Settling In

It has been three weeks since Foster Cat Tilapia came to live with us, but it already feels like she's part of the family.

We learned from the shelter that at Tilapia's intake examination our petite little lady (all of seven pounds) was determined to be somewhere between 1 1/2 and 3 years old. She was pregnant at the time, and that may not have been her first litter. As foster caregivers, Hubby Tony and I are treating her so she learns how to be a cat-cat, rather than a mama-cat.

Tilapia started out so scared she spent most of the time under our bed, to only occasionally heading there. For a while she would stop and chase her tail for about 30 seconds before resuming whatever she was doing. When I checked her tail there didn't appear to be any type of sore, and I wondered if she was reverting to kitten play.

In the afternoon we can find Tilapia curled up in a patch of sun in the bedroom. For the past several nights she's joined us on the bed, but not until she thinks we're asleep. She's not a fan of wand toys, but she'll occasionally bat around a small stuffed mice. However, just like a young child who often prefers real-world items to purchased toys, her favorite thing to play with is a decorative toilet bolt cover from my bathroom.

Five years ago: And Then There Were Five....