Last Sunday I get a call from my sister, who was staying up the road with my parents: “There’s somebody here you need to come meet!” she said in a sing-song voice.
My first thought was, “Oh, my goodness; they’ve tamed Jim-Bob!” which is the name of a baby rabbit that has been frequenting my parents’ patio. No, it wasn’t Jim-Bob — this moth-eaten cat with skinny hips and a loving demeanor had shown up on the patio instead. That patio is a Grade A Animal Attractant, what with the birds and snakes that come around, too.
“We think this could be our second kitty,” Cathy continued. Only what would they do with said second kitty until they move into their new house in July? They certainly have no room at the moment in their itty-bitty apartment house with Harrison, the first kitty.
I told Steven the situation. “A kitty?” His eyes lit up. “I’ll go get the carrier.”
So we found ourselves that Sunday evening on my parents’ back patio loving on this grey tabby who was starting to remind me of a male Hermione. As he passed back and forth between all of us, Cathy and Jason discussed their options. We had pretty much decided that he was a stray of sorts — he was just too skinny and crunchy to be someone’s pet and if he was, he wasn’t well-cared for.
It was soon decided that they would christen him their Second Kitty, and Steven and I would play foster to this cat until they moved into their new house in mid-July. After all, we had a basement. So home we went with a grey tabby in tow. Thankfully he rides in the car more like Renton than Hermione.
Now, what to call him? His ears are all crunched up like he had been in a fight, so Steven and I started calling him Fidget (movie reference; see The Great Mouse Detective) until Cathy and Jason could decide on a name. He checked out well at the vet — not many fleas, no bad things, he had just been in a cat fight and was already neutered. That evening Cathy and Jason had decided on a name: Malcolm, like from Jurrasic Park.
Since he is going to be with us for a full month, we decided we’re going to slowly incorporate him with Renton and Hermione so there is less stress on all involved . . . except Renton and Hermione. We’re worked him up to the office now. Hermione and especially Renton knows he exists (Renton and Malcolm accidentally saw each other once) and they’re handling it okay so far, though Hermione is more peeved than Renton. We’ll see how all this goes.
Malcolm is very much like a male version of Hermione. He’s very talkative, especially when he first sees you, and he LOVES to be petted and doted on. He especially likes butt rubbins. The way he scrunches up his nose when he meows makes me laugh. I think he’ll make a great pair with Harrison once they all get settled. I hope Harrison is ready for one talkative brother.
