Eisenhower

As you all remember, our cat Roosevelt died in January. We really missed him, as did Figaro. Evan and I were talking about how since Figaro wasn't even 5 yet, maybe we should get another cat so that he wouldn't be lonely. Evan started looking at cat shelters online and became kind of smitten with one. The rescue shelter was going to be having an adoption day at a nearby PetSmart on January 18th, so we decided to go and see if the cat Evan liked was there and if it would be a fit with our family. We told the girls that we were not making any promises, we needed to find a cat that would be family friendly and good with Figaro.

When we got there, they had the cats in large pens. There was an all gray cat who was enthusiastically playing with a toy in its pen. It was hilarious, because it was just flinging the toy around like crazy. We saw other cats that were gorgeous--long, soft fur, sweet dispositions. The ladies running the adoption told us that the cat Evan had been interested in they had not brought because he is not really a people person and this atmosphere would have stressed him out. Evan was kind of bummed, but we looked around at other older male cats to bring home...except we kept going back to that gray cat. It looked to be a full grown female cat, but after we got closer and read the paper it turns out that the cat was a male cat who was only 5 months old! The ladies told us that he was very sweet, great with other cats (he was in a cat foster home with 3 other cats and got along with all of them), and was a Russian Blue breed. They also told us that, due to his size at 5 months old, he was going to be a HUGE cat. We brought him out of the cage, held him, let him interact with the girls. He was sweet, soft as silk, and we knew we'd be bringing him home. 

And that is how Eisenhower became a part of our family...

 Of course, less than a week after we got him, Eisenhower started acting funny. He wouldn't wake up in the mornings, wouldn't play, was barely eating. He also kept sneezing and sounded congested. We took him to the vet and he had a pretty bad respiratory infection. After giving him some meds, and iv to help with his dehydration, and special food to make sure he was getting nutrients, he pulled through. Seriously, we thought he was going to die for a day or so. How traumatic would that have been for the girls?!

 So, I totally forgot what having a kitten is like...it kind of sucks. He is CRAZY. He plays with everything--the girls' stuffed animals, wooden blocks, our toes, the rugs. He runs into walls, is terrible at jumping which means he is constantly knocking things over, and goes from calm to manic in less than 3 seconds. Yesterday, while trying to kill our beta fish, he knocked over one of my favorite vases and shattered it. I was less than happy.

 Figaro about lost his mind when he realized we brought a new cat home. He got all big and puffy and hissed a whole bunch. For the first two weeks, he hung out upstairs and would only come down to eat and beg to go outside. Slowly, though, he has adapted. He started staying in the same rooms as Eisenhower, would pass him without hissing, stopped trying to smack him every time Eisenhower sniffed him, and even will lay beside the kitten now. Actually, last night, Figaro tried to lay down and cuddle with Eisenhower (Figaro really, really misses cuddling with Roosevelt and it's so sad), but Eisenhower was so excited/confused that he just started trying to wrestle Figaro instead.

 Eisenhower is a total cuddle buddy, though. He loves to curl up next to or on us and has a huge purr. He's unbelievably soft and I love his eyes. He's also good with the girls. He'll sometimes play too rough (we all have scratches from him trying to wrestle us), but he lets the girls carry him around and loves to chase string that they dangle in front of him.

I'd say he's a perfect fit for us.