We’ve come a long way over the last several weeks since we fell in love at the SPCA, Sