Category: Pets

And then there were three

The kittens moved to Petaluma last night. We have been unable to correct Briarwood’s behavioral issues, and letting him continue to eliminate in the window sill, and mark the furniture was NOT an option. Nor was removing the catalyst for his stress. (That would be Justin.) So we had to find him a new home.

My mother-in-law agreed to take him in with the understanding that he would be living in the garage with access to the outside, but no access to the rest of the house. While not ideal, it’s certainly better than giving him to a shelter. Jenny and I talked a great deal about it, and we also decided to keep Briar and Pantha together. We didn’t want to add separation anxiety on top of the stress of moving for Briar, and we didn’t want to risk the possibility of Pantha acting up once her brother was gone.

So last night after I got home from work, we packed all the cat stuff up. Wrestled the kittens into their carriers, wrestled Justin into his car seat, and headed north. We spent a bit of time visiting with Jenny’s mom, (and fixing her computer) and getting the cats settled before heading back to the bay area.

So – we are now living in a cat-free house. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to.

This breaks my heart, but I have to do it.

Anyone in the SF Bay area want a cat?

He’s a 6 year old domestic short-hair (tabby), neutered, and tends to be skittish at times but very affectionate. He’s just not dealing with the stress of having a toddler around, and is currently experiencing behavioral problems which can probably be corrected with a change of environment and a small amount of training. (Specifically he needs to re-learn what a litter-box is and how to use it.)

An ideal environment would be one where he would be primarily in-doors with no other pets or small children, as he is currently not dealing well with his litter-mate (fighting, hissing, growling.) Once he has mellowed out and adjusted to his new environment, the introduction of another cat may be possible.

I don’t want to have to give him up, but there is nothing else I can do at this point. If we had space to designate a “safe-room” for him, I could probably re-train and re-introduce him into our household, but the only room I would have been able to use for that is now a nursery.

I am looking into other options (friends/family/no-kill shelters) but I thought I’d post this here as well.

Edited on Sep 24th 2005, 01:35 by Hooloovoo

The Cutest Thing

Justin is fascinated with the kittens, (For those that don’t know – that would be Briarwood and Agapantha – our 2 six-year-old Tabbys) and now that he is finally getting the concept of “gentle”, Pantha will actually let him pet her. (I still need to keep an eye on him when he does because he still has a tendency to grab her tail and try to pull her closer…)

Briar, on the other hand, is still very wary of the baby. (Excuse me, the toddler. He’s walking now.) Justin tries to get close to Briar and ends up following him around the living room and kitchen until Briar jumps the baby-gate to safety.

Justin was just doing that a few minutes ago actually, but I realized he wasn’t trying to pet Briar, Justin was trying to share one of his puffed grain baby finger-food snacks with him.

I guess he’s trying to make friends. It was too adorable. I just had to share.

(Too bad Briar isn’t interested in making new friends…)

Edited on Sep 24th 2005, 01:38 by Hooloovoo

Excited? Me?

So I’m sitting at work trying to get a petulent machine to cooperate when my cell phone rings.

I think to myself: “Is that Jenny? Is it time? Do I need to leave so I can take her to the Hospital?”

No, just some friends of ours making sure that I can still check on thier cats while they’re camping next week.

Edited on Aug 14th 2004, 06:33 by Hooloovoo