Bob and Eddie

4 weeks ago: After spending much of 3 days on the phone trying to find a place that takes FeLV (Feline Leukemia) cats and had space, we finally learned about Witty Kitties in Solon Iowa. After getting Bob fixed and up to date on vaccinations, the girls and I drove Bob out there on a day off from school. Bob wasn't thrilled with the trip, but he was soon exploring his new room at Witty Kitties. http://www.wittykitties.org/id126.html As you can see he is doing well. It was a hard trip but we were happy that he now has a chance to live out his life and just maybe find a home where he is the only cat. (He really is the perfect cat other than his FeLV status).

While there we fell in love with 3 other cats: Lucy, Eddie, and Knight. While they each have their own special needs, none are infected with FIV or FeLV. After a few weeks of consideration, we decided on Eddie. We did test both Silvara and Horatio yesterday and their FeLV tests came out negative, so this morning we hopped in the car for the drive to Solon. I have to mention here that Rich had already spent 18 hours in the car crisscrossing Iowa and Nebraska this week, but he was up for the 4 hour round trip. The girls woke up so excited and ready to go you would have thought it was Christmas morning!

Eddie is just about 6 months, and while he has limited sight in his one eye, is a very friendly cuddly cat who likes attention and cuddles. After Rich picked him up he climbed up on Rich's shoulders. Smart cat :).

Eddie spent most of the trip napping in my lap. The first part of the trip he wandered back & forth sitting in various laps and he showed no interest in getting in the carrier. He purred and cuddled and meowed. So far he's more vocal than either Silvara or Horatio.

As you can see from his profile below, he was named after Sir Edmund Hillary because he climbed all over his room at Witty Kitties. We haven't definitely decided to rename him, but have been batting around a few names based on the beautiful pearly blue color of his eye. DH asked about my favorite pool at Yellowstone, but it's name is "Pearl Geyser". Not a good name for a boy kitty. Don't worry, though he is still young and has only been Eddie since August, if we change his name we'll continue to alternate it with Eddie as he adapts and probably use Eddie as a nickname.

He's found the food & water and used the litter and is now lying on the couch, staring down at what probably looks like the endlessly deep black hole of the green rug. They gave us a knitted (crocheted?) cat sized blanket to take home with him - we'll have to put that on the carpet for depth perception until we replace the rug. Although after wandering out of the room for a few minutes he just walked into the living room with the blanket on his back - and all the girls are outside. The blanket may not stay in place on the rug.

Silvara and Horatio don't know what to think. They've hissed a few times, but not being able to see them following warily 10 feet away and having lived in a room full of other cats, he's relatively unphased. He sniffs back when they come close and that's about it. Eddie has also played with a few balls and crinkly cat toys that he's come across in his explorations.

We'll post some photos in a few days, but we don't want to wig him out with the camera flash as he's getting used to his new surroundings.

http://www.wittykitties.org/id124.html