On Wednesday (11/23) I adopted a kitten from the local Humane Society. I knew he was the one for me when I walked into the “Cat Hotel” enclosure. Everyone who entered that area was magnetically drawn to him. It was hard not to, as his purr was loud enough to hear through the door. He was begging “Please adopt me!” I thought for sure he was going to get snatched up before my adopter pager went off. I guess it was my lucky day. Or maybe “our” lucky day as we got each other.

Chip waiting to be taken out of his enclosure

His shelter name was “Chip” – he’s a 4 month old “blue” tabby cat. I decided Thanksgiving weekend was a good weekend to adopt because I’d have extra time to break him in to his new home, and to his new companion, my adult female cat “Stella” who lost her companion of all her 12 years, my cat Henry who, at 17 years old, had to go off to the Rainbow Bridge this past September.

Chip's Shelter ad

Amazingly, Chip was quiet the entire ride home. No moaning in the cat carrier, no pacing. He just chilled out.

Chillin' on the ride to my forever home!

When I got him home, I let Stella smell his carrier, which was going against all the stuff I read about bringing two stranger cats together. This time around I decided to do it right, in other words, read up on it to find out the best way to do things, rather than just throwing them together. Stella is a rather moody cat, and considering she lost her pal two months ago, I didn’t want to make it too tough on her. Anyway – she hissed like crazy at him so I quickly took him into my bedroom, his “Sanctuary”, to let him get used to his new home.

Bodhi relaxing in his sanctuary - first day home!

He’s ridiculously cute – purrs like mad whenever I come in to check on him. Stella is not sure what to make of him. The few times since Wednesday that I let her either peek in the door or brought him out near her she hissed like mad. I even tried taking her into the bedroom and same result – hissing like mad. However, twice today I simply let him out into the rest of the apartment while she sat on the couch and she didn’t hiss. She just watched him run amok. I think I’m on to something. I’ll keep them segregated for awhile though, especially while I’m not home, at least until I see her not get riled up when he gets close to her.

Oh – and his name isn’t Chip anymore. I landed on “Bodhi” – it just hit me when I ran through a list of names. I guess it was the right one because it stuck. It’s a tribute to my affection for Buddhism though I know there is a lot behind the name. I’ve taken to calling him Bodhi Ninja since he likes to pounce out at my feet when I least expect it. Thank goodness I got a collar with a bell on it – so I have a little advance warning. He’s still pretty good at the sneak attack pounce…

-JustAimer