Return of the Prodigal Kitty

Five years ago I had just finished University and was starting my first teaching job in a small town. I had been living in student housing type places for years, and the hardest part of that was not being able to have pets. So I found a fourplex that I could move into that would allow me a pet. I wanted a cat - particularly a tortoiseshell one.

So in October my sister-in-law found an ad for some kittens, one of which was a tortoiseshell. We went out to the farm and met the kitties. I came home with a small, mewling, black and slightly orange ball of fuzz. I named her Quirk.

Over the last five years she has been the biggest constant in my life. She is cute and annoying and sweet and grumpy and all that jazz. She grew up into a big (and I mean big - she has been on a diet for years) kitty. I will admit there are times I want to throw her into a snow bank for being annoying, but she is my girlie.

When I decided to move to England for two years I had to decide what to do with the cat. I couldn't leave her with my parents as they have Lepton - a second cat I tried to introduce to my household that did not work out. I also knew that she is a huge part of my life and realized that she would be the difference between staying out my contract or getting so homesick I left early. This was proven to me when I came over here for two weeks before the move. Even though she was with good people I missed her so much it was ridiculous.

So I arranged to spend a bunch of money to fly her over. She couldn't come when I first came over so I left her with two amazing people who together took care of her and got all the paperwork sorted. Seriously, Chris and Courtney are fantastic and I cannot put into words how much I owe them.


Sunday night they took her to the airport and dropped her off with Air Canada. She arrived in London around 2 pm. Around 5 pm I got a message from my mum that they had gotten ahold of her, there was some issue with her microchip so she told them the vet's name. I called them and they  had it sorted. Around 7 pm I got a call that she had finally fully cleared and was being shipped up. She arrived about 11:30.

When they got here they called me and told me they were downstairs. I came down and out to the van where he was getting her carrier out. She was making horrible distressed noises so I started talking to her. As he was carrying her to the house I could tell the instant she recognized my voice because the cries went from painful distressed cries to impatient, I want to be with you now cries.

I got her inside and let her out of her carrier. She instantly started to explore. She would walk away and explore for a few seconds then loop back to me. She wouldn't stand still long enough to get a picture, the best I could get was this

 

 

I got used to this pattern of walking away and then looping back to me. So when she went up the stairs I expected her to be back again quickly. So I waited, and waited, and started to wonder. I followed her up the stairs and found her on the floor of my bedroom, lying there wanting love. She had figured out where our room was and made herself comfortable within about five minutes.

 



 

 

 



For the next while she alternated between coming and visiting me in the bed (right up to lying next to me purring while I petted her!) and then getting up to go explore. She was definitely stressed but also very happy to be back with me. I was also very happy - it sounds ridiculous but I swear I felt like my soul was whole again.

I decided to get ready for bed and let her do her thing. While I was reading I look up and find this:

What a silly monster.


This morning she was still hanging out upstairs with me. I had hoped she would go downstairs to find her litter box and food/water area, but I realized while she was trying to lead me around that she was unwilling to go that far from me. So we came downstairs and I showed her the litter box again. I then sat by her food and water so she checked those out. I came over here to start writing and she resumed exploring. So far she has been chased off the kitchen counters, hissed off the table, and found herself climbing into the fireplace (that scared me! I will have to be very cautious about that). She is being much braver about staying away from me for longer and exploring her new home. It makes me very happy to see her getting to know the place.

Thank you to all of you who helped keep me sane during this process. Especially to the previously mentioned fabulous Courtney and Chris! I say it a lot but I am so lucky to have such awesome people in my life. And such an awesome kitty.