ME AND MR. JONES.........

I had a very busy week last week. Starting on Sunday, it rained every day through Wednesday. I kept pretty close to home, even though I still had some shopping to do. After a couple of days of being in the house, you just have to get out and go in the rain.

On Wednesday I decided to go to one of the department stores located in a smaller strip mall. I thought I might at least be able to find PARKING there. One end is anchored by Kohl’s Department Store and the other end is Pier One Imports. I planned on going to both and also stop at the Petsmart there for a bag of cat food.

I finished my shopping and went into Petsmart. Of course, they had none of the cat food that I needed, not a single bag. Since the cats’ food bin was empty, I had to have some. So, I went to the Petsmart which is near our house and where we usually shop anyway.

As I was nearing the parking lot turning in, a strong wave of emotion swept over me. It came out of nowhere. I thought of Taz and started crying. I kept saying “I didn’t have him long enough, I didn’t get to spend enough time with him......” I do think of him every day, but there have been full days when I could remember him and not start crying.

I parked and started to get out of the car. I had an anxious feeling like something exciting was going to happen.

When I got in the store, I pushed my cart over to the glass cat room. I have always looked at the cats when I go in that store. Sometimes the door is open and you can go in and sometimes it’s locked. It was open and I went in to see them before doing my shopping.

There were several cats and kittens in there. They are from the East County Animal Rescue (ECAR), a non-profit organization which is not affiliated with Petsmart. It is run by volunteers only. They are allowed to have an area in the store to use in hopes of finding good homes for abandoned cats. Their cats come from shelters, from people surrendering them and also from the streets.

I had no plans to adopt a cat that day. Although Charlie and I had talked about maybe adopting a kitten when we were ready.

I was drawn to a little cream and white colored kitten. He was jumping around the kennel. The kids were all looking at him and talking about how “wild” he was. I waited to get up to the kennel so I could see him. Finally, I had to say “Excuse me, I’d like to get a closer look at him.”

I took one of the feather-on-a-stick toys and started playing with him. He just loved that and reached for it. He didn’t take his eyes off of it. I played with some of the other cats and then looked back at him. He was just following that feather toy. I went back over to him and wanted to see if he would let me touch him through the wire. He did. He rubbed up against the wire and purred.
When Bess, the volunteer, came back, I asked if I could hold him. He was so eager. The minute I took him out, he started purring loudly.

Bess said that she had fostered him. He was rescued from a dumpster. Someone had put him and his 4 siblings in a garbage bag and dropped them in a dumpster. It was a very hot day in September. Someone was walking their dog and heard kittens meowing, but couldn’t tell where the noise was coming from. The dog started barking and went to the dumpster. All 5 kittens were alive. They were brought to ECAR, which is a no-kill rescue service. From there they were fostered out until they could be adopted.

I left the cat room and bought my cat food and went home. I thought of the little kitten and decided to ask Charlie to come back to the store with me to see him and tell me what he thought.

Charlie saw him and thought he was very pretty. He looked at all of the other cats there too. There were a couple of tabbies there and he asked if I like them. I said I did, but I was kind of stuck on the cream and white one.

Bess took him out and we held him again. Then we went out and talked about it. Both of us liked him and so we decided to adopt him. After we did the paperwork, Bess said that all cats had to leave the store in a kennel. We could either buy a cardboard one or a regular one. Charlie and I looked at each other and said “No, we have several kennels at home and don’t need another”. So, we went home, got a kennel and I came back to get the kitten.

I’d like to introduce the latest addition to our family:

His name is "Jones"......we call him "Jonesie"
3 months old

Look at those paws!

Jason meeting his new brother that night
12/22/10

That's all for now.........