Introducing the New Furball

They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription.  

I say, "Can he name a kitten?"  

~ Samuel Butler

Two weeks before Ana returned to her family in Mexico, she and I found a tiny bedraggled kitten by the side of a road, ferociously warning all comers not to mess with him.  I couldn't resist scooping him up and bringing him home.

While Ana grew up on a farm, with lots and lots of animals, she never had a pet in the American sense - you know, an animal that lived in the house with her, slept and played with her, etc.  And she had never named an animal.  So I let her name the kitten.  

Introducing: Popeye

I took him to the vet the next day, and he weighed all of ONE pound!  Can you believe it?

He was terrified of us at first.  We kept him in the bathroom, thinking that would be "safe"...  But he managed to wiggle his way in under the cabinets and up into a space where we couldn't reach him.  He stayed there for SIX hours - only by opening a can of tuna fish were we able to finally lure him out.

Happily, it only took him a day or so to adjust and soon he was playing happily with us and with his "toys" (i.e., everything in the entire world!)

Or, sleeping in our laps!  :)

As for the other two cats...  

Well, Oliver really wanted to play with Popeye - but it took a few days of false starts and scares before they felt comfortable playing with each other.  

And Sammy just tried to pretend that Popeye didn't exist.  ;)

And so now our furball family has 3 members and I have an extra "helper" when it's time to prepare papers for my ESL class or pay bills or work on the computer or sew...  How lucky can one gal get?  ;)