have ever had wriggled right out of it. I sat with my hand between her face and her incision until she fell asleep. I tried to leave her and go up to bed but she got up and wanted to play. I tried moving to the bigger sofa in the living room but Dixie wanted to sleep right below us and I didn't feel comfortable with that just yet. She began to fuss with her incision again. I decided that she must be hungry since she was trying to nurse on my finger. It was technically the next day after surgery so I gave her a small bite to eat which settled her down.  

We were about to fall back to sleep out in the garden room when she started staring at the wall. 

I said, "There is nothing there. Go to sleep." Oh wait. There was something there. There was a giant water bug hanging out on the brick. The garden room is an enclosed porch so it can have its share of wildlife from time to time.  

"We're out."

This is Texas, we have those giant water bugs. It doesn't matter how many times an exterminator is here, they seem impervious to pesticides 

I packed her up and took her up to one of the guest rooms. At this point it was after two in the morning. 

I let her explore for a bit and she fell asleep in my shoulder. She moved when I fell asleep and she ended up under the covers at my feet. 

Bill came hunting for us when he got up. He is an early riser. He let me sleep a little longer. 

Bill is more relaxed than I am when it comes to Caroline and Dixie time. He is in the 'they will work it out camp.' I'm in the 'I don't want them to kill each other camp.'

Caroline has spent a lot of time exploring the house yesterday morning. Then she took some good long naps. She hasn't bothered her incision at all. 

I ordered groceries and napped yesterday afternoon. 

I'm too old for almost all nighters. 

Last evening, I needed a break from Cat Watch 2021. 

Bill snuggled with kitty and I watched some YouTube in another room. I feel asleep almost immediately. 

When Bill went to bed, she came and slept on my shoulder. I get the feeling that she slept with her humans at her other home. I don't mind that for now since she just had surgery but I'm not sure that will work for us long term. 

I am perfectly okay with a cat sleeping on my feet, however. That is what Ringo did in the evenings.  

Midnight, the cat that I got for my 13th birthday, slept with me too. 

Bill wasn't wild about that when we got married but Midnight was already 12 at that point. 

Our other cats may have been in the kid's rooms. I really can't remember. 

It's been a long time sine we've introduced a new pet into the family and it takes some work. The reward is worth it, however. I'm very grateful that Bill pushed the issue and wanted to get us a cat for my birthday. He is wise because I love having a kitty. I wanted to mull over all the options and potential problems. He said, "We'll work it out." He is so sweet and so smart. 

She doesn't seem to have bad habits like climbing on the kitchen table. She doesn't seem to be a climber at all, even though I've shared that Dixie is too chubby to climb and that she'd be safe up high. She hasn't tried to scratch anything either. Oops, spoke too soon. She is litter box trained. I don't think she has ever been outside. We have always let our animals be inside and outside but I'm not sure what we will do with Sweet C.

She is very photogenic. Bill told her to prepare for her life online. I said that she didn't come with a "Do not publish" directive. 

It surprises me how much we have missed Ringo. It may just have been the exhaustion and emotional turmoil from the last year but I teared up a lot thinking about him. Now I'm tearing up because I'm grateful for Bill and for her. I think she is going to be a great addition to the family.  

Caroline wore a collar that was too tight so I hope that there isn't permanent damage from that. 

She'll see our vet for shots and a check up next week. She is a year old and I'm not sure what she has had except rabies. 

That is all for now, 

I hope you are having a wonderful day. 

Katie