I’d forgotten how tiring it is to be adopted by a new cat. The problem is trying to find a balance between spending time with the new kitty, so he can get used to us and learn to love us, AND paying enough attention to the other cats who don’t like what they smell and hear…

And also, as all cat lovers know, cats don’t like CLOSED DOORS. Peekaboo, perhaps our most curious cat, has really been trying to get inside the bedroom where Prezzemolo has been “segregated” since we got home yesterday afternoon. She scratches at the door (off and on) quite insistently and almost got in once, so we have to be super careful when entering or exiting the room. I don’t want any contact to take place between Prezzemolo and the others until the vet has given us the green, “he’s healthy!” light. 

Okay, so how did we get ourselves into this furry mess? 😉 Well, I’m a member of a Facebook group called “Adozione gattini Firenze,” which means “Kitty adoption Florence.” (It’s run by members of one of the famous Florentine cat shelters, located in Bagno a Ripoli, just outside of Florence.) It was there that I recently read the story of Amelia, a 2-month-old black kitten who had been adopted together with her little brother but then, shortly thereafter, was brought back to the cat shelter. Alone. The little brother stayed with his new family.

Well, Stefano and I were simply horrified. I mean, how can you keep one kitten but refuse the other? So we called the cat shelter and–through the lovely ladies who are in charge of it–the kitten’s new foster Mom. She and I chatted on the phone for some time. The problem with Amelia, it turns out, is that she is VERY shy and runs away from people. So her foster Mom and I thought that perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to plop her into a household with other five cats of which one, Pinga, is a bit on the aggressive side. Amelia didn’t need any new psychological traumas, in short.  

Then her foster Mom suggested another kitty for us. Another black kitty, as it turns out (this must be a good year for black cats!), who is a month or so older than Amelia and has a blind eye. The poor dear had developed an eye infection that hadn’t been treated in time (this happened before he was abandoned at the cat shelter, where his eyes were treated immediately), and that is how he lost sight in one eye. After hearing his sad story, we really wanted to adopt him, but there was a problem here, too. Basically, since our cats are all indoor cats, not even one of ’em is vaccinated, so we’d have put them at risk with this kitten. The cat shelter ladies were very open and honest with us about this, which I appreciated. Are you yawning yet? 😉

Well, the cat shelter ladies didn’t give up on us. They suggested we go see three 4-month-old kittens up at the cat shelter. Again, a sad story of abandonment. But the ladies were 100% certain that these kitties came from a home, which meant they wouldn’t bring any illnesses inside our no-vaccine house. And so yesterday afternoon we drove out to the cat shelter to have a look at the kittens: two little tigers and a black one. We decided to see which one would pick us…and it just so happened to be the one we liked the best, little Prezzemolo, who let Stefano pick him up, while his brother and sister hid underneath a piece of furniture. So he’s the one that came home with us. By the way, that’s how our vet chooses her dogs (or rather, is chosen by her dogs!): the one that jumps in the car is the one that goes home with her…

Stefano spent last night in my parents’ bedroom with Prezzemolo, and I slept in our bed with the other cats. Stefano and I don’t like to sleep apart, but this was for a good reason, of course. 

Prezzemolo is going to be a very handsome adult cat. He has gorgeous sleek fur. But right now he’s a baby that wants to play almost all the time. And so we play. That’s the best thing to do with a curious, growing, purring, happy kitten… 🙂

Update: I just read on FB that his brother and sister were adopted today. So happy for all of them! 🙂