Cody the Kitten

I think I mentioned this in my blog about my full week at home recently, but Hannah got a new kitten. In March, shortly after getting home from my birthday trip and then a business trip to Utah, Miss had to put down her beloved cat, Jasper. It was a really tough time, and Miss needed some time before she was ready to bring another cat into the house. Here's a shot of Hannah with Jasper.

Well, Miss felt that the time had come, so we headed to the Wayne County Humane Society in Wooster, where they had a large supply of kittens. We spent about 45 minutes playing with cats, and Hannah seemed to enjoy all of them. One in particular seemed to catch her eye. She said, "I wish I could have that one." We were concerned because the cat was very small - we wondered if Hannah didn't realize the kitten would grow bigger. We played around some more and went back to the first cat. When we'd gotten that kitten out, he didn't play much; he just sat there. We did some more talking and thinking, questioning Hannah to be sure she really wanted that kitten. Well, she did, so we opted to bring him home!

The timing was a bit rough. Selfishly, I wanted to be there to be a part of the experience, and I also wanted the kitten to get used to Oliver from the get-go. That meant, based on the Humane Society's hours, that we had to go the Saturday we had Grandma's birthday party. That was all well and good until Hannah had to be separated from the kitten, which she was no fan of. Pair that with the lack of a nap, and that made for a terrible start to the party (well, for me anyway, since I volunteered to be on discipline duty - Hannah was screaming, literally tearing up her room, not listening, etc.). She finally surrendered to sleep - much to her displeasure about missing the start of the party - but woke up a much happier and more cooperative child! It was hard to discipline her when I knew she was exhausted, and it wasn't easy to enforce the rule when I knew her little heart was breaking to be missing the party, but she was in no shape to be around people trying to have a good time. It was a wise decision, but a tough one! It makes me realize that we can all be ugly at times, and God is faithful to love us through those ugly episodes.

When everyone left, it was time to get some pictures, so here you go!

Meet Cody! Hannah did a good job of holding him while Miss took care of the paperwork with the receptionist. For $10, Cody was an inexpensive gift that will bring a lot of love to Hannah's life, give her fun memories, and help her learn responsibility and kindness.

Hannah wasn't initially so good at holding Cody in gentle, life-preserving ways, as this picture demonstrates. At one point, she literally carried him to his litter pan by gripping him around the throat! Seeing that unfold felt like slow motion, and I panicked! It didn't help that Cody hung in her hand limply as she carried him by the neck. She's gotten much better about how she holds him.

Thankfully for Hannah, Cody is the most people-oriented cat I've ever encountered (and growing up on a farm with a dad, sister, and grandma who all loved cats, I've encountered a lot!). Cody seeks her out constantly; he'll follow her from room to room and, as pictured here, cuddles up next to her when he sleeps. Turns out the personality we saw when he was boringly sitting on the floor in the Humane Society was just him adjusting to us, I think. He's very playful and fun and affectionate.

Hannah loves him.

Either Cody was pretty upset here, or he wanted to block the light while he slept.

Remember how I said he's affectionate? He wants to sit on your chest all the time. It's nice... for a while. Then I get sick of him. I'm a dog person!

So, um, yeah. Notice anything unusual about this picture? A certain kitten being a very good sport about being Hannah's newest accessory? :)

She wasn't pinning him down, folks. He was purrin' away as he slept behind her on the chair.

Here's a list of places I didn't get pictures of her stowing him:

* in one of the rooms in her dollhouse

* in the drawers underneath her bed

* in her shopping cart

* in her closet

* in the bathroom

* behind the baby gate of any room she left him in while she wandered off to get a toy (she doesn't like him being away from her)

It's been pretty fun to see her with him. He's a wonderful kitten, and she's got a very nurturing spirit about her. Any time she accidentally kicks him as she walks or is too rough, she'll whisper in a hurried voice, "Oh, sowwy, sowwy!" She was even coaching her 9- and 11-year-old cousins on how to hold him so as not to hurt him (after carrying him around the neck hours before).

I'll leave you with a video of them in action.