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So far so good…
A cautious Cat Détente seems to have been established in the Snook-Howard household. After sulking beneath the bed all day yesterday, Dr. Amy finally emerged to investigate the newcomer. They got within three feet of each other, with Amy hissing and trying to establish her dominance. Petey, to his credit, cowered and looked appropriately submissive. Amy then gave him the stink-eye and tried to look dignified as she stomped back to her sleeping place. And that’s pretty much where they’ve left it, with thankfully no fighting whatsoever. Personally, I think “annoyed tolerance” counts as a huge WIN considering it’s only Day 2. We’re taking Petey to the vet tomorrow to get his microchip put in. (The vet recommends against giving him “the snip” until he’s six months old, so he’s got a temporary reprive on that.)

As if one cat wasn’t enough… we brought home “Petey” (aka “PD” aka “Professor Death”) today. Yes, Snookums named him. He thinks “Dr. Jones and Professor Death” should be some kind of punk rock band.

We introduced him to Dr. Amy while he was still in the cat carrier. There was some interested sniffing on both parts before the inevitable hissing began. Since then he’s been confined to the laundry room, where we’ve set up his bed, litterbox, scratching post, and food bowl. Amy’s been sulking in the bedroom pretty much ever since. I talked to the vet this morning and she said it could take a couple weeks for them to get used to each other. (And if there are any bad issues, she can give us calming kitty pheromones to spray around the house.)

Fiona and the Sock Victim did a great job of socializing this little fella and his brothers for the past week. We were a little worried when we heard how smart Petey was. He managed to open their bathroom windows and escape multiple times! They warned that he was the most skittish too. Fortunately he seems to be warming up to us, and while he’s in his safe room he’s happy to have pats and scratches. (I made a video). My only worry is that he hasn’t used the litter box yet, but he’s been eating like a pig so I expect it’s just the stress of the new place. Dr. Amy did pretty much the same thing when we moved last year. Wish us luck!

Cuddling the cat while falling asleep + hypnagogic jerk = Kris looking like the Joker.

50 Kids Get a Wii for Christmas. I know my ovaries are just supposed to shrivel up in the face of such hysteria and avarice, but I actually thought that was kind of sweet. I’m sure that if my parents had had a videocamera in 1983 when I got my Cabbage Patch kid I would’ve looked just like this. (Also, judging by the amount of wrapping paper and boxes in those living rooms: what economic crisis?!)

We’re home! We made the trip back today in just over six hours. (There was a car accident that slowed the southbound traffic a little more than expected.) All up, I did nearly 800 miles of driving in the week! I’ve uploaded all our photos and videos, including our visit to Timbertown, our kisses from the dolphins at the Pet Porpoise Pool, and our lunch at the Pub With No Beer. (And ten points for anybody that guesses the background to this photo without clicking through to the caption. I’ve always wanted to stop there! UPDATE: Fiona correctly spotted that it was the big fake Uluru of the truck stop formerly known as Leyland Brothers World.) Many thanks to Ma and Pa Snook for putting us up for the week. And especially huge thanks to Miss Helen for housesitting and taking care of the cat. It’s nice to be home…

Hahaha… a Christmas-themed passive-aggressive note from Newtown! (I know a couple people who very well could’ve written that.)