Mittens
As most of you know, our big tomcat Batman has been gone for about a month. Although we still have two other cats, our house still felt sort of empty. So we got ourselves another rescue. Her name is "Mittens."
She, along with her five kittens, were rescued from the Merced city pound the night before they were all to be euthanized. The organization that rescued them is "New Beginnings for Animals." My wife does a lot of volunteer work for them and I'm pretty darn proud of her for it.
Even though she's a female, Mittens is really a lot like Batman, in that she's loud, large, likes head butting, and loves attention. She's huge for a female, weighing in at 15 pounds. She's also polydactyl (two extra toes and claws on each foot).
New Beginnings named her Mittens. I thought they did so because she has white paws, but I just found out that the "lay term" for polydactyl, is "Mitten Foot." That was a new one on me. Anyway, we're getting back to normal and it's nice to have three of them running around.
Mittens has a particular toy she likes. It looks like a toy fishing rod with a mouse on the end instead of a fish. The "rod" is made of plastic and is about 3 feet long. This morning, she carried the whole thing upsairs, dropped it next to our bed, and started meowing loudly. She wanted to play! I guess she's pretty smart as well.
Did I forget to mention that I'M ALLERGIC TO CATS?
Good luck with the new addition. Like you, I love cats and am not scared to admit it!
ReplyDelete/cry I soooo should have adopted at cat and for some reason when I look at mittens I want a twix bar >.< anyway congrats on the new Cat, ok wow no joke as I was writing this I had to stop cause my dog felt he had to pee on the floor.. can I have your kitty? lol
ReplyDeleteOh Em Gee, I would fork over my mother for the chance to be polydactyl. You up your scratch pad pleasure by, like, 20%!
ReplyDeleteThat's one lucky cat.
That is so cool that even with your alergies you still got them kitties. I am totally into resuce adoptions too. Unfortunately the admiral is very territorial and get jealous easily. My mother was looking after a dog for a friend and both him and I hated that fricken' dog. He would wait to ambush the dog then run to me after giving it a few swats and getting himself chased.
ReplyDeleteCute cat. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat and HELLO MITTENS!! How wonderful that you adopted Mittens...what a special cat she must be with all those toes!! I'm sure her way of thanking you for saving her was to bring you her favourite toy...she is offering the one thing that is dearest to her...I would definitely call that a 'thank you'!! Bravo to your wife for the work she does...she is an angel and there are a lot of cats out there that need an angel!!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that I followed you back from my cat blog (weezdabadcats) - so you don't think I just popped in out of the blue! If you are interested in architecture, you might want to visit my other blog which is all about doors in Prague - where I live. That site is: http://thedoorhunter.blogspot.com
I'll be back to visit you and you are always welcome to check in on my kids..they are a silly pair, but I love them like crazy! Life without cats would simply be unbearable!!
Take care and go give those cats of your lots of love (between sneezes! - must be hell to be allergic to them!!)
Cat, Lautrec and Tiny
Hahaha I too am so deathly allergic to cats
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteI love cats!
And that is a cutie!
Betty
I recieved two years of shots and take pills everyday. It's not too bad now, but I do not, under any circumstances, touch my eyes...
ReplyDeleteBTW, our other cats are all rescues also!
I, too, am allergic. How in the world do you manage? Cool looking cat!
ReplyDeleteI'm allergic as well I just try not to touch my eye's and make sure I get the shortest hair cat as possible , sometimes that does not work well so just as pat said shots and pill's. I love cat's I would rather have shots, pill's iches, sneezes and eye waters then never have a cat =)
ReplyDeleteAlthough since my last cat passed I have yet to get another, I tried a dog! shame on me.
I like most dog's also. I just wouldn't own one. they are too much like kids...
ReplyDeleteLucky she was to be adopted by you..
ReplyDeleteAnd she s so cute...
Costas
She wasn't wanting to play. She was hinting that she wants you to go get her a fish.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great cat. Very pretty colors.
I never thought about a fish!
ReplyDeleteShe kind of looks like a patchwork quilt.
She's beautiful :-) Glad she has a happy ending
ReplyDeleteStock up on the antihistamines...
