A somewhat mundane, bit pointless thing I would like to share: we got a cat yesterday!
She was called Iina at the animal shelter, and that is nice enough name to keep. She has a little white spot on her neck, otherwise she is totally black. Even though she is an adult, she is very small; the lady who brought Iina from the shelter didn’t know her age or her breed. It seems that Iina had planned to be a teen mom, as she was pregnant and had to have an abortion when brought to the shelter from the farm where she was found.
Apparently Iina was shocked to see our place, because the moment her paws touched the floor, she sprinted to the bathroom, hid under the bathtub and stayed there for two hours. Hunger and thirst eventually brought her out, and now she is a very friendly and talkative little kitty, constantly roaming our apartment and discussing the madly interesting things she finds during her exploration.
Today she’ll have to stay home alone while we are at work; let’s hope she behaves nice also when no-one is looking… (we locked her into the kitchen to limit the possible damage; too cruel?)
-Tama
Durnit. I keep meaning to post a thread about my new kitten, but every time I get around to thinking about it, there’s a thread about someone else’s kitten!
But congratulations on the new kitten. ;j
Ah I just started a thread that mentions our new kitten. My youngest cat, Pepper, passed away at only 4 years old Saturday morning. He was sick very suddenly, made it through surgery but went into shock the day after. 
Our vet had some kittens for adoption so mom and dad picked one out and brought him home. Let me tell you, I’ve never seen a cat make himself completely welcome so fast. He is totally okay with us, with the other cats, with going in the litter box, and exploring around the house. I came home from an errand the other day and there he was just lounging on the couch. 
I’m still sad about the loss of Pepper, but this little guy (who we’ve named Max) is just so cuuuuute. P.S. I’m THE biggest sucker for kittens, and this guy purrs as soon as you pick him up. You can imagine how many times I just melt into a puddle. Oy.
They have a way of doing that, don’t they? 
Do you guys have pictures of your kittys? Here’s a picture of my tomcat, Hazel when he was a kitten. (Let me know if the link works or not.) He loved gum wrappers, as you can see by the one he innocently knocked onto the floor for later play. He was about four or five months old in that picture. He was a tiny little guy when I found him as a waif, but he grew into a BIG fellow. (The Hazel tree is associated with wisdom, and he had wise eyes.)
saramamamlana: sorry to hear about Pepper. Glad you’ve got Max, kittens are sure to cheer you up on any situation.
Johnny Bravo, thanks. Give us some stories about your cat’s antics anyway, ok?
Now let’s see, do we have that crappy digicam still around…
I’m pretty sure my parents took some pics on a digital camera, I’ll have to see if I can get ahold of them. To be continued!
I don’t think it’s cruel, not in the first few days. It’s better to introduce new cats to a house slowly. They acclimate better. I wouldn’t want to leave her in the kitchen every day forever - cats don’t really do “damage” like a puppy might - but in the scheme of things, being confined to one room is better than being outside in the cold.
Zabali, what’s that thing on top of Hazel? Is that a giant fuzzy mouse? I’m assuming the big cat is Hazel and that other thing is a toy? Or is Hazel the little thing and another cat the big one?
Here’s the lil cutie. Don’t be fooled - he’s smaller than my flip flops.
To add to this bunch of cute cats, here’s Iina.
Lessons learned #1: when giving bad-tasting medicine to a cat, wear heavy clothing. LadyTama got a 5cm long, deep gash on her shoulder when Iina decided the “deworming”-medicine had somewhat unpleasant flavor…
-Tama
