All of our love, for Olive

About a month ago, Drew and I were talking about the fact that I was the only female in the house. "Even the cat's a boy" I complained. I told him that as much as I love Sobin, I really missed my girl kitties. About a week later, early in the morning on a Saturday, Drew got up early to let the cat out. Soon after, the cat came back in and joined Silas and me upstairs. Silas, who was just waking up, looked at me sleepily and said "there are two cats in this house."

"No," I replied, "there's just Sobin. Just one cat."
"No!" He insisted. "There are TWO cats here!"

Two minutes later, Drew came upstairs to tell us that there was a tiny cat outside that seemed frightened and wanted desperately to come inside.

So, as Silas predicted, there are now two cats in this house.
When we brought Olive in, she was in a state of panic. It was obvious that she was starving, both for want of food, and for want of human companionship. I could barely bake muffins that morning because she remained right underfoot. Before long though, she had calmed down. She took to us immediately, making herself right at home. The picture below was taken after she'd been with us for less than four hours:
At first, I thought for sure that someone must be missing this affectionate, sweet tempered cat. I put up signs, contacted the human society, talked to neighbors, looked on craigslist, etc. Nothing. Assessing her physical condition and her mannerisms, however, made it increasingly clear that no one was looking for this cat. Sad to say, but most likely, she was dumped. She was underweight and ate constantly for the first week. Her interest in the fridge, as well as her response anytime we opened a can, makes me think that she was fed people food and canned food, but obviously not enough. Her discomfort at being outside leads me to think that she was an inside cat, but despite this, she had a nasty case of fleas, ear mites, and tape worm. As well socialized as she is, it seems that someone may have loved her, but they didn't take care of her. Perhaps, for whatever reason, they just couldn't.

After having her for nearly a week, we declared her ours, took her to the vet, and bestowed upon her the name Olive. The vet estimated that she is between 9 and 12 months old, and not spayed. She doesn't appear to be pregnant (woo-hoo) and isn't in heat (double woo-hoo).

Olive is putting on some weight now, and is parasite free. I have no idea what she faced in the first year of her life, but her biggest problems now are loosing her toy mouse and dealing with the big kitty, who would prefer that she didn't exist.

Please be my friend. PLEASE!

Olive seems determined to make friends with Sobin, who has been perfectly content being an only pet for the last 9 years. These days, Sobin spends most of his free time growling, hissing, and glaring maliciously, even when Olive is not in the immediate vicinity. He's actually handling it better than I expected. After all, no blood has been shed. They can actually be in the same room together, occasionally, without an all out battle ensuing. Olive continues to work on him and break down his resolve. She'll win him over one of these days.

Her favorite spot: looking out the front window, waiting for her buddy Sobin to come home.
I have my girl kitty again. Drew seems to find her endearing, and Silas has another pet he can bond with. Everyday, he hugs her, saying "you are the bestest kitty. I love you!"
We all do.