Melody

Here is a story for you! We went to Dr. Shawn's to hang out one night and Makayla cried for the next three days about how badly she wanted a cat. Pete and I discussed it. Kayla tested allergic to cat at the same time she tested positive to eggs. Since then we now feed her eggs and she does not have a problem, so I thought hum... her reaction was less to cat than egg and she handles eggs okay so maybe? Pete too seems to be allergic to cats, however I have tested him myself in the past and he did not have a positve skin reaction.?. I talked to the allergy nurse at work and she said she would skin test the two of them if we wanted. So Pete and I discussed it. I too am allergic but grew up with pets and also kind of wanted a cat. I thought if we did get one it would be best to get one as early in life as possible, like the kitten being six weeks old or so. A co-worker was looking on the computer and found an ad: Urgent help please, momma kitty died last night, four 7 day old kittens need lots of attention and love. I seriously thought the ad was placed the week before and I sent a note. In fact it had been placed that morning and she got 41 responses to it. We had been selected for one of the kittens. Pete and I discussed it. He had a ton on his work plate that day and said I need the day to think about it. I said well we have to tell her in 20 minutes. I called back 20 minutes later and got a very reluctant do what you want. He came home in time for me and Maggie to go get Kayla and head to the kitties house. We went in and they had like 6 cats, 2 dogs, 4 fish tanks, and equal number of ashtrays. The girls were facinated with all the animals and then the lady showed them the kittens in a basket now 9 days old. Kayla asked if she could hold one and the lady said well here honey hold your kitty. Kayla responded oh no my daddy would never let me get a kitty! I looked at Kayla and said no daddy and I discussed it and we are going to try it. She about melted into a pile of tears of joy. Maggie was a bit confused about it all however because Kayla was happy so was she. So this top picture is the day we got her home. She was 5.25 ounces big and kind of a mess. I sat the girls down and explained how fragile she was and that she only had a 40% chance of survival. After a lot of phone calls and internet reading we began caring for our precious cargo. She required every 2 to 3 hour feedings among other mommy kitty things. All we could do was our best and wait and see. She remained nameless till Mother's Day. In the car on the way home Maggie immediately said we should call her Melody. I asked why and the name comes from Barbie and the Diamond Castle movie, Melody is the dark haired princess in the mirror. We tossed around a lot of names, I even suggested the black princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog as she is black. The girls responded "she is not black, she has brown skin! we cannot name our black kitty after a brown princess." okay I will not argue. I really did not want another M name in this house but Melody is the name that has stuck. Melody has gone to work with me everyday and has become the office cat. Everyone is in love with her. She only has a few days left of going in with me and then she should be big enough to stay home. She will be dearly missed by many at my work! I think she may end up with visitors at the house. We have agreed as a family to raise her to the best of our ability until she is 12 weeks and then we will evaluate how we are all coping and if things do not work out I have a few homes that want her. She met Pete's mom and my mom, though they certainly are not happy about a cat addition they did very well with her over the weekend. I am proud to say that last night the scale read 16.25 ounces! She is doing great, this weeks challenge is litter training and weaning from the bottle.

Here the silly little thing is all sprawled out and comfy with Pete. She really is a sweet kitty.

A comparison picture to the first day home, only this time she was not into sitting still! 16 ounces and 18 days later makes a big difference. The kids absolutely love her and she is very tolerant of their attention. Now that the grandparents know her photo may show up more often. It has been a busy two and half weeks but she is almost self sufficent and soon will be.