I added 4 feet to the house…

By Liz on November 20, 2021

You can only see 2 of Oscar’s feet, but he does have 4 :)

After 2 aborted appointments at local shelters (I backed out), and numerous times of picking up the phone and then not calling … AND, last Friday being rejected by the adoption organization where I got Auggie, because of Emmett … grggh*!%$& … Thursday, in my normal perusal of the local “Mountain Trader” there was an ad for kittens and the thought immediately came to me: “Oscar”.

Now, I had been rolling names around as I saw cats and kittens, but Oscar was not one of them.

I don’t fool with those kind of thoughts so I called. Vasily, texted me photos … and btw, yes, he is Russian and did not have a lot of English and I asked and he laughed so I had a fun feeling of connection. I am sure that I was not at all politically correct and he was not offended. We arranged that I would see the kittens at 1:00. This was about 10:00 and a 35 minute drive to see them.

Next … kitten stuff: food, toys, itty bitty litter box for the crate to bring him home in, new toy(s) for Emmett also…

There is a newish place in Bigfork, 10 minutes away. I’d never stopped there.

Happy Hounds Pet Supply

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Despite the name, they have stuff for dogs, puppies, cats and kittens – YEA! And I am so glad I finally went there – very nice couple who are owners and they took a lot of time to help me find what I needed. PLUS, you can order online and they deliver … holy cow!

So, I came away with stuff.

I fixed up the small crate that fits in the Jeep: Fleecy blanket and small litter box.

No doubts and off I went at the appointed time to get our Oscar.

Vasily was a friendly man of my vintage with sparkly blue eyes. He brought out a box with the kittens, picked one up and handed it to me … a male … our Oscar. That was that! I went inside and met Mrs. Vasily who looked exactly as you would expect a “Russian” (actually they are from Ukraine) woman who bore 11 children (“only” 11 per Vasily as he was one of 14) to look. No English, but a huge smile and the smell of chicken soup on the stove. I also got to see a family photo of all … taken 22 years ago. The 2 year old youngest in the photo just married and I got to see her wedding photo – lovely! I also got to see a photo of the mama cat, a Siamese. The papa is a ragdoll but I didn’t get to see him. All business completed, Oscar and I headed for home.

All the way home, whenever I could steal a look in the back, Oscar was looking back … calm and almost as if he knew he was going home.

First look for Emmett and Oscar. No panic, but when Emmett moved closer, Oscar growled. Emmett backed away, which is good as Emmett never really backed off from Auggie!

In the house, I closed off the office, opened the crate door and spent some time with Oscar. He started purring when I scratched his chin and his motor is amazingly loud for such a tiny kitten! (8 weeks old, just a bit over 2 pounds).

After a bit, I left him alone and went to get a very late lunch plus spend time with Emmett and take a long walk. I was back and forth the rest of the afternoon and evening, but kept a panel from Emmett’s puppy playpen between office and kitchen. Oscar left the crate and took up residence under the corner chair.

So … he liked a dark cave kind of spot …

I set up Emmett’s XXL crate with a fleecy blanket, Auggie’s laundry room cat cave bed and the small litter box … covered all with a quilt.

Oscar’s room!!

I had been wondering how to do things overnight so that everyone was comfortable, safe and all (ME!) got some sleep.

I have a baby monitor that I have used with Bob and Bear when they were ill/recovering from surgery. I set it up so that I could see and hear Oscar.

Although Oscar had been quiet all afternoon and evening, he decided to be an active kitten about the time I was ready to call it a day :) … so we played and Emmett came in with us for a little bit and finally, I was out of gas. I put the shirt and fleece pants I was wearing into the cat cave and then Oscar. He meowed a bit, but then made himself a nest and settled down.

Emmett and I had our normal last outs and went to bed.

First night success! We followed the same procedure last night, with a last meal about 7 and then some before bed play and snuggles and then into the crate with Oscar, to bed for Emmett and me. No meows at all from Oscar … he settled right into his nest.

After the very quiet first day, Oscar was very active yesterday. He also progressed from hissing every time Emmett looked at him, to allowing Emmett to approach fairly close before hissing. Emmett and I occasionally sat on the floor quietly and Oscar approached from behind me … played around my side and back.

First, I set the panel so that Oscar could get to the rest of the house, but could retreat to the office if he wanted and Emmett couldn’t follow. But as much as Emmett would LOVE to play, he is being very good about approaching slowly and backing off. Occasionally, he kind of groans in frustration and then takes it out on his new toy which is a big fleece ball with a squeaker … well, it did have a squeaker.

At any rate, it is not quite yet 48 hours as I write this and the house is wide open. Oscar is allowing a brief nose touch from Emmett and has explored all of the rooms on his own.

Synchronized chair napping … thankfully, Oscar chose the small chair … he was on it falling asleep and Emmett went to his chair. D’accord!

4 sweet feet added to the house … love, laughter and fun abound!

***I have loads of video, but it will take me awhile to sort it out. I sometimes just set up 2 cameras and let them roll to get the action so there is a lot for me to look through and put together the fun bits.