Say Hello to Shadow

                                   

Jelly has a new fur baby!!  Meet Shadow, her new kitten.  And Jelly couldn't be happier with the new bundle of fur that she now gets to take care of.

Yesterday morning, I was doing my usual scrolling through the Facebook newsfeed when I stumbled across a post from an old friend that had pictures of kittens that were ready for a new home.  One in particular caught my eye, and that was a picture of Shadow.  A solid black kitten.  

Now, even though I have been on the hunt for a new cat for Jelly, I have to let everyone in on a little secret.  I haven't always been a cat lover.  No, there was a time when I was a dog person.  Actually, being a cat person is quite a new thing for me, and has only been me for the past two years.  Except, for the fact that since I was a teenager, I've wanted a black cat.  A completely black cat.  

I'm sure it has a lot to do with all of the suspicions when it came to black cats.  Suspicions I've never paid any attention to.  Black cats are supposedly evil, or carry bad luck.  What a bunch of malarkey.  Black cats get a bad rap...it's almost like cat racism.  So, being the person that I am, I've always wanted to have a black cat of my own to love and cherish...because black cats need lovin' too!  So, when I saw Shadow, I just knew that he had to be the little fur ball that Jelly would have as her own.

I made the arrangements for Jelly and I to go and pick him up, and Peanut came along to help out in case Shadow was a little too much for Jelly to handle in the car.  It's a good thing I did take Peanut, cause Shadow was quite the handful coming home.  He was climbing all over the car, exploring the surroundings, and curious about where he was.  Which is just what I want to see a kitten do.  It threw Jelly off a little, cause when we first got Gizmo he was so weak that he just laid on her lap.  

When we got home, Jelly went straight to making sure Shadow knew where the litter box and food bowls were, showed him her bedroom, gave him some toys to play with, and spent the rest of the day playing with him.  He is a cute little thing.  He's very playful, but also very loving.  He even curled up with me, at one point, and fell asleep on my shoulder.  I tried taking a picture, but he's so dark it was very hard to see him.  

For the first time since Gizmo passed away, Jelly asked to sleep in her own bed.  She's been sleeping either on the couch in the living room or in my bed, but last night she wanted back in her own room.  Which was music to my ears.  She took Shadow with her, showed him where his bed was (that she'd made up on her own bed), and the two of them went to bed.  He slept with her all night, too.  This morning, she got up, took Shadow to the bathroom, got him some milk, and took him in the living room to watch cartoons with her.  And that's where I found them when I got up, curled up on the couch together watching cartoons.  

It's just so great to see Jelly back to her old self.  Losing a pet is hard, but Gizmo was much more than that.  He was Jelly's friend, her playmate, her sidekick.  And once he passed away, it made Jelly feel so lonely...a piece of her had passed away right along with him.  Shadow has already started fixing that missing piece.  Although, I will say that Jelly is being extremely cautious.  She told me last night that she still missed Gizmo, and she hoped that nothing bad happened to Shadow.  She told me she was going to be extra careful taking care of him, and she has asked me about a bazillion times if I think something is wrong with Shadow because he didn't go to the bathroom for a while, or she was worried because he jumped off the couch, and I had to check him while he was sleeping to make sure he was still breathing.  

I'm sure it's going to take Jelly awhile to not be so worried, and it's probably not a bad thing for her to be so cautious.  Taking on a new fur baby is always a risk, anything can happen.  I was extremely lucky when I found my fur baby, and I just hope and pray that Jelly now has one that stays healthy and happy in our home.  Shadow came from a good home, and he had been kept inside since he was born and had been well taken care of, so I didn't have to worry about fleas or worms.  Even Shadow's mother was an indoor cat, that accidentally got out one day which was enough time for her to get pregnant.  But, she'd been kept inside ever since, and her babies were born healthy and happy.  

Katniss isn't so sure what to think.  She hissed at Shadow several times last night.  But, Shadow made her know that he wasn't trying to invade her territory.  He cautiously walked around her, and stood perfectly still while Katniss gave him a good sniffing.  I'm sure it won't be long before Katniss's maternal instincts kick in, and she'll be bathing and taking care of Shadow just like she did with Gizmo.  

Today, we have no plans to go anywhere.  We did all our errand running yesterday, so Jelly has a whole day to spend getting to know Shadow.  I will be spending the entire day doing laundry and working.  Which is fine.  I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I'm actually looking forward to it.  It's been so long since I spent the day glued to my laptop writing up lesson plans, taking breaks just long enough to put in a new load of laundry and fold the load that just came out of the dryer.  

Life is getting back to normal.

Life is good.

And, by the end of today, I'll be ready for my first full week of school.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!!