Meet Snowball

My readers may recall in my last blog post, I touched on the subject of Invisible Illness Week about 2 months after that blog-themed event actually took place. I also shared my rationale for that, by writing: "limiting ourselves to just a week to acknowledge invisible illnesses does a bit of a disservice to the concept, so I theorized 'why not address invisible illnesses some other time?!' (I have the same feeling about No D-Day, which I hope to cover at another time). With that, I decided I would do it when time enabled me to do it, not according to someone else's calendar."

Hence, today's posting: No-D Blog Day 2011 (see HERE for some additional information).

This is one of the few themed blog days I actually look forward to. In fact, a few years back, George Simmons didn't do one and I was one of the individuals who asked him why he didn't do it, and to the best of my knowledge, that themed day has since been continued annually ever since. But I was actually really busy with my aunt and uncle in from Seattle (and I don't get to see them very often), so I didn't get to writing about it on October 7, 2011 -- the "official" No D-Day. It doesn't matter -- in fact, you might actually remember MY posting for No D-Day vs. the something like 40 other No D-Day posts from October 7, 2011! (See, there's a method to my madness!)

Back in January, I wrote about the loss of 17 year-old cat Phyllis (see my post HERE). I really agonized over the decision to have her euthenized, but in hindisght, I know that I chose to put my longtime pet's well-being first over of my own selfish desires to keep her around for just a little while longer while she would have suffered in agony. I don't regret that decision, but it still makes me very sad.

I wasn't in big a rush to get a new cat (or kitten). I had a fairly busy travel schedule ahead of me, and I was still mourning the loss of a longtime pet, so I decided to take a break and maybe look at adopting new pet at a later point in time. I actually waited over 6 months before I even considered getting a new pet.

I really wanted to go the route of adopting a kitten, in part, because they can be trained more easily than adult pets who tend to be much more stubborn (to the extent that any cat can really be trained). I visited a few animal rescue centers including the well-known North Shore Animal League which is based in the town I lived in when I first moved to New York (so I KNEW where it was located) and is billed as the world's largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization. I also visited a few other animal rescue and adoption centers in the NYC area. When I visited those, it became painfully evident to me that kittens (and puppies) have little if any problem getting adopted, but far too many adult animals are often overlooked, and sit in cages for months at a time waiting for a new owners. There were a few that had no problem, but there were also some mother cats whose kittens had been adopted while the poor mothers remained in their cages, sometimes for many months.

While that's all very touching and emotional, I wasn't going to take just any fleabagfeline with a sob story home with me, especially if I have to live with this animal for many years to come. The animal had to be alluring, yet appear to have some kind of colorful personality behind a cute face. Shortly before Labor Day, I visited a local adoption center for another local animal rescue organization and saw a little girl cat known as Snowball. She has very stunning blue eyes (definitely a Siamese mix) with a beautiful, tan, domestic shorthair coat. Snowball was definitely an adult at around 4 years old, but seemed to have a compelling personality.

The weekend before Labor Day, the animal adoption folks interviewed me (they interview adoptive families to make sure the new owners aren't living in squalor), and brought this new cat home to live with me. I learned that Snowball's owner had passed away, leaving her homeless. Fortunately, she was rescued (or taken to a rescue facility) that does not destroy animals, but learned she had been in the adoption center for a while. As I said, kittens and puppies have little problem finding new homes, but adult animals struggle.

Since bringing Snowball home, she has taken some time to get assimilated, and although she's not a lap-cat, she does like hanging out with me and can sometimes get underfoot. She also has some really nice personality traits. Most notably, I bought a special cat bed for her (my former cat couldn't be bothered with those; she slept on my bed, and I was fortunate that she permitted me to do the same!), and she actually uses it regularly. I put it on a chair that's even with the mattress at the foot of the bed, and she seems to like the fact that she can sleep there without me moving my feet and waking her up.

She has also proven to be a very good verminator. Since moving in, she has caught two mice which I didn't even know had moved in with me! Both were baby mice and were really tiny, but Snowball's rodenticidal skills are proving to be a great asset! She is also pretty quiet, although she has definite Siamese vocal skills when she needs them. Each evening, when I get home from work, I hear Snowball at the door excited and greeting me with her voice, apparently excited that I'm home. I don't know how she knows it's me, and not someone else in the building, but apparently, she does! This cat seems to have hidden talents! Meet my new cat Snowball!