What A Difference Some Clippers Make...

We took Milo to the vet last week to get a basic "checkup" and vaccinations. Kitty was NOT a fan of the process, as you can tell from the pic below. Another important reason for our visit was to find out just how old he is. Because of the petite paws and facial features, I was sure Milo was a "teenager," maybe 1-2 years old.

Well, the vet looked at Milo's teeth and concluded he is about 4 years old. And then the vet told me he thought Milo might be a GIRL. I had never explored this issue for myself, because I didn't want to upset kitty, and also because he has one furry belly. I figured that the people we got him from, who have 6 pets and 6 children, were pretty confident they were giving us a "neutered male." However, upon close inspection and a little fur trim, it became undoubtedly clear that Milo truly IS a female.

Wow, what a shock! It took me a few days to comprehend this news, adjust my pronouns, and figure out whether Milo deserved a new name. In the end, I decided I just couldn't call her Milo because it felt like her identity had completely changed. So, she was renamed Burnadette Bijou Hayden. Bernadette is the middle name of a dear friend of ours, who is also a cat lover, and means "little bear." I spell it with a "U" because she loves to lay up against the heater until her fur is too hot to touch. Bijou is French for "jewel" or "pretty little trinket."

Once the new name was decided upon, we quickly fell in love with the idea of a girl kitty. And I also know that "Burnie" joining our family was meant to be -- had I known that she was a girl, I probably wouldn't have agreed to take her, because for some odd reason I had it in my head that I needed a male cat. But Burnie is so sweet and playful and well-behaved, and brings us a lot of joy. Meow!

Our Christmas Kitty

After many years, much deliberation, and some divine timing, we have finally added to our family. Introducing.... Milo Montgomery Hayden! We welcomed him to our little home last Friday, just in time for Christmas, and we were immediately smitten.

Some friends of ours saw this precious kitty get booted from a car on Locan Avenue (basically, out in the country) and stopped to rescue him. Because they already have six pets....AND six children....they couldn't keep him. Thanks to Facebook, a love connection was made! He is fixed, declawed, and house trained. We're guessing he's 1-2 years old, and we hope to verify that with a visit to the vet soon.

Here's a snapshot of Milo's adventures so far, since he came to live with us:

--He loves to follow us around the house, to sit and watch whatever is going on.

--He loves to straddle the arm of the couch and fall asleep that way.

--He LOVES playing with his "Mr. Mouse" cat toy.

--He's fascinated with the shower, and sits on the edge of the tub between the shower curtain and liner while the shower is going, so he can bat at the water hitting the liner.

--He doesn't meow much but has an adorable little "Mmrrrpphh?" that sounds like he's asking for something.

--When he wants affection he puts his paw on your hand or arm, like saying "I want you to use this to pet me, please!"

--He loves sleeping at the foot of the bed at night, and it's wonderful to wake up to a sweet kitty in the morning!

--He has yet to get into anything, knock anything over, or miss using the cat box.

--He's looking forward to his first Christmas and has a few treats under the tree!

Stay tuned for more updates on Milo as he continues to integrate into our home and family. We're having so much fun with him already!

"Time spent with cats is never wasted." ~ Sigmund Freud