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Fitness: After a 3 pound gain this weekend, I’ve already dumped half of it and am at 194.4 right now. I’ve got lifting tomorrow, so I should be able to hang around 195 without any trouble. On to my new kitty! |
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In last week’s blog, [Playing Catch Up], I mentioned that I went looking for a new cat to bring into the house to fill the void that Mouse has left behind. I know it’ll never be possible to replace him, but I think I’ve found the next best thing with Barclay. Barclay was first found through the website for [MEOW], a local no-kill shelter that really takes good care of the cats that arrive there. The cats they receive are neutered or spayed, vaccinated for everything except rabies (only a licensed vet can administer that shot), microchipped, and they have volunteers there that interact with the cats in order to assess their personalities in order to find out what kind of household that they’ll fit best in. In his [original profile], he looked a little bit scruffy, but sounded like the kind of cat that Mouse was. I think he will be once he gets a little older, but I’ll talk about that more in a bit. The trip over to MEOW on Saturday was a little bit worrying because of not knowing if Barclay would get adopted in the week between visits, because he had been pulled out of quarantine on Tuesday. One of the volunteers there, Laurie, had been kind enough to ask her fellow volunteers to keep Barclay out of the public viewing area until the weekend, which they had. When I got there on Saturday, they walked me to a room where they have one-on-one interaction with the cats. I sat down and a few minutes later, another volunteer brought him into the room. I first saw this little gray ball of fluff and thought he was really cute, but he was rather nervous at first and hid under the chair I was sitting in. After a few minutes of letting him settle in, I picked him up and put him on my lap, where he stayed for the longest time. He was purring pretty strongly and kept kneading with his rather large paws, which is how he acquired the “baker” nickname. The act of kneading is also known as making biscuits, which led to coming up with a jingle for him that goes, “Barclay, the baker, the biscuit maker!” Anyway, after holding him and petting him for what seemed like a really long time, I knew that he was the right cat for me. I signed all the paperwork, payed my $80, and brought this little bundle of fluff home with me. He meowed almost all the way back, which is the same thing that Mouse did when he was brought home for the first time. Similarities Mouse and Barclay really are pretty similar in a lot of ways – the playfulness and affection are rather similar, though Barclay’s playfulness level is in the red right now. He’ll be a year old on June 7th, so he’s still mostly a kitten. I don’t remember how playful Mouse was as a kitten since it was a long time ago, but they’re both explorers and Barclay has made it into some amazing nooks and crannies, some of which I’ve had to block off because they’re dangerous to the little guy. I also noticed the way that Barclay was attacking my arm was the same way that Mouse used to attack his tennis ball, so I got one for Barclay as well. Sure enough, their attacks are identical – front paws around the ball, back paws kicking at it, and chewing on it. He sometimes sleeps on my bed like Mouse did, but when he does, it’s usually in the little cat bed that’s up on the corner of my bed. It was originally intended for Mouse, but he was too big to fit in it. Barclay fits in it rather well when he’s not attacking it and flipping it onto himself. Differences Whereas Mouse was part Russian Blue and part Siamese, Barclay is part Russian Blue and part Maine Coon. I could be wrong, but his abundant coat and tufts of hair coming from his ears certainly match the profile. He also has giant paws, but I think that’s more natural of the Russian Blue pedigree. Mouse had smaller paws, which was likely from his Siamese side. Barclay’s a lot fluffier than Mouse was, his upper fangs stick out a little bit and his eyes are yellow instead of green, but they’re both handsome cats. Barclay’s also a lot more flexible than Mouse was and he seems to enjoy laying down with his front paws first, then flops his back end down in one direction or the other. I guess the flexibility thing could be why he’s named Barclay – he can mold into any shape like a bar of clay. He’s the right color for that as well. He’s also a lot smaller than Mouse was in his prime – Mouse was 15 pounds, and Barclay’s at 8. I have a feeling that he might grow into those feet of his and end up an even bigger cat than Mouse, especially if he’s part Maine Coon, since they get to be rather big cats. Lots of Joy to Come I can’t wait for the following days, weeks, months, and years with Barclay. I’m sure he’s going to be a party animal for quite some time, but he really is very affectionate in those few minutes that he’s tuckered out from playing. As he gets older, the balance will shift more and I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time snuggling with him like I did with Mouse. I know I’ll never fully get over losing Mouse, but Barclay has certainly filled the void rather well so far.  Discuss this post at [The Forum of Jason Vincion]! Posted on April 21st, 2010. |
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