Menagerie Update

I adore our new kitten, Theodorable (Theo, Ted). He is soooo darling! Milo is getting used to sharing our bed with him; he's stopped whining at him and doesn't make as many fast moves to approach him. Ted, too, is getting used to Milo and doesn't hiss at him anymore when he so much as looks at him.

Steve....well, Steve has to get over his desire to eat Ted. He's most often just curious and interested in Ted, but about once per day, he starts literally drooling while watching Ted; last night he began to drool profusely and leaped towards Ted as if attacking prey (He spent the night in his kennel and woke up in the mood to respect boundaries, thank goodness.)

Don't worry that the dogs aren't getting enough attention. Here's 38 seconds of proof that Milo is still adored in this house.

And Steve, too, is getting plenty of lovin'...

I learned quickly that Ted is not easily photographed (because of his blue eyes), but our front porch, which has flattering light for everyone, also compliments Ted!  In this photo, he's nervous (not used to being outside, as he is a indoor cat), but still looks adorable, of course.

There is just something special about a *good cat; Mr.4444 is in "cat-loving heaven," as he puts it. He and Ted bonded right away and have spent much time cuddling and playing. True to his ragdoll breed, Ted is quite "floppy" and totally relaxes when we pick him up; it's so endearing! He has a delightful, loving, vocal personality and purrs all the time; especially at 6:30am. I had big plans for training that early-morning-wakeup thing out of him, but I forgot this morning and totally reinforced it by cuddling right back instead of feigning sleep. Oh, well...He's everything we hoped for in a kitten, and we couldn't be happier to have him.

Kendall, who is allergic to some cats, came home this weekend and fell instantly in love with Ted. So far, it appears that she is not allergic to Ted!

So that's our pet update! Stay tuned for more pics and videos as our pet family evolves; I'm sure it'll be entertaining.

*We've had six cats before Ted; incidentally, all mix-breeds: Si, Maddie, Mel, Max, Zoe and Gus. Two of them were incredibly personable and exceptionally awesome (loving, affectionate, verbal, and fun to play with), one was an absolute psycho (very wild and hyper), and two were standoffish and distant, only appearing for brief parts of the day and allowing petting only on their limited terms. We got one of those standoffish cats as a rescue and already had two other cats and two preschool children at the time. We eventually gave him to one of my mom's friends who had lost her own cat; remarkably, Zoe turned into an absolute lover with Kathy; he lived to a ripe old age, curled up in her lap every chance that he got, proof that sometimes it's the living situation, not the cat that's the problem. All of this said, I acknowledge some people's opinions about cats being standoffish or snobby; some are. However, I think most cats, when adopted as kittens, end up to be awesome.