My wife is no longer allowed to go into any PetSmart unattended.
The kitten's name is Ranger. He was found in a box with two other kittens outside of a pound. All three of the kittens were severely malnourished and the smallest one did not survive.
We're not sure exactly how old Ranger is because his growth is stunted. Carrie pointed out that his eyes already changed color from young kitten blue, but his body size is closer in line to a six-week old. The veterinarians that checked him out guessed Ranger is about 13 weeks.
Originally, his name was McJagger, but I shot that down upon hearing it. The Rolling Stones are a great band, but that would ruin the whole math teacher name scheme our cats have going for them! We already have Min and Max, so what separates the minimum from the maximum? The range! I wasn't sure it was the best name at the time, but Carrie loved it and posted it on Facebook, so I suppose that means it's official.
So far, Ranger's a purring, playful, cuddle-monster. He likes to fall asleep in people's laps and bunk anything that comes his way. It's hilarious to see him fall asleep in my wife's lap and give her a cute attack. She starts to shiver with excitement and you know that she's fighting the urge to stamp her feet or show any of the excitement for fear of dislodging the kitten. He's a bundle of energy as you saw from the stairwell video, but he's also interested in Shane as well...
The poor cat doesn't have much in the way of self-preservation instincts.
So far, Max has grown accustomed to Ranger, but Min wants him gone. Both cats hissed and made a fuss the first night. Day 2 saw Max only hissing when Ranger tried to play and she was willing to sit in the same room as him. Min hisses and keeps her distance. I'm not sure if she loathes being in the same room, or if she feels threatened. She's still friendly to us, but she watches Ranger closely like he's kitty kryptonite. Sometimes she hisses and leaves when he's around and other times she'll hold her ground, hiss and send him scurrying away. Sometimes she'll perch at the top of the stairs and trap Ranger downstairs. Min has shown no signs of relenting her anti-kitten stance. Maybe she doesn't like having a boy around. Maybe she doesn't like having any other cats around. Maybe she doesn't like having a boy kitten that looks so much like her nemesis, Jack, around. Kitty drama abounds.
So, how did I get saddled with another cat?
My wife was stuck in traffic on Saturday while returning from a business trip. To kill some time and hope traffic would die down, she went into a nearby PetSmart. We've been talking about getting a cat door so we could keep the washroom door closed for Shane but still allow the cats access to their litter box. (I'm still amazed at just how bad cat poop can smell compared to any other type of poop in the world).
As usual, a local humane society/rescue group had set up shop in the store. My wife went over to talk to them and kill some time. That's when she saw Ranger. He was sleeping upside down in the lap of the 3-year old daughter of the woman running the show. When she heard the kitten's life story, Carrie's heart melted. The first I knew of any of this was when my wife walked in the door with a new cat in her arms.
I was not happy. My brother, Matt, was visiting and he decided to take his leave before things got too awkward. It's not that I'm anti-cat. I have two of them already (they were included in the package when I married my wife). We had three cats for a while when we were babysitting my brother-in-law's cat, Jack. I was okay with Jack, and I was okay with three cats then. It was my wife that wanted to go back to a two-cat household. I was not happy, because I wasn't consulted about what I consider a large decision. Now, the little stinker is here like it or not. He kept me awake the first night chasing my toes and curling up beside me at night so that I couldn't change positions without squishing him.
Thankfully, he's a cute cat. I know I would've okayed the adoption if my wife had asked me about it, because I'd brought up the "no more than three cats" rule over a year ago. I'm still a little annoyed about the whole situation, but my wife knows me too well to think I won't forgive her and move on. I already have. I love her too much. However, I'm hoping to use my "I'm annoyed" leverage to get a few nice home-cooked meals this week, before she realizes that!
EDIT: I know I'm a trouble maker. Ranger is sleeping in a blanket by my keyboard and I brought Min over in my lap. She was enjoying the scratching so much that she didn't even notice Ranger until he rolled over in his sleep. That killed the fun for Min. She hissed and left. Ranger didn't even open an eyelid.
No comments:
Post a Comment