Your Moment of Clara

She looks absolutely miserable in her new home, doesn't she? ;)

Received another fabulous update from Heidi. The abridged version follows. Be sure to read until the very end of the post. You might miss something important.

I've attached a few phone pictures... I know they're not the greatest quality but they'll have to do until I can locate the flingin' flangin' USB cable for my camera :D  The ones on my camera are better, but it still a bit hard to get a good clear picture since she's always in motion! And I want in the worst way to get a picture of her on top of the wardrobe in my bedroom (which is, not surprisingly, one of her favorite spots but a c-a-n-n-o-t, because every time she hears me coming, she jumps right on down to say hi and see what I'm up to!! Which is totally sweet, and I can't really complain about that... but it does make it hard to get a picture!

(Note from Kelly: NOW you all know why I used the same pictures of Clara from post to post. I'm not lazy about taking photos. She's just so darn difficult to photograph because she doesn't care whether or not you see pictures of her. She just wants you to pet her, darn it!)

And as I'm sure you know, the camera really doesn't do justice to her gorgeous mix of gray/silver and cream-colored fur... she is just so beautiful!!! Of course I am a bit biased, but really, she is such a beautiful plush, velvety-furred girl. That anyone could fail to see her beauty is beyond me :)

Over the course of the last week or so, I could see her getting more and more comfortable in her new digs. Although overall I'd say that she adjusted to the move very well, initially she did often have that "ears back, eyes very very wide" look quite a lot -- but  now it appears only once in a while, and only for things like unusual noises outside. (She's even gotten used to the noise of the coffee bean grinder!)

She's curious and interested in everything that goes on. When I'm in the kitchen, she hangs out underneath the dining room table, from which vantage point she can oversee all that occurs from behind a concealing fringe. The second I go elsewhere though, she's right on my heels, coming along to see what's happening. She is certainly my little shadow, and I love it. :)

She's continuing to eat well... it makes me so very happy to hear her eating with gusto!!

As last week unfolded, she became more and more acrobatic in her leaps and faster in her pouncing at playtime -- I think that went right along with feeling more and more at home. She never gets tired of pouncing on a particular orange stuffed mouse, and when she's particularly excited, she makes the funniest little squeaking noise!! SO cute!!

Once she's had a good vigorous play session, she's very happy to join me on the couch, and there she sprawls on a big pillow in my lap and just purrs and purrs. She usually starts by folding her paws underneath her sweet self and tucking in under my chin... which I love, but this never lasts long because she very soon starts stretching and rolling, and pretty soon she's lolled across the pillow, head back, and in the crook of my arm... and I love that too! :)

I love how plush and cuddly she is, and I simply cannot refrain from frequently kissing her on top of the head... she doesn't particularly love this, but she tolerates it very well :D

A friend and his 7-year-old son visited last Saturday, and Clara did really well! She was a little bit scared at first, but pretty soon she let the little boy pet her. He was very anxious to play with her, but although she didn't play (or purr) she was pretty relaxed. I'm sure that with subsequent visits, she'll come around and be comfortable enough to play with him.

So there we go... the first 11 days with Clara! :) I'm so happy that she's come to live with me, and I still think that I totally lucked out and got THE best cat in the whole wide world!! She has well and truly put her pawprint on my heart.

Thanks for another brilliant update, Heidi! I think you're BOTH pretty lucky to have found each other. Oh... and try to get her to relax a bit. She looks stressed ;)

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Thank you for reading all of the way to the bottom. Does anyone have a good idea for a kitten naming theme? I'm not saying that we need one or anything, or that yours will necessarily be used. But it's always good to have a theme or two in reserve. You know... just in case we need one.