Smitten with a Kitten

Mark and I have a new member of our little family: He's an adorable five-month-old orange tabby.

This little fur baby, who we've named Waldo, was an unexpected addition at our house. We've quickly taken a liking to this little guy. He's an incredibly sweet, mellow yet playful lap cat.

Mark and I actually discovered him hanging around our neighborhood after we returned from our New England trip. While we were away, a lot of the neighbors began leaving out bowls of food and makeshift beds on porches for him. One neighbor posted signs notifying everyone of his homelessness, and that if he has an owner that he should be claimed. He is extremely people friendly, nudging around ankles, wanting to play, and wanting to let himself into any house he could. Obviously, this cat wasn't feral. He began sitting on my welcome mat every time I came home to greet me, much like a dog would. It was incredibly sweet, but I felt awful shutting him out of the house.

Mark also watched him from inside our apartment, since the kitten would often hang around our porch during the day, playing with leaves and plants by himself for hours.

Last weekend, my landlord came over since new neighbors were moving in. She said she might have to take him to the shelter soon if he wasn't claimed, since he had been nomadic in our neighborhood for the past few weeks. She told me the neighborhood has had it's fair share of pet drop offs over the last few years, including a loving pitbull she had to take to the shelter a few years ago. That's when I knew I couldn't let that happen to him.

I set up a vet appointment at a local clinic to get the kitten checked out. He didn't have a microchip. Once he was all cleared (albeit a few ticks) and got vaccinated, he's been a sweetie in our house ever since.

Mark and I expect more and more that he was abandoned. He hated being alone for the first week or so, but has finally gotten used to sleeping in his bed at night instead of scratching at our bedroom door.

He's incredibly tolerant of playful torture, like the hot dog costume we put on him on Halloween. And he might turn into a Garfield... he loves investigating human food. And he's kind of obsessed with cream cheese. :)