Our cat, Miranda, is home! When we first welcomed Miranda into our family as a nine month old kitten back in 2002, she was terrified and hid behind a big dresser for several days. She was very slow to accept her new surroundings. Then for the next seven years she never left the house except for a yearly (more or less) trip to the vet. Miranda does not care for the vet or to leave the house. Whenever we went out of town we would always have a neighbor come in and check on her and make sure she had enough food and water. When we would return home she would make sure we knew she was annoyed with us for leaving her. But she would not be able to resist our charms for very long.
When we went to Poland, Miranda spent those 10 months with our friends who live here in Olathe. Ginny is a cat lover, sometimes referred to by her family as the "cat whisperer."
Her family has two cats and a dog of their own. She graciously volunteered to foster Miranda while we were bouncing all over Europe. It was so wonderful for us to know that Miranda was loved and well taken care of while we were gone. Ginny emailed pictures of Miranda to us from time to time while we were gone. We can't thank Ginny and her family enough for taking such good care of our kitty.
When we dropped Miranda off at their house last August she was very stressed. She hid behind their bed for about a day before she ventured out. Miranda is a ponderer. She observes for a long time before she even considers engaging. According to Ginny, she eventually adapted and enjoyed, even sometimes initiated play with the other cats. One of her new friends, Olive, was a bit standoffish to Miranda. So Miranda interacted with and played mostly with the other cat, Thor. I understand that they each took turns instigating mischief. Thor was very curious and concerned as we put Miranda in the pet carrier and took her away.
Ginny told me that Miranda tolerated Snowball the dog, but that's about it. That is the same way that I would describe the relationship Miranda used to have with our dog, Ginger. We put Ginger up for adoption last summer and she is permanently living with a family in Memphis, Tennessee.
I did not know how Miranda would react to seeing us. Myles was so jet lagged that he stayed home. Ben wanted to go with me to visit with Ginny's son, Ross. Ben and Ross played together on the same baseball team for a couple of years. Miranda did not come downstairs to greet us. Ginny brought her down and Miranda let me hold her. She is not a cat who likes to be held much so I was very pleasantly surprised about that. She did not seem nervous or worried, so I think she remembered us. On our way to our home from Miranda's temporary home last night, she had a lot to say. She was not one bit pleased to be in a pet carrier and made ugly and insulting comments to us during the entire ride.
When we arrived home I let her out of the carrier. Myles picked her up and reminded her where we keep her food and litter box. She did not fight him when he picked her up. She was most definitely mad, and she spent about 30 minutes hiding between the sofa and a table.
But after a very short time she started walking around just like she normally does. She seems to remember this home and very quickly started acting like she was comfortable here. I'm sure she will miss her animal buddies that she made this past year. And no, we will not be adding any new pets to our family anytime in the foreseeable future.
Step by step we are returning to the life we left. Next we are going to pick up the new van!
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