Cats!

Isabelle is a sweet girl~ yes, I mean it, she smells like honey. But her temper is not as sweet, unfortunately. Her little brain is filled with tricks, and she is so smart that she always manages to get whatever she wants. She is not a lap cat, she won't come to you when you call her name. She can sense our mood quickly, and find the right moment to manipulate.

Four years ago. Isabelle was abandoned as a kitten not far from our current apartment. She was picked up by some students and adopted by the family of a military student. I joined VT at the same time when her past owner graduated and had to move to military base - Aug. 2007 - this is how I got her. She cried the whole night during the very first night she arrived at our home, and almost refused to eat until I gave her some fancy can-food, I guess she never tried that before, so she started to eat after only a short hesitation, see, she always knows what is good for her.

Our relationship developed very slowly. It took 2 weeks before she allowed me to pat her. After half a year, I can pick her up, but still under the risk of being scratched. However, things changed completely when it passes a year, she suddenly starts to occupy me whenever possible, asking for games and treats. Since then, she sleeps on my bed almost every night, where she also insists to hold one of my hands all the time. As I said, you can never know what a cat do next, especially a female cat.

In Dec. 2008, we met Murphy out there in Christiansburg, when we were helping feed some feral cats as volunteers. Murphy was quite noticeable at that time, not only because he was the only long hair tuxedo in the colony, but also because every time when we arrived, he rushed all the way to be patted, while all other cats waited quietly in the bush and wait untill we finished placing the food and left, and then eat, that is the critical feral cat instinct that Murphy just don't have.

It didn't take long till we realized he was newly abandoned, and the idea of taking him in came to my mind: for him, it is just dangerous to be out there. There was quite some argument between me and Tao about where he should stay, like all the daddies Tao is over-protecting Isabelle, and he insisted that she won't be happy to see him.

Time passed by as we kept arguing, and it was already Feb. 2008, time to hand over our feral cat duty back to the famous cat lady - Betty. I told her my story about Murphy, and just several days later I received her call that she picked Murphy up for a medical check and neuter. So it is time to decide, take him in after all the health confirmation or put him back when it was still that cold during early Spring.

We all agree that Murphy is simply lucky that he got all these help at the right moment, which eventually gave him a real home to stay when he was barely a year old. Simply compare his photos when we first got him and those by now, you can easily notice that his body weight almost doubled. His fur used to be a thin layer of dry and fuzzy hair, now he is shinny and silky smooth. The thick layer of cocoon on his nose and paws all disappeared several months after he was completely indoor. It took me some effort to clean up his ear mites and round worms, but over all, he is a healthy and happy boy.

Exactly as Tao was worrying, Isabelle was extremely unhappy about her new brother. She started to hiss when Murphy was still in the carrier. We had to put Murphy in the bathroom for an entire week, and Isabelle started to hiss us, scratched me. On the other hand, to tell the truth, I was not that worried. I actually checked online, and based on the instruction, as long as Isabelle eats, drinks and sleeps well, it will be fine. Based on Isabelle's never-hurt-herself rule, I am sure it will work out.

On the first night when Murphy arrived, I asked Tao, my Isabelle smells sweet, why this boy is smelly?! And the second day, when Tao was vacuuming the floor, he peed all over me. That is the time I realized that he is not smelly, but he is covered by his own peepee. Who knows how many times he was scared to pee when he was on his way to animal clinic, to our apartment, and when left alone in the carrier. I hate to wash a cat, since I think it is both torture and unnecessary. But this time, I washed Murphy thoroughly, and the next day he was as sweet as Isabelle.

I am glad to see these two kids developing their relationship. I have to say that this relationship mainly based on the kindness of Murphy. He retreats from everything Isabelle claims. Till now they frequently chase each other and can share food. Isabelle won't allow Murphy to touch her, but they can snap together quite close. Murphy no longer shows fear to the surrounding and we witness several times that he runs to knock Isabelle down from behind. I am a believer of the saying: cats with companion are happy. I think some day they will eventually realize that they are sister and brother and start to love each other.