Introductory Post
Hmm... I suppose since I've started commenting here more, I should probably follow wolfshadow's example and introduce myself and my kitty.



My name is Ericka. I'm 25, and a recent graduate from the University of Iowa. Unfortunately, between the economy and the flooding disaster, now is a HORRIBLE time to be a recent graduate, and as such, my degree has done exactly squat in helping me obtain a job. Therefore, as of this week, I will be taking an online medical transcription course.

From as early as I can remember until I moved away for college, my family always had animals. I can't remember there ever not being at least one dog, and I don't think we ever went more than a year without a cat (from the time my dad decided to give away our barn cats...grr... to when my grandmother gave me her foundling snowshoe while I was in middle school). Other animals that have graced our home included horses, pigs, goats, sheep, frogs, turtles, salamanders, even one pigeon!

As such, the transition from my parents' house to the animal-free dorms was something of a nightmare for me, and honestly, I never did adjust, and consider the years I spent on-campus to be the most miserable period of my life. So of course, as graduation neared and most students were cramming for finals, I was instead obsessively searching for decent pet-friendly housing and local animal shelters and rescues. Fortunately, it paid off; in May, I moved into a spacious two-bedroom apartment (in what I consider a VERY convenient location: practically on top of a bus stop, next door to a grocery store, across the street from a pharmacy, and half a block away from a veterinary clinic). Within a week, my boyfriend moved in with me, and on June 1st, we added Kaylee, a 4 y.o. domestic shorthair (named after the Firefly character Kaylee Frye), to our family.






Kaylee's previous owner, quite frankly, sucked. According to the staff at the shelter I adopted her from, the owner was notorious for adopting animals, neglecting them, and eventually returning them to the shelters. Furthermore, she had a habit of breaking adoption contracts by doing things such as having her cats declawed. (Kaylee is a prime example of this, as the shelter adopted her out with claws on all four paws, and when they took her back, only her back claws remained.) Of course, the shelter required her to give them a reason for turning "Stinker" (as she had named the cat) in, so the owner claimed she was "antisocial." The shelter workers quickly learned that this excuse was complete and utter bull, as this was one of the most affectionate cats any of them had ever seen. When I filled out the adoption papers to take her home, the owner asked me to "PLEASE give her a new name!" (She didn't need to ask, really... I had already planned on it.)

When we brought Kaylee home, we opened her carrier in the middle of the living room, and her first action was to dash into a kitty condo placed near the wall. Although I'd expected her to make a run for cover, I was surprised... the condo was probably the WORST hiding place in the room. But pretty soon, she made it clear that she wasn't trying to avoid US at all; instead, it was the wide open space that she was afraid of. She made a few laps that night between the condo and us, skirting as close to the wall as she could, simultaneously wanting affection and wanting shelter. I HAD planned on giving her space, assuming that too much attention would freak her out... instead, once I figured out what she really wanted, I ended up spending nearly two hours sitting or lying next to the condo, petting her and talking softly to her. For the rest of the night, she didn't leave the condo, but always made sure we were in her line of sight. (In fact, she STILL likes to keep us in view. Even when she doesn't want attention, she is ALWAYS with at least one of us, and often 'scolds' us if we're not all in the same room. This has actually earned her two nicknames: Border Kitty from me, because she tries to "herd" us like a border collie...and because she has border collie-esque markings, and Orbit Kitty from my boyfriend, because she's always orbiting around us.) Fortunately, she has since conquered her fear of open space, and can now sprawl in the middle of the floor with the best of them.

One of the things that worried me most about Kaylee after she came home was the trouble she had adjusting to the house "rules." It's not that she couldn't figure out what wasn't allowed... it's that we had to teach her what WAS. We had to teach her that it was OK to get on the couch or my desk to look out the window, or to bat at her toys, or to sniff random things we left lying around. I was actually relieved when she started misbehaving; it meant she was finally comfortable enough to do so, and that she trusted us not to do...whatever she was afraid we would do. It was also around this time that she finally started meowing at us... for the first couple of months all we heard out of her were the occasional muted "mrr"s. (Now we can hardly get her to STOP. My boyfriend and I joke sometimes about how we used to think she was such a QUIET kitty... I swear, her vocal cords alone make me think she's part Siamese. ;))

Though even now, she's occasionally startled or nervous about unexpected things, for the most part she' adjusted quite well. Though she still has favorite spots, and likes enclosed spaces, she knows now that the whole apartment is her territory, and my boyfriend and I WILL come back if we leave her sight for a second. She can knock things off desks, coffee tables, etc without us getting mad. She can not only get on the back of the couch to watch the birds, she can actually lie on the seat, or jump up onto it to nudge one of us. She knows how to tell us she wants food, or pets, or play-time...or just for us to be in the living room so she can orbit around us. (And she does loudly, and often. :D) She has decided that it is her sworn duty to accompany us and stand guard should we need to use the restroom. And she knows that, whether she's good or bad, she is loved.



















One note on the last picture... She was BIG when we got her, and while we're trying to get her weight down, we've been unsuccessful so far. She's actually GAINED weight since we started her on diet kibble and extended playtime... I think I'll go back to the full-fat foods and just try to follow the instructions for weight-loss portions. Still, for now, it means more kitty belly to rub. :)

ETA: Augh, and so I forgot the actual point of the note: She IS big, but not as big as the picture makes her look... it's a rather unflattering angle. ;P