So, a cat then.

Having been a dog person most of my life it may come as a surprise
that Em and I adopted a cat on Friday. Even more of a surprise if you
know Em's allergic to most things with hair (She assures me this has
nothing to do with her initial attraction to me and my shaven pate.)

We were told that adult cats (he's five) very rarely get adopted as
there's always a glut of unwanted pets and everyone wants the kittens.
Which I find really sad. I don't intend on ghost writing a blog in the
name of my cat or making every post about him but I think he's worthy
of a mention here.

An actual cats' blog would be quite dull I'd imagine.

April 4th;

Slept.

Slept.

Slept.

Got up, ate some biscuits and played with my humans for a while to keep
them happy.

Slept.

Planned global domination through the cunning use of catnip.

Slept.

Batted a cloth mouse around for a bit and pretended it was pleading for
its life. I showed no mercy.

Slept.

April 5th

etc etc etc

He's meant to leap out of his cage when he first arrives and find a
hiding place in a small room and not move for a day or so. The books
say not to force him to do anything too soon but rather to let him get
comfortable with the new environment.

Instead of the timid feline we were expecting this guy was straight out
and prowling his territory within seconds. Ballsy as you like coming
over to Em and I for a fuss and to leave us with clumps of fine white
hair.

He's quite a big lad as you can see above and having had the snip he's
leaving hairs rather than scent to mark his territory. I've hoovered
about five times this weekend already.

The only downside so far (aside from the extra hoovering) is that he's
mewling in the night as he's possibly bored or just uncertain of his
new routine. We can't let him in the bedroom as I don't think there's
an Anti-histamine strong enough for Em to actually sleep in the same
space as the cat.

The books say to make sure he's got everything he needs before you go
to bed and then ignore his meowing until the morning. Having finally
moved into a house that's quiet at night I seem to have invited my own
disturbance in with me. Hopefully this behaviour will change once he
realises;

a) We're not going anywhere.

b) However much noise he makes we won't be getting up

c) He'll be able to go out of the house in a week or so.

I've also realised that petting is not the same as playing and that I
actually need to play with the cat to make sure he's not getting bored.
The lovely cats on the farm I've mentioned before have 10 acres to run
around and play on. Our cat has a small bungalow full of other peoples
stuff. It's just not the same amount of stimulation.

So tonight my shopping list includes toys, catnip, a scratching post,
kitty litter and a scooper. The less said about the last couple of
items the better.

The family seemed to like him as he's quite a placid cat (when its not
4AM) and quite frankly gorgeous.

As soon as I can stop him from mewling we'll be best friends (Or I'll
get better earplugs.)

And the name?

Well its a combination of things, The 'Hero' of my favourite book "The
Dreamquest of Unknown Kaddath" By H.P.Lovecraft (Which is available as
a free download from the Gutenberg project Google 'em , you'll be glad
you did) is called Carter and he is very friendly with the cats in that
strange world. Also 'Get Carter' is one of my favourite films and I can
now quote it every time he leaves the room.

But most I think because it suits him very well.

I shall not to mention him too much here unless he does something
spectacular. Like win the Nobel prize for Physics or something. In
which case I might get a mention on HIS blog.