The Clam Rampant

Kasia September 28th, 2008

Mere de Canuque has been looking for a new pet for quite a while now. Her cat died a couple of years ago, and her little miniature Dachshund died last year; and after her initial mourning period (”No more pets - I don’t want to see any more of my pets die!”), she decided she’d like to get a cat or a small dog. Well, apparently the Canadians are much better at controlling their pet population than we are, because in all that time no appropriate cat or small dog became available.

At the same time, my very dear friends were looking for a new home for their magnifi-cat, Bobble. But they didn’t want just any new home. See, they love Bobble dearly, but they didn’t feel like they could give him enough time and attention because of special needs their kids developed after they’d adopted him. So of course they didn’t want to just take him to a shelter; but they were looking for a good, loving home for him where he could be spoiled like every cat should be. (Kit - he’s practically Jack’s doppelganger!)

So Canuck asked his mother if she’d consider taking Bobble, and lo and behold! Hurray!!!!

The emigration wasn’t TOO bad. Poor Bobble had to go into his carrier (which of course he HATES), “assisted” by a teary eight-year-old (who is always welcome to come visit him); be driven halfway across town to my vet to get his rabies vaccination updated and a quick exam to appease Customs; and then be presented for entry into Canada and driven to Chatham.

Well. He was what I call Felinus pistoffus, but all things considered he conducted himself with more equanimity than could be reasonably expected under the circumstances. Apart from quite a bit of angry yowling and a fair bit of panting, the whole experience was reasonably well tolerated.

Here in Chatham he decided to bolt for the basement and hide for a few hours. Now, it’s not a finished basement, but it’s not particularly unsafe for a cat either, so Canuck and I decided to let him hide for a while - figured he had good reason to be freaked out, and as long as we knew he was OK, we’d let him be.

Except that when we went down to check on him a couple of hours later, we didn’t see him.

Now, cats are notoriously good at hiding; and basements offer a wide array of hidey-holes; so we weren’t TOO concerned. We decided we’d go to dinner and then check again. When we checked again, initially we didn’t find him, and we started to get worried.

Then I sat down on a chair down there, thinking I’d sit and wait until he came out.

I looked to my left.

Was that…an eye?!?

TWO eyes?!?

Yep - he was hiding down behind a pile of boxes. Thank Heaven for big luminous kitty eyes!

So we cooed at him, brought his food and litter down in case he needed them before he felt comfortable venturing up, and went back upstairs to let him keep his privacy.

A couple of hours later, we went back down and he was out exploring the basement. I scooped him up, Canuck took the food and litter, and we took him to explore the upstairs.

Long story slightly shorter, he seems to be adjusting quite as well as can be expected. In spite of the temporary barricade we put up by the basement door, he found his way back down during the night and slept down there; but when Canuck and Mere de Canuque went downstairs this morning to check on him, he was lying out in the open, just chillin’. He has seen the whole house, has demanded pets from each of us, and has flopped down in the open a couple of times to relax. In short, he’s well on his way to feeling quite at home here.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go ask him if he wants a double-double.  :-)  He’ll be saying “eh” by the end of the week…

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