So, we adopted a ninja

After losing Bucky back at the end of May, and then going through the insanity of buying a house and moving, Geoff and I talked about getting another cat.  It was especially evident that this was a good idea once we moved in here as this place has a lot of room and Scratch turned into a SUPER cling monster.  Yesterday, after searching on multiple websites here and there for a couple of weeks, we went to the MSPCA with a couple of kitties in mind as possible contenders.

Our only criteria was that the cat was female, not a kitten, had lived with other cats, and could get used to other cats.  We were not planning on getting a ninja in the bargain.

Presenting Dame Violet Crawley Hopkins-Michael, KBE*.

Violet, for short, is a tiny thing.  She’s 6lbs and change and easily the smallest animal in the house.  She’s ~6 years old, smaller than Thumbelina, and younger than Dash.  She came to the MSPCA about a year and a half ago as part of a hoarding case.  She was adopted out but her adopter, who changed her name from the one they gave her to some weird unpronounceable thing that sounds like an angry Slavic metal band, gave her back to the MSPCA because she was moving and couldn’t take Violet along.

Well, we can’t have that now, can we?  It turns out that Dame Violet has a tiny little mew of a meow, almost like a kitten.  She’s got a great motor and as soon as she’s picked up, cuddled, given pets or scritches, or pretty much any kind of attention she’s purring up a storm.  She and Scratch, after an introduction in which she hissed a little, are now totally cordial.  In fact, I’m fairly certain Scratch has a little crush on her.

As for the ninja part, she walks on totally silent paws, she’s amazingly quick, she can fit in impossibly small spaces, and she’s incredibly good at hiding in plain sight, even from the dogs.  And that’s no small feat considering that Dash is obsessed with her.  He’ll ignore his chews for a chance just to sniff her.  And he desperately wants to play with her.  She’s not there yet, she’s not entirely sure what Dash even is, but I suspect they’ll get there eventually.

When the MSPCA got her back she had fleas.  Apparently she’s either allergic to the fleas or to the medication because while she’s flea free she has some hotspots on her skin where she’s been scratching.  We’re treating those with anti-itch wipes and a touch of Vaseline to keep the skin and scabs supple until they heal.  Otherwise she just has to get used to the food here and she’ll be all set.

I’m guessing she likes books as much as we do.  She made herself at home right away in and on the bookshelves in the basement.  She loves high places, unlike Geoff who would be a terrible cat, and has spent a lot of time finding her way around from various high vantage points.

She spent yesterday afternoon climbing the tall pile of boxes full of books downstairs and even investigated Geoff’s O scale train tunnel.  She fit right through, something I’m pretty sure not even Thumbelina could do if she was so inclined.

We’ll have more pictures and more details as she spends more time with us.  She moves fast so most of the time she’s a little white spotted blur.  We’re thrilled to have her here and to, finally, have a lady cat among us.

~Kelly

*Kitteh of the British Empire