New Cat In Town
Sandy had been getting the itch to get a new cat a couple months ago. She really wanted a tiger-striped bobtail, just like Little Bit, who we lost last summer to liver and/or kidney failure. She looked high and low, all over the Middle Tennessee area. No luck. Then her friend Sherri found an available cat in Oak Ridge, TN. She thought it was a bobtail, so we arranged a little jaunt up to Oak Ridge to pick up the cat. Since we had gotten rid of all the cat stuff in the house when Little Bit died, we just got a cardboard cat carrier to bring the new cat home in. Upon arriving in the agreed upon parking lot, we found that the new cat wasn’t a bobtail after all. It’s a tuxedo cat! Black and white with a tail a mile long. No worries. Seems like a friendly cat, let’s keep her. Just put her in the carrier, and we’ll be on our way. Easier said than done, my friend! This cat wasn’t having any of that box. Sandy got gashed to the point I thought I might be looking for an ER. Finally, the box was closed with the cat inside. Not for long. In mere seconds, she had found the secret and chewed her way out. Now what? A wild cat on the loose for a 2 hour drive? Not looking good! And then a miracle happened. She settled down completely, and before I was on the highway home, she was lying casually over my shoulder watching the road with me. And that is how it has been ever since.
Meet Lexi
So, what is her name? It was my turn to have naming rights to the cat, so I went to work on that. The last couple of years, I’ve gotten into WNBA basketball, and my favorite team is the Indiana Fever. Now, the whole reason for watching WNBA basketball is Caitlin Clark. But Caitlin, or Kate, just didn’t sound right. Second favorite player on the team is Sophie Cunningham. Also not the right name, but closer. And then there’s Lexi Hull. Perfect! Welcome home Lexi!
The Experiment
The first couple months have been filled with getting comfortable with each other. Okay, a little bit of experimentation has taken place. Lexi demonstrated an early curiosity with water, specifically toilets flushing, and water running from a faucet and going down the drain. She will watch the toilet bowl empty, and fill back up again. Then she turns to the sink and watches the water go down the drain. But it doesn’t come back up again, and she goes down into the sink looking everywhere for the missing water. This aggressive curiosity left her vulnerable to a little experimentation. I started getting down at eye level with her, and encouraging her to stick her paw into the stream, by sticking my finger into the flow. Slowly, with this encouragement, she overcame the feline instinct to fear water. Eventually, I coaxed her to put her head into the stream and drink. Now, it is an every day occurrance for Lexi to drink from the faucets in the sinks. What will be my next experiment? Time will tell!
Till next time,
Van
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