I still miss my Frank and my Zappa. This past Tuesday was one year without Frank. I couldn’t help but feel some sadness. I have a feeling I will miss those guys for the rest of my life. It’s been a hard year.
But eventually, spring comes round again and the sun comes out.
I met Joy a few years ago when she started doing house cleaning for us. I would usually be home on Fridays when she came to do our house, and we would chat. She adored our cats. A couple of weeks ago Joy mentioned that her daughter had a kitten in need of a home; she wanted Joy to take it, but Joy already has a kitten wreaking havoc in her house; she didn’t need another one.
This kitten, said Joy, looks Maine Coon like your cats were.
The daughter was reluctant to give the kitten to a stranger. What if this person didn’t take care of it? No fear of that, said Joy.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure anything would come of i t, but a week later, on May 12, Joy shows up with a kitten.
This little one hit the ground running. I still had cat toys around from Frank and Zappa, and she was all over them. She was exploring the house. While the girls were here cleaning, she was chasing brooms and mops. Seven weeks old. She has no fear.
When she wasn’t playing and running around, she was sleeping on my lap. It was pretty much love at first sight.
I couldn’t help but think back; I have vague memories that Frank and Zappa were a little more cautious in checking out their new home. They were not immediate lap cats; of course there were two of them, so they usually curled up together back in those days. I sort of wish now that I could remember more, that I had kept some sort of journal maybe. Not that it matters, because I think I will remember their personalities and quirks forever, but I can record some memories as our new girl grows up.
So, meet Isobel the Fearless!
I honestly wish that she had a bit more fear, or caution anyway. She just barrels along full speed ahead.
She is determined she wants to be an outdoor cat. The screen door for our patio is not quite the right size, so there is a bit of a gap when the sliding glass door is open. She has been very interested in sitting on windowsills and looking out the screen door. She tries to get out every time we open the patio door.
There has been once or twice when we weren’t quite sure where she was, then Cory saw her going for the screen door gap, like she meant business. I’m worried about letting her out because she’s so little, and there are some spots where I thought she could fit under the fence. But knowing how determined she was, I thought I’d better see what she’d do…
What she did was run around the yard with great abandon. She looked like the happiest kitten on the planet. Then she went straight for the gap under the fence and was under it before I could stop her. So then I was running for the gate, and around the house to catch her.
That was Thursday evening. I spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon covering gaps where I thought she could get under the fence. All went well Saturday evening and yesterday (though she did keep going back to the spot where she got out on Thursday, she seemed pretty determined which makes me think she might have been out there a couple of times without our knowledge)…
Then this afternoon she found another escape route; so now she is confined to the house again until I can get out and do some more fixing.
These photos are from yesterday; they pretty much illustrate the life of Isobel at the moment: run, run, pounce, nap!
