Farewell Simba

Just days after I started this blog, our cat Simba crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. It came as a surprise to us because he had seemed fine up until a day or so before his crossing over.

This cat did not have an easy life. He was found on the streets close to where I teach. A coworker started caring for him but knew her dog would not accept the cat. So I offered to take him in. I knew he was a nervous cat and had a tail injury, but also that we could give him a home.

When I first met him at my coworker's friend's house,  he hid and we had to lure him out. As soon as I saw him, I saw his injured tail. There was a bald spot about 3/4 down his tail. It never grew back and became a character trait of our Simba.  We immediately took him to the vet, who wasn't too concerned about his tail. We got him his shots, chipped, neutered and took him home.

During the last year and a half he had his ups and downs with our crazy pet family.  Peanut, who thinks he's king of the house, capitalized on Simba's fears to "keep him in his place".  If Simba felt brave enough, he would try to stand his ground.

And as nervous as he was, Simba would still socialize at times and always ate with the rest of the cats.

He was a loving cat. As soon as you would pet him he would purr a very loud pur. Sometimes he was able to hiss at another cat and go right back to purring and being pet. Often times we could redirect him and his fears by giving him some petting time.

We take comfort in knowing that as rough as his life was, he got to enjoy a happy home for his remaining time here.  We are confident that since his crossing over the Rainbow Bridge on October 17th, that he is in a happier place and never has to hide again.  Till we meet again, dear Simba!

Luna: Our Newest Member

Luna is the newest member of the family. When she came to us a couple of weeks ago she was between just 3-4 weeks old. My husband's boss brought her into work  after the litter was attacked by a fox. Luna was the only survivor and  Kevin (my husband) immediately wanted to take her in.

She has been ambitious from the start. She wanted nothing to do with a bottle and quickly learned how to lap up her fluids. She has been watching the other cats, especially Oreo who seemed to have taken on the role of Surrogate Mother.

The above picture was Oreo with Luna the first night. The other cats took a few days to warm up to her. Izzy, who has been used to being the center of attention, had a particularly rough couple of days before accepting Luna. In fact, whenever she thought nobody was watching, I would catch Izzy grooming her. 

It has been a few weeks now and Luna is adjusting well. She is a growing bundle of energy that will light up anyone's day. 

Welcome to the family, Luna

Introduction

Welcome to Pet Muses! I'm Jen Imlay and this blog is about my family's many pets. I plan do do some book reviews on pets and animals as well , so be sure to check back for that. We have 5 cats and a dog (yes, you read that right. That wasn't a typo. We have 5 cats.)
 With all these characters, there's always something interesting going on around here. Today, though, we'll focus on introductions so that you get to know these guys.

First is Scooby. He is a 10 year old black Rat-Cha mix (Rat Terrier/Chihuahua). Hi favorite things to do include sleeping, eating, cuddling and playing with the cats. He interacts with them all the time. I think he's picking up habits from them. For instance, I am pretty sure I caught him washing his face the way cats do (licking his paws and wiping his face.) We have a very shy cat (Simba  - more about him later) who Scooby thinks is fun to chase. He's a good companion though and will always cuddle up with you on the couch.

Next we have Peanut, one of our orange and white cats. He loves running outside as soon as someone opens the front door. Just a few minutes of fresh air, the grass and concrete makes his day. He will also follow us when we go downstairs to let Scooby outside. Many times they go out back together for a short time. Peanut can be quirky. Sometimes he's in a "You-all-annoy-me-don't-bother-me" mood. Other times he will cling to you to get his "kitty hug".  And every once in a while he feels the need to let Simba know that Peanut is in charge. (As if that poor cat would dethrone him anyway)

Then in comes Izzy and Oreo. We went to the humane center to look into adopting another cat. When we got there, the center was having a "clear the shelter" event. If you bought a kitten they would give you one free along with the first 30 days of medical care/pet insurance, We instantly fell in love with Izzy, a calico kitten, and her crate mate Oreo who was a black and white kitten. We didn't intend on bringing 2 home, but that's what happened We were nervous about how Peanut might react to the new kittens, but he was instantly intrigued. Before we brought them home he was "grumpy" pretty often. But after we brought them home, he began to play more and was much happier.  I never would have predicted that based on Peanut's previous behavior.

About a month later, a friend posts on Facebook about an orange and white cat who needed a home. Shelters couldn't take him and nobody else could. His tail was injured - it was missing hair in the middle of it. Some hair grew back, but not all. We took him in, and named him Simba.
Simba is a very nervous cat. He hides from sudden movements and noises. At the same time, he loves to be pet and played with. Its as if he craves human interaction.

After we adopted Simba, we promised ourselves that our pet family was beyond complete.  That changed October  2, 2017.  My husband Kevin sent me a text when he got to work.  All it said was "New Addition" and had this photo

It turns out Luna, this very young kitten,  was found that morning after a fox attacked her mother and the rest of her litter. She was the only one left. I knew she was family the minute I saw her picture. Welcome the the family Luna!

Now that you have a basic introduction to these animals, I'll be sharing stories about them all. Stay tuned. If you like my posts, please be sure to subscribe, comment and share!