i can has kitteh?

I am pleased to introduce [Name to be Announced], the newest member of the Siska household! This little man joined us last night, and has been keeping us busy since his arrival. Kitty has unusual coloring, and a very round, flat face. He talks when I'm in the room, and was sad when Sean left for work.

We're still working on a name for him, and we'll surely let everyone know what it is when we have it. The name he came from the Humane Society with is Mr. Peepers, but I just can't bring myself to call a living being by that name.

Sean likes the name Danzig, and I'm sorta leaning toward old man names. He started purring enthusiastically when Sean suggested the name Jayne, and I told him I'd knit him an orange hat.

So, I wasn't really planning on getting a cat last night, but I've been checking the Humane Society webpage every day, since kittens are generally adopted the same day they're listed on there. This little guy was just totally gorgeous, and I had to go out and meet him. Of course meeting turned into adopting, since I knew he wouldn't be around long.

New Kitty is 4 months old, and has chronic watery eyes, which may or may not get better over time. I think he's plenty cute anyway! We just have to keep an eye on him to make sure they don't get infected since he's still recovering from an upper respiratory infection. He sneezes a little sometimes, and sounds sort of wheezy when he's really excited, but he sure doesn't lack energy!

I brought him home at 9:00 last night, and he played nonstop for over two hours. He was bouncing off the walls in the shelter, so I figured he just needed to get it out of his system. There was nothing even remotely timid about him, and he entertained himself without our help. His two favorite toys got lost after the two hours, and I still can't find them!

When we went to bed, he jumped into the bed and climbed completely under the covers! This was the first time he really purred loudly, and he wouldn't stop. He groomed himself under the blankets for about 20 minutes, then decided he needed to snuggle with my head. He spend the entire night in bed with us, which I've never heard of a cat doing before! He moved around every few hours, from being wrapped around my head on the pillow, trying to bury himself under my neck, laying on top of the blankets between us, and under the blankets curled up next to me. This seemed like a sure-fire way to test my allergies, and the most I got was a little itchy where he'd been pawing and kneading my face. This isn't a great habit I want to condone, but I couldn't bring myself to kick him out on his first night with us, mere hours after being introduced. He was just too happy.

As soon as we got up this morning, he bounded around the apartment and checked it all out over again. He pooped in the bathtub, which is a bit of a concern. His litter box is just outside the bathroom (no room inside), and I specifically bought scoopable, flushable corn litter, since his chart said he didn't like pine. I figured the pine litter comes in funky big pellets, so he didn't like the shape, but the corn stuff is the same shape as clay litter. He's been in the litter box multiple times to check it out, and he looks like he's trying to use it, but no dice. I'm keeping an eye on him today to see if I can figure out the problem.

He's been staring out the living room window for about an hour or so, and he's curled up on the top of the couch behind my neck. When he's not playing, he seems to really want to cuddle. He really doesn't enjoy being picked up, which is fine, but he's impervious to everything else: noises, being manually repositioned on your lap, falling off of stuff. I actually thought he might have a hearing problem when I played with him in the shelter since he cared so little about my lame attempts to get his attention by talking or making noise at him. He can clearly hear fine, but just doesn't care at all. I don't think he'd be phased at all by other pets, children or strangers. Once he gets used to us and his new home, he may feel differently thought. He's moved around a lot recently, especially since his treatment for the URI.

I think I might have to knit him some mice today, since I still can't find his fuzzy toys. We're still working on getting things like a scratching post and small supplies (nail clipper, brush, etc.) too. Anyone have advice on food/water bowls? Or kitten food? I bought what the HS recommends, which I'm sure is one of the priciest brands. Since he's an only pet, I think it's okay to spoil him with good food and stuff, but I don't want to break the bank buying kibble. We're looking at kitty condos on DrsFosterandSmith, but they're expensive and hard to decide between. I think he really needs something right away, so we'll be making that decision tonight.

I have to find a vet for him, and take him in the next 10 days for his rabies vaccine and to register his county cat license. It'll be good to have him checked out again so I know if he's continuing to get healthier, but I think he looks great. Since he was brought into the shelter as severely anorexic, with tapeworm, fleas and then the URI, I think he's lookin' pretty good.

Please feel free to comment here, and offer any advice and name suggestions you may have. No guarantees that we'll listen, but, you know. And for those of you with "single kitten syndrome" concerns, you should know that he was brought in with a sibling who has been adopted, so he's had 4 months to be around other kittens, and now he's on his own anyway. It's the best we could do. There will surely be more photos in the future!