|
This is our second cat, Jewel. She is the prettiest cat I know, with markings like a "lynx point" siamese, medium length fur, and beautiful blue eyes
that prompted her name "jewel". She was dropped off at the SPCA with her mother and other kitten-siblings, but the whole family of cats was very
lucky because they were fostered by a volunteer who goes by the name of dognut. Jewel's
mother was a short-haired brown tabby. She had 4 siblings, an orange tabby, a brown tabby, an all white, and an all black, and then Jewel. What
a mix of colors! Dognut kept the momma cat and named her Lily, and one of the brothers, Gerber. The rest of the kittens were adopted out from
the foster home when they were old enough so they didn't have to go back to the shelter. We adopted Jewel at 11 weeks of age, around the end of
June, 1999.
Introducing Jewel to our household was a little difficult. Her introduction to Tigger was fairly easy. He was obedient enough to sit quietly while she
played around him and got bolder and bolder. She didn't seem to be too scared of him at all, as long as he didn't make any sudden moves.
Introducing her to Maki was much more difficult because he was so excited and interested, and couldn't bring himself to sit still. And, I was very
surprised to find that it was difficult to introduce Jewel to our other cat Chewy. Chewy seemed to just be curious and want to play, I think, but I'm
not an expert on cat body language. However, Jewel was scared of him! I thought having just come from living with her siblings, she would be fine
with other cats, but apparently that was not the case. She ended up having to live in an empty bedroom in our house for almost 2 weeks, with
supervised visits with the other animals and a old door screen put up in the doorway when we were home so they could see each other. However,
it did work and after 2 weeks Jewel was fully integrated into the family.
She was a much different kitten than Chewy was. She was a lot easier to live with, because she wasn't nocturnal like he was, nor did she want
to pounce on us or use her claws on us as much as he did. She would curl up and sleep on the bed with us at night. She was very mischievious
during the daytime, however. She liked to walk along the counter and purposely bat things off with her paws and watch them fall. She also really
enjoyed being picked up and cuddled.
Unlike Chewy who got more affectionate as he grew up, Jewel got less affectionate as she got older. Now
that she is an adult she would rather not be picked up at all, but will tolerate it sometimes. She likes to cuddle up on people's laps, which is really
cute, and she still sleeps on our bed every night. She is still very playful. She is not scared of anything. When new foster dogs or friend's dogs
come over she walks right up to them, and if they don't behave she is likely to give them a few whacks until they settle down. Chewy usually
goes into hiding whenever guests come over, but Jewel likes to be right in the middle of the action. She is the biggest pest around the house,
trying to "help" when we are making dinner, folding laundry, or making the beds.
Click here for Jewel's Picture Album.
Click here for Other Pet Pictures.
Click here to return to the pet page.
|
