After losing our dear cat, Sydney in early December we sorely missed the presence of a furball in our home...so...I trotted down to CAT (The Cat Adopotion Team) and adopted a sweet kitten, originally named Hickory. I thought I would share the story of our meeting... Upon walking into the Kitten Room of the shelter, one could NOT miss the tiny white and black kitty desperately scaling the walls of his cage, while meowing with all his might!

"Oh boy"  I thought, "That one looks like trouble!"

I gave him a finger pat on the head and moved on to the sleepy, quiet kittens.

"Meeeooooooow!!! Meeeeeooooow!!!!"

Hickory was hard to ignore. I couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy. I put my finger between the bars and he grabbed on with both tiny paws, bringing it to his face. A loud purr began. Cute. Very cute.

But..... I withdrew my hand and went back to looking at the more mellow cats.

CLANG! BANG!

Hickory had once again climbed the sides of the cage, but this time he had knocked over his metal water bowl.

"MEEEEEOOOOOWWWW!!!!" he yelled at me, like it was my fault.

Okay! Okay! I told the adoption consultant that I would visit one on one with Hickory in the "meeting" room. Once in my arms he scrambled up to my neck , gave me a few head butts and curled up under my chin. He sounded like a little engine with that purr!

Smiling like a fool, I carried him into the room and sat cross-legged on the floor. He unfurled himself, jumped from my arms, pounced on an invisible speck on the ground, ran circles around the room, leaped over a chair and then hopped back into my lap...head butted me again...and then off he went on his circuit of adventure around the room. Every few seconds he would check back in with me, head butt, purr and then back to his kitten antics. He put on quite a show. I found myself laughing out loud. I liked this little guy. Trouble...yeah maybe, but he looked confident and playful, perfect for dealing with a four-year old. Dear old Syd, had been terrified of Grace and we rarely saw her during the day.

For good measure, I visited with three or four other kittens but while they were all adorable, they didn't have the personality that Hickory did.

Half an hour later, I was driving home with him. His eyes closed, purring with contentment. He had gotten his way.

Hickory, now renamed Toby, has made an amazing addition to the family. He is so sweet and loving. Playful and patient with Grace (and all the neighborhood kids who visited him). We couldn't be happier with our new little fur baby.  He had a blast with everyone over Christmas! Thought I would share some of the photos...

He loves to "help" Grace color...

He surely wasn't going to miss Christmas dinner...

and unwrapping presents was a highlight...as was scaling the Christmas tree...TOBY!!!!

The best part of having Toby in our life - Grace has a new best friend...

xo,