New Cat: Sunny

We knew that Désirée had feline leukemia when we adopted her four years ago. After she passed away, we waited a few months to take in a family member. Sunny is also a rescue. PTSD is the easiest diagnosis. 

Laurel got her from a rescue lady with a clouder of her own. Sunny's kittens had been taken away from her and she spent her time with her nose in the corner of a closet. We got her here and put her in a closet. It took about two weeks for her to settle in under the bed. She was good about the litter box and always cleaned her food dish so like you just put it back in the cupboard. But she was tragically aloof. She still does not like to be petted. But now she does come out to play with us, chasing balls. 

She watched me hide the ball under the rug.

She comes into the living room and watches TV fairly intently. We moved her food from the bathroom to the bedroom and now into the living room. She still does not like to spend too much time in the kitchen, but does explore. She found the back door and sniffed at it and her back went up. She likes attention from a distance. And she like to play ball. Not only does she chase them, of course, but she bats them back and has a backhand move. Last night, she slept on the bed and did not spring off and go under when one of us shifted. Recovery is a process.

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

Only a Cat 

Désirée (Miss Kitty) 

Fossils and Behaviors 

Plenty of Time When We Get Home   

Désirée (Miss Kitty)

We put our cat to sleep last night. We adopted her from the Pets Alive shelter here in Austin on August 29, 2016. She seemed close to two years old then and was diagnosed feline leukemia positive. 

She was an indoor cat. She was content to be in her own space. She liked to sit on her tower and watch the street. She did hang out on the porch, often under it. A couple of times, she got through the fence to the neighbor's yard; and a couple of times she jumped into our front yard. The most interesting moment was when she was nowhere to be found in the house or in back. We found her in the front yard. But the front window screen was secured. Apparently, she pushed her way out and it snapped back into place behind her. 

She came into my office every morning to be petted. Then I would feed her while I made my coffee. At night, she sat with us and watched TV. 

The shelter listed her as Desiree. I liked the name for the 1954 film biography of Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary that starred Jean Simmons with Marlon Brando as Napoleon Bonaparte and Michael Rennie as Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. Laurel called her Miss Kitty, which was also okay with me for the Gunsmoke leading lady played by Amanda Blake. 

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

Only a Cat

Mortality

Reflections on the Passing of a Comrade