Oh - how nice. I am more of a dog person, myself, but I love animals. We had a huge Weimaraner show up on our doorstep a couple of years ago. We wanted to keep him so badly but rent and can't have pets so we kept him around for a little while. My son named him Honda (after the bike). No one ever claimed him, so I got on the internet and found a rescue agency. They were great! He had been in a fight, defending us from another stray. They picked up the vet bill and Honda with no cost to us. My kids and I cried when we had to leave him! Not sure if he ever got adopted, but he would've made a great companion! Great thing you guys are doing. Sorry about the allergy thing - a fellow sufferer!
ReplyDeleteAndrea - that was nice of you to take him in. Most of the "rescue" organizations do an incredible amount of work and spend a lot of money. It's shocking how many animals are put down every year. It's in the millions..so sad!
ReplyDeleteNat - Believe me, I have plenty of meds on hand!
Congrats on the new kitty. Good luck with our allergy. :)
ReplyDeleteI am proud of your wife working to save animals...its my wife's lot in life as well. Our last Boston Terrier was a rescue and when he died a couple years ago it was horrendous. We now have a 4 year Boston Terror, I mean Terrier. His is our child. Man, you are a brave man with cat allergies...I know some people that get torn up just being in the same zip code...good luck and glad your "family" is complete again.
ReplyDeleteIf I could have a pet right now I'd definitely go for a rescue. Congrats on your new kitty! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're allergic?!? Is it a big allergy or a small one? (hopefully a small one!) That cat is CUTE! Loved the story about how she woke you up to play!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks! With lots of Allegra, I seem to be okay...
ReplyDeleteDated a girl that's allergic to cats (and had one). She was popping Claritan like nobody's business. Hi Mittens!
ReplyDeleteWe have several rescue agencies in our area and I support them every chance I get. All of my cats have been rescues. I'm mildly allergic to cats but that's never stopped me from having them either.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! My husband tried to tell me he was allergic to cats when we first got married, but he quickly figured out he needed to get over it. He did!
ReplyDeleteYour new cat is a cutie and sounds like she has quite a personality too!
SQ & Betty - Yeah I was allergic back then also. The ultimatum didn't exactly go my way!
ReplyDeleteIt's ok...it's worth it.
She IS beautiful and it looks like she knows it. Enjoy your new family member, Pat.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Robyn
I found you by way of SarahJayne's blog and wanted to say hello. Mittens is gorgeous, she has the coloring of a tortoise shell which is the type I'd like to adopt next. We lost our rescue kitten to feline-leukemia and will take in our next kitty this summer.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with them all!
What a wonderful looking cat, I love torties so much we had our Sonic from a baby her mother was our cat Jewels, we kept them mother and daughter, sadly they passed away with in the last year.
ReplyDeleteRobyn - thanks! Yep, I think she's a real character. She's fitting right in!
ReplyDeleteArrmand - She looks like a patchwork quilt. And out of the middle of it all, pops out this one leg that is totally calico..
So sorry to that your cats passed away. The same happened to us very recently. I still get weepy when I think about how it (like now).. The good news? There's always others needing to be rescued!
Hi Nicole, Thanks for reading! Sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. They really do find a way to get into our hearts. So sad...
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear that you take in rescues, that is awesome! Even as we speak my wife and another lady are on a long (drive) with two trucks to pick up 10 dogs from a pound about a hundred miles away. They are scheduled to be put down tomorrow. Her "group" already have some "foster" homes already lined up for them, until they can be adopted. I wish I could do that work without it tearing me up. I love my wife even more, because no matter how it makes her feel, she just dives right in and tries to help them!!
here's a link to the entry about our cat that recently passed...we miss him a lot...
http://patricktillett.blogspot.com/2010/02/rest-in-peace-batty-boy.html
Congratulations on your great, gutsy, six-toed robust mama cat. She sounds like a real Amazon!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, thanks so much for commenting and signing on here. She's already established herself as the "live wire" of our household!
ReplyDeleteI read the previous post about Batman.... Very beautiful.... I hope Mittens is able to fill that hole in your family.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, owning three cats and being allergic to cats? You must have a constant antihistamine drip!
Yep, plenty of antihistamines and two years of injections. Obviously the "me or the cats" ultimatum didn't go my way...
ReplyDeleteMittens is a tortoiseshell cat and they are almost always female. Ours is also very vocal. If she goes to the door to be let out and I fail to open the door, she walks away doing the closest thing to cussing I have ever heard from any animal.
ReplyDeleteFrank - That's so funny! Good thing you can't translate what she is saying! We would love to let our cats outside, but there are too many predators (on the ground and in the air) here looking for a meal. Especially coyotes! Out door cats don't last very long here. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDelete