Introducing Egghead

I'd like to introduce you all to the newest member of the family -- Egghead the cat (not his real name, but used to protect his identity on the privacy-challenged Internet).

A few fun facts about Egghead:

He is not a kitten -- We went to the shelter to adopt a kitten.  We stopped at Target first and stocked up on all the necessary supplies (including Kitten Chow).  Once we got to the shelter we looked at the kittens and selected on to meet personally in the interaction room.  The first cat we met was a 2 month old kitten --real cute, too a grey short hair with tiger stripes.  I watched Little Zo Peep play with her and thought our mission was accomplished.  But -- much to my surprise -- Zo Peep came over to me after about 5 minutes and whispered in my ear, "Mommy I think I want a calmer kitten."  

I told the adoption counselor what Miss Peep had said.  The counselor -- Beth -- was very surprised (I think she doesn't see many kids who aren't entrenched on the notion of getting a  frisky little kitten).   She explained to Zo Peep that kittens -- by definition -- aren't calm.  Beth suggested that Zo Peep may want to try an older cat -- one that is a year or two old.  

Once again, I was amazed when Little Zo Peep agreed to look at grown cats.  K - our former babysitter and cat-expert who accompanied us to give advice -- told Zo Peep who proud she was that the Peep was considering a fully grown cat.  K explained to Zo Peep that most people who come to the shelter want kittens only so that the older cats sometimes never get adopted.  I watched Zo Peep's reaction to K's story.  I could see her resolve grow as she digested K's words.  I knew then that an older cat would be coming home with us.

By the way -- Libby Doodle Doo was totally freaked out by the kitten.  She sat in my lap shaking the entire time the kitten was in the room and would try to climb up my torso and onto my head any time the kitten would dart in our direction.  

He is a HE

I told Little Zo Peep that we needed to get a female cat.  Both K and my sister warned me that male cats can develop urination problems where they will constantly mark their territories.  I did not want my house smelling of cat urine.

So after seeing the female kitten, Beth brought in several grown female cats.  The first (a beautiful cat) was too shy and stayed under the bench in the room during the entire visit.  The second was missing an eye.  She was a friendly cat, but I think the missing eye bothered Zo Peep and she came over to whisper to me that she only wanted to see cats with 2 eyes.    Miss Peep is mature enough to get an older cat over a kitten -- but not so mature to give her heart to a one-eyed cat.

So none of these cats fit the bill for Zo Peep.    Fortunately, Miss Doodle's reaction to both of these cats was much improved.  She got off my lap and tried to coax the first cat out of her hiding place and she petted the one-eyed cat.    

After the one-eyed cat, Beth probed me on the reason for my desire for a female cat.  I told her my rationale and K shared her personal experience.  Beth insisted that -- although some cats exhibit that behavior -- indiscriminate urination is rare and  is not a male-only issue.  She wanted to show us some young (a year or so) male cats who were extremely friendly.  I agreed.

Next Beth brought in the cardboard carrier which held Egghead.  As soon as she opened the top, Egghead peered out of the carrier and Zo Peep was smitten.  He's a beautiful cat -- very small (not as big as the females we had seen) with a silver coat with subtle stripes.  He also has a white breast and white feet.  Even before Egghead jumped out of the box, Zo Peep had declared:

"This is the cat I want.  Can we take him home, mommy?"

Oh, Little Zo Peep -- how quick you are to jump into a long-term relationship based on some guy's good looks.  I can't wait until Zo Peep's teenage years to see if that is the same criteria she uses to pick boyfriends.  

But I have to admit that once Egghead left the carrier and started interacting with Zo Peep, the Doodle and me -- I , too, was convinced that this was our cat.  He was VERY friendly ad crawled into Zo Peep's lap to purr.  He also nuzzled with Libby Doodle Doo -- and she let him do it.  We had found our cat.

So, we all went into the shelter expecting to adopt a Female Kitten and left with an ADULT MALE CAT.  

As we know -- The best laid plans of mice and men (and moms) oft go awry.

(Oh, I have no photos of Mr. Egghead yet.  The battery in my digital camera died -- I discovered this problem at Zo Peep's birthday party -- and I can't find the recharger.  I may have to go to a camera store today and get a new one.)

(And another thing -- Little Zo Peep hasn't settled on a name for the cat yet.  She wants to try on different names for the next week until she finds one that fits him best.  I'm doing some heavy lobbying  for Egghead and every time I say it she just rolls her eyes and walks away.)