We were concerned about Al and his allergies. In the past, he has had reactions to long haired cats, but not short haired ones or dogs. We were going to test it out and see if he could handle having a cat live in our home without coughing and his eyes watering. We entered the facility and were shown two cat room, the well cats and the sick cats. We were assured that the cats in the sick room just had colds. It turned out that all the cats under 1 year old had colds, and since we wanted a kitten, that was the group we had to choose from. We selected three kittens to "interview" and waited in the room for our first meet and greet. When we met each cat, I practically made Al rub his face with the kitten and inhale her. He had no reaction from any of them and we had the green light to get a short haired cat.
The first cat was a four month old who was very playful, too playful. She was so hyper that Madison was scared of her. She was too big for Mad to pick up and she was very scratchy. Although Al and I really liked her, the third vote wasn't there.
The second one was completely the opposite. Although she was snuggly when held, she mostly hid in the corner and didn't want much to do with playing. The kids were willing to settle for this cat, but I just didn't feel right about it. There was a third kitten we decided to see to make up our minds. It turned out there was another family looking and we snagged the third cat just in time.
Within the first few minutes, we knew she was the cat for us. Her personality seemed to fit exactly what we all wanted and at just about 3 months, small enough for the kids to carry. She can be playful, but will snuggle too. Her shelter name is Savannah and the kids like that name, so we will probably keep it. We were sent home with some cold medicine and she is getting better each day. She is great at using the litter box, but has furniture scratching issues that we are helping her overcome with alternatives. She is feeling at home and is beginning to get into things like a small child. We have to "child proof" the house for her. She had taken a couple of dips in the toilet because she didn't bother to look before jumping up, but she is learning. The kids annoy her to death, but she is so cute and hard to keep our hands off of. The funny thing is, the one in the family who least wanted a pet, is the one Savannah snuggles up to the most. And Greg loves to hold her too. I get jealous sometimes!
We are looking forward to a long relationship wiht our new family member.
