Saffron

[pameladean]

I have a new cat. I miss my Ari-cat fiercely, but he isn't coming back, and lots of cats need homes.

Raphael, who went through this process last year after the beautiful and opinionated Jordan died, did a preliminary sweep for me, finding cats who were fairly young, active, good with other cats, and friendly to people. We ended up with lists from two agencies, Last Hope, which is the place that rescued Cassie, and Second Chance. On Saturday when I had originally planned to go to Uncle Hugo's and listen to matociquala read, we went off to the Petco in Apple Valley. I expected to walk out of there with a cat. I couldn't quite do it. Several of the cats we had researched were there; some had been adopted already and one turned out not to be as good a match as we thought. We went to Burnsville, which is where we collected Cassie a little over a year ago. There was a strong candidate I still feel guilty about, but I couldn't nerve myself to it. We drove to Roseville and made a beeline for the rest rooms. Then I wandered out. Four cages. In the first a red tabby was curled in a circle, sound asleep. I looked at her tag and rushed back to find Raphael. "Saffron is here!" When we got back, she lifted her head, considered us, and blinked gravely.

After a lot of alarming discussion with the representative of the agency and some less alarming discussion with her foster people, I signed an agreement and paid some cash. One of the foster people took Raphael to find the right food for her, and the other got our address. Second Chance has "the fosters" bring the cat over and stay a few minutes so the cat understands that they approve of the transaction. This was a bit staggering, since I'd been removing booby traps for cats rather than cleaning for guests. However, they seemed unmoved by the clutter and let us keep her.

She's a very long and solid cat with long legs and tail. She's part Oriental Shorthair, which apparently concerned the fostering agency a lot -- they are prone to problems with their teeth, they need a lot of attention, and they're very intelligent, as a rule. Also, she has a fairly delicate frame but is prone to weight gain, so we had to promise to watch her weight. Cassie needs her weight watched too -- not to the point the vet recommends, necessarily, but enough that she can wash her hinder parts. So we thought we might as well have two cats with the same dietary requirements.

She's in my bedroom for the moment. She spent much of the rest of Saturday sniffing everything and growling quietly to herself. I thought she didn't like to be petted much past the shoulderblades, but she's fine with everything including belly rubs and having her tail stroked. She was just talking to herself. She quit growling and was unnaturally silent for a while, and then she started chirrupping. She is very attentive to human voices and appearance, though if she's busy watching birds her acknowledgement will be brief. She flings herself on her back and kneads the air and purrs when in an affectionate mood.

Her people told me that she was a great hunter. She is fascinated by the squirrels next to the air conditioner and the birds beneath it. And yesterday she was saved from boredom by the advent of huge flocks of migrating robins, many of whom hung out in the hackberry outside my window and made fly-catching forays at the vines on our neighbor's house. I hope they found food. They were the best kitty TV imaginable, all decked out in what lookedl like new plumage and fluffed up against the cold.

Last night, following the instructions the agency sent with us, we put Miss Cass in Raphael's room and let Saffron out. She started mewing for the first time, trotting around very rapidly with her tail in the air. First she sniffed parts of the floor, then she started marking doors and shelves with her face, and finally she jumped on some of the furniture. At some point she went back into my room to check on her food, and I quietly shut her in again. When I came in later she mewed and pawed at the door, but appeared to accept my explanation that she could go out again this evening. Then she flung herself on my chest and purred and kneaded, eventually working her way down into a perfect Stofflerian leg-spackle position.

David and Lydy have come to meeet her. She was rather preoccupied when David came up, but polite; and had recovered enough of her savoir faire to be effusive with Lydy.

If she will just not bully or harrass the Cassie, I think I have a cat.

Pamela

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad! (And it is good to read about the care the agency puts in to protect the animals, as well.)

[txanne.livejournal.com]

She sounds lovely!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful cat name! Photos ASAP, please.

It sounds like she's settling in quite quickly. I hope she behaves herself with Cassie.

[careswen.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! She sounds fab.

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Saffron sounds like a darling. May you have many happy years with her.

[clindau.livejournal.com]

Yay! A new cat! Pictures when you can. Have you seen the Guthrie's new season?

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Saffron sounds like a splendid cat. Best wishes for a long and happy future together.

[(Anonymous)]

I have two oriental shorthairs and have never had any problems with their teeth (they're both 10, and still fully toothed). They tend to be very social cats, both with people and other cats, so odds are good that she'll get along with Cassie. Any yes, they can be scary smart, figuring out things that you would much rather they hadn't figured out.

[amyirene-40.livejournal.com]

The anonymous post was me - I managed to get myself signed off (not that you know me from Adam, but at least the log in adds some validity to the comment).

[fgherman.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! Let us know when she can be introduced to others.

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you've found a new companion.

You seem to be saying that the agency thinks that her probable high intelligence would be a problem. I suppose it might be, given some negative personality traits, but many of the problems I've had with cats have been due to low intelligence. Of course, I was somewhat spoiled by the high intelligence of our last dog. But our current household cat is likely to get badly hurt one of these days if she continues to do things like flinging herself on her back right in my path as I walk, or sticking her head in the way of my foot while I'm pedaling on the exercise bike.

[graydon saunders (from livejournal.com)]

Saffron sounds entirely splendid, and quite entirely decided, too, you've been found Suitable People if you're getting Leg Spackle already.

It's not, I don't think, the intelligence of oriental shorthairs that causes the difficult; an ability to figure out how to open doors or to maintain more than one thought in their head at one time -- Aoife will imprecate me in cat while purrbucketting me if I've been away for an unacceptable length of time -- is mostly a feature. It's the sheer quantity of obstinacy. If one is previously inclined to permit the cat opinions, even inconvenient ones, this is much less of a problem.

I do hope she and Cassie reach some peaceable and untroubled accommodation with commendable promptness and a lack of human-stressing behaviours.

[kate_nepveu]

She sounds delightful. May the adjustment continue to go well.

[daedala.livejournal.com]

Hooray!

Pics or it didn't happen.... :)

[vass]

She sounds like a darling, and I like the name. I hope the introductions continue to go well. The agency sounds really impressive with the care and thought they're giving to placing their cats.

One of the best cats I've ever known was an black Oriental Shorthair. His name was Per (picture a five-year-old choosing the new cat's name and also spelling it.) He did have tooth problems, but they were because he had an altercation with a car and broke his jaw. My parents fed him raw meat, and he'd eat it sideways while saying 'nung, nung, nung'. He was very smart indeed, and once poured himself a saucer of milk (my mother left the lid off the bottle, and it was just far enough away from the saucer for the angle to be right.) I can't remember how old he was when he died, but maybe 17 or 18?

[pameladean]

Yes, they are very thorough. Nancy, the woman who oversaw the adoption, called the next day to see how things were going, and accuratrely described Saffron's overnight behavior before I could tell her about it. (Much tromping about, earnest gazing into my face, more tromping, not much sleep.)

P.

[pameladean]

I'll do some photos soon, I hope.

P.

[pameladean]

Raphael is working on the photos. But the room is small and the light weird; also, she's fast.

P.

[pameladean]

Thanks! I think she'll do, if she and Cassie can manage.

P.

[pameladean]

Aw, thanks. She seems willing to entertain the idea, anyway.

P.

[pameladean]

Pictures as soon as everything cooperates.

I haven't -- I think they sent me an email, but I've been preoccupied.

And sorry about the BFA plays -- I completely dropped the ball on those, but we ended up going Sunday and the performance was filled up. They had handed out tickets, but failed to inform anybody about them.

P.

[pameladean]

Thank you. I imagine you'll be hearing more about her. 8-)

P.

[pameladean]

"Scary smart" is exactly the phrase one of her foster people used.

I suspect that people running rescue and fostering agencies get a somewhat skewed idea of any breed -- they get the ones people can't manage to cope with.

None of the cats I've known who had to have their teeth out early was an Oriental. I figure we'll just keep an eye on her.

P.

[pameladean]

And a much nicer icon! What a beauty!

P.

[pameladean]

I will. It may take a while.

P.