As most of you know, we're living in a rental house with a two pet limit on our lease, and have three cats. We were volunteering at PetSmart today when a young soldier came in with a cat. The soldier was almost crying. His fiancee had been sent to Korea and he was to leave for Germany within a couple of weeks. The problem was his cat, named Tiger. Tiger couldn't go to Germany as he would have to live in the barracks and no animals are allowed in them. So he had made arrangements with the director of the rescue group that we volunteered for to bring Tiger in and have the group find him a home.

Well Tiger didn't make it to the cages. Yes, you guessed it. Tiger has been renamed Merlin and is a new member of our family. He is already blending in and is gently working out his place in our hierarchy. Tonight he helped Mike and Mandy play games on the Play Station. Mike thinks that he's used to sitting there watching the PlayStation in action. He has had a face down with QC, which was very interesting as both are very quiet and gentle. They sat in meatloaf positions staring at each other for about two minutes then both moved away. They almost played with the cat dancer together, but QC was leery of getting too close to Merlin. Berfert stalked him for a while, then hid under the bed for about a half hour, after which Mandy flushed him out. Merlin has been ignoring Berfert but seems to have Tanada's number. He's a little scared of her. Tanada is actually interested in him and keeps trying to sniff him.

The soldier I got Merlin from told me that he's strictly an indoor cat, and his reactions to being outside to get home bear that out. He rides in a car well, sitting under the bench seat in the van and not moving or making a sound while we drove home. He seems really gentle and loving, as well as shy. He likes to play and has explored around the house, except for my room, where Tanada rules. He has been in here, but left after a brief stay. I'm hoping that he settles in soon. For a cat that's not used to having feline or child members of his family, he's doing really well.

So, call me crazy, but I did it again. I brought another cat into the family while Rob is gone. Now I have to find a way to tell him about his new son/owner. I just hope he's in a really good mood when he reads the email I'm going to have to write him......tomorrow.

Copyright © Pam Shirk
July 23, 2000