Lexy has been working on the parents to get a pet. Finally the youngest in the family broke Mom down... and they ended up with an adorable tailless kitten... Lilly. Apparently, the gender of this little cat was misinterpreted the first time... I was informed last Sunday that she is, in fact, a he. Thus his name is now Lio. I'm sure you might know where this story might be going, but bare with me...
Father's Day was a busy one for us. We went to church and came home to make Grandpa Grass some Root beer float cupcakes and then booked it up to American Fork to visit with the Grandparents and cross paths with Bryce's family on their way to St. George. To my surprise (and Dad's frustration) the cat showed up at the Grandparents' house. He was going on the family vacation to St. George where he wasn't allowed in the hotel. Naturally I volunteered to cat-sit for the duration of their little trip. And Dad gladly accepted. (So happy Father's day to you Dad-o!)
The past four days have been quite the experience. I thought I was completely capable but when your first day with a kitten is a battle of wits and wills in order to get the poor thing hydrated and un-constipated... I seriously wondered if my offer was a great idea... nothing I tried worked, all it got me was an even unhappier kitten and a few more scars to prove it... Exasperated, after a few hours of struggling and meowing I called Bryce at work. He still had an hour or so... but I needed someone to help me, and I wasn't going to call mom... she'd laugh at me... ;) As I was on the phone with Bryce, who was telling me how his day at work was going, the cat tried to swallow something he wasn't supposed to... thus the conversation ended with... "HEY! Stop that, you can't eat that!" MEOW!!!! "I gotta go, come home as quickly as you can..."Haha, now that I am retelling the story its fairly funny... Needless to say, Bryce thought it was funny, and in a quick stop to my parent's house to grab the cat's medicine, he told my mom anyway... who laughed as well... *sigh* oh well, its a good story...
We were supposed to get him wet... have you ever tried to give a bath to a cat? yeah... not the best idea... But my version seemed to do the trick. I put a little luke-warm water into the bathtub(enough to cover the bottom of the tub) shut the bathroom door and plopped the poor plugged kitty into the water. It was literally only deep enough to get his paws wet... but... lets just say I scared the crap out of him...Jessica: 1 Lio: 1/2 (for the night before... and the pretty red pattern on my arm)
after our major bathroom battle, the rest of the time was almost pleasant. :) there were a few close calls with the litter box, and I still had to give him medicine, but I quickly figured out what meow was friendly and what the "urgent" meow sounded like... I also learned to mix water into his food as he doesn't drink anything... This kept him hydrated and the problem we started with didn't reoccur.
He got used to my voice too. If I was in a different room from him, Lio would meow and I would answer with his name. He would then come in the room enough to see me and get me to see him and then he would resume whatever he was attacking.
It really was amazing to see the development of this little kitty today. When he first got here he curiously, and timidly explored the nooks and crannies of the house. He wanted to get onto our couch and so he jumped. When he didn't succeed the first time, he used his claws and became a little couch climber. Once he mastered the couch he had to master the Lazy Boy. The first time he climbed to the head of the chair, he got scared and wouldn't get down, just meowed for me to save him. I did the first time, but the second time I made him figure it out... and over the course of the next two days he became fearless. Before he came to visit he didn't really jump... but now he flings himself across the room when leaping off the furniture...
Haha. With no tail, his pounce is a little different.... just before he pounces his little behind wiggles back and forth before he jumps. Sometimes he'll knock himself off balance and he needs to reposition... It is pretty funny... I also found that Lio is an avid blogger! :) If the computer was open, Lio was right there, trying to check my spelling... or just want my keyboard for the next nap... weird... His other favorite nap spot? under my feet inside the blanket that can be made into a little nest.
All in all, its been a fun week, and I want to thank the family (and my hubby) for letting me playing with and watching the kitten. It was a great experience for me... I like to think I passed with success...
