Along for the ride:

Monday, October 25, 2010

Step-Cats

Meet "The Step-Cats". Domino and Slinky were raised in North Carolina. Slinky, the more delicate-natured and fearful of the two, flew to California in a carry case held on Lovely Daughter's lap. Domino, the insensitive Thug-Cat, traveled in the cab of a U-Haul truck on a non-stop three day coast to coast odyssey. The driving was shared by Son-in-law and his Dad with only bathroom breaks and stops for fast food drive throughs. Son-in-law was still wearing his uniform and boots that he had on when his muster-out papers came through earlier that week. Everyone was more than ready to get home.
The "Kids" and their cats stayed with us for a few months until work and living situations got sorted out. They all moved into a nice apartment nearby, where they have been for a while now.
Domino was not amused by the transition to indoor living. The carpet by the front door was under perpetual claw-attack; she made a thundering dive for freedom any chance she got and had begun taking her frustrations out on poor Slinky. She was also eating herself into an early grave, expanding in every direction. Every time we saw her there was more of her to love. The final deciding factor was Son-in law's increased allergic reactions whenever he came home.
The writing has been on the wall for all to see. My house was animal-free for a very short time. Domino and Slinky moved in with us a week ago.
Domino remembers how to use the dog door and is out as much as she is in. Slinky is getting more confident and spent some time outside on Saturday, with me for company and the sliding glass doors wide open so she felt that she could make a hasty retreat, should the need arise.
They are growing on me, as fur-children do. Hubby is pleased as punch. He especially likes Bad-Domino, (who has dropped a couple of pounds already and has a much sunnier disposition).
"The Kids" came over to visit on Sunday to see how things were going. I think we all passed the test.

16 comments:

  1. And yet again I feel that urge to get me a fur-child once more... one day I'm going to weaken and give in. I shall blame you.

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  2. Keeping the cats in the family, great way to share pets. With our allergies we just cannot have pets any longer. But we sure do love them.
    Good thing we were never allergic to our kids.

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  3. Domino is rather uhm...well..."round." Hopefully the outdoor exercise will help a little. I take it you have safe terrain for outdoor cats where you are? Here, the road is far too close and far too dangerous.

    Slinky is a cutie. I love black and white kitties as they seem to have unique personalities.

    As for Domino, the "dominator," she just has that "peaches and cream" coloration you'd think would be all soft and sweet. Apparently, it's just a disguise!

    So glad your house is again "furfull."

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  4. Steve, your life is already full of parental obligations. Adding something furry to the mix can't make it much worse. Don't get anything too young or fragile enough to be squeezed to death, but animals are great for kids to grow up with.

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  5. Ms. Pliers, You will see them soon for yourself.

    TechnoBabe, allergies are so annoying and strange that they can creep up on you. The Kids wouldn't have given up their cats but they know they are happier here with more room to move around. Domino was practically using a loud-hailer to get her message across.

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  6. Jean, sorry for not being clear. The black and white is Domino. I like your Dominator pun. We live on a very quiet street with a golf course out back. Coyotes are the bigger danger.

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  7. Aha!! That makes even more sense now!! BW kitties are often a bit silly, and "peaches and cream" does suit Slinky's more reclusive nature. So she is the quiet one and Dom is the rabble rouser. Now their personalities suit their coloration.

    Good thing I didn't meet them in person with that confusion. I'd have adopted the wrong approach and probably have been most soundly ignored by both of them! *lol*

    Thanks for clearing up my confusion. I was just going by the order of the pictures in your post. Silly me....*S*

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  8. Jean, additional thinking: this is one of those cultural "misses between U.K. & U.S. in spite of the language". I hear Domino and I think automatically of a black game-piece with white spots. For me, it was self-explanatory.

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  9. Ah, you couldn't go for long without an animal or two to nurture... it just wouldn't be right...

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  10. Owen, It's more like "Hi, My name is ER and I'm an addict"

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  11. Did Domino go on manoeuvres too , in her former army life ?

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  12. S&S, she went Trick or Treating this weekend. She came to answer the door with me several times and then left with a group of children, despite the dog that was growling at her. She returned a while later with another group. I'm not sure who she thinks she is?

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  13. cats are great aren't they? Yours look fantastic

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  14. That is a lot of cat! But I like cats (we have four), so the more the merrier. They are lucky to have you as their step-mom.

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  15. Carolina, I swear these cats are shrinking. They are back to sporty-cat size. They were happy to see Lovely Daughter yesterday, especially Slinky.

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