As promised - new cat :D

[scaryjim]

OK, on shelley_bda's recent thread I mentioned I was going to meet some cats yesterday with a view to adopting one.

Well, we met lots of lovely cats - one or two who were lovely and vicious in equal quantities! - but none of them really felt like they'd fit into the rest of the family, and we very nearly left without one, until I noticed a little black and white girl keeping herself to herself in her cage. But when I made the effort to say hello, she was very affectionate, and quite playful, and although she was obviously a bit nervous we really liked the look of her, so:

meet Shadow!



The shelter had called her Audrey, but it really didn't suit her, and she spent most of her first 24hrs with us hidden in a variety of shadowy places, which is how she picked up her name. She's very good at hide and seek, but I'm pleased to say that in the last hour or so she's obviously started feeling much more at home, and she's currently curled up between us on our bed (which is how I got such a nice photo!). Now we just need to see how she copes with the children!

[sammyc]

Lovely to see the newcomer, and it's great she's already got herself settled enough to get on the bed (well it's where cats belong..). That's a really good sign as a nervy cat can take days of hiding themselves away til they calm down, and if she was keeping herself to herself as you say at the centre, then it sounds like she is probably well pleased to be out & have a home to call her own. And to not have to be called Audrey Well done, and hope she settles in well with the family.

[Brucelles]

It's hard to see size and age from that photo. I assume that she's young.

I love having a kitten in the house, and spring is just the time for that. I hope you manage to bring her out of herself enough to enjoy the spring weather and do what kittens do.

[jim]

I don't know, there's just something about cats... to me, that face says "Psychopathic murderer waiting for a good time to strike", but clearly that's not the way cat-lovers see it.

On the plus side, I guess either way Shadow suits her

[tiggerai]

I don't know, there's just something about cats... to me, that face says "Psychopathic murderer waiting for a good time to strike", but clearly that's not the way cat-lovers see it.

On the plus side, I guess either way Shadow suits her

Oh no, that face means "Psychopathic murderer waiting for a good time to strike" to cat-lovers too... we just know that "oh for the lack of apposable thumbs" it'll never happen.

[Behemoth]

scaryjim has got himself a mouser

Nice to see you've got a new friend in the house to bring you presents when you let her go into the outside world once she has adjusted to her new surroundings inside

I remember what savannah was like when we got he first, she spent the first few hours hidden away behind the sofa looking ever so lost. Her original owner told us that she wasn't a lap cat, guess whose lap she sat on first then ? Mine

[Salazaar]

I don't know, there's just something about cats... to me, that face says "Psychopathic murderer waiting for a good time to strike", but clearly that's not the way cat-lovers see it.

That's what makes them so sweet and lovable!

[jim]

Oh no, that face means "Psychopathic murderer waiting for a good time to strike" to cat-lovers too... we just know that "oh for the lack of apposable thumbs" it'll never happen.

So effectively what you're saying is:

Never leave a pack of these out next to an open knife drawer

[scaryjim]

It's hard to see size and age from that photo. I assume that she's young.

The shelter reckoned she's about 4, but given the earsize : facesize ratio, general body proportions and personality / demeanour, we reckon she's more like 2 - 3 and quite large! She's also very, *very* long... When she gets her paws up on something and pulls herself up it's a remarkable sight! I'll try to get photos...

we just know that "oh for the lack of apposable thumbs" it'll never happen.

Jess virtually had opposable claws, so she really could pick up the little foil balls she used to play with (and if you've seen the Eddie Izzard "if cats had thumbs" bit, it was just like that!). Shadow has thumbs - we've yet to find out if they're opposable though...

scaryjim has got himself a mouser

tbh, we like mousing cats, and last week I swear I scared a mouse off our kitchen worktop one night when I went down to make supper, so hopefully she'll scare them away at the very least!

[Behemoth]

My cat would bring mice into us still living and unharmed and just drop them at our feet, one or two of them I was able to rescue and put back in the outside world, others ended up hiding under the fridge and we'd see them again some weeks later minus their heads !

Frogs used to he ber absolute favourite thing to catch though, she'd bring in at least 2 a day !

But in the last 12 months or so Savannah seems less intersted in catching things and more interested in sleeping.

[Brucelles]

Excellent. I like that you have brought in a rescue cat. All of mine, except one, were rescued, though mainly as kittens. I have two that were Abu Dhabi street cats and they are both so grateful for being rescued. (Actually, I don't anthropomorphise them to that extent, but they seem grateful)

They are the best kind of cats. One has even learned some English, in order to communicate better with us. Your damned right it's a good job they don't have thumbs.

[scaryjim]

I've only ever had rescue cats - there's so many that need homes it'd be a crime not to take one in.

When we lived in the Yorkshire Dales Jessica used to bring us live baby rabbits as presents. The mice she used to eat, generally in one piece!

[pollaxe]

Nice one - I'm not really a cat person but I always like the individuals when I meet them (except if I'm trying to rescue something from the jaws of one hunting in my garden!) Always good to see an animal coming from a shelter to a good home. Keep us posted!

[Stringent]

Pics required

[Brucelles]

Cats would kill us if they could : Scientific proof

Told you.

[Salazaar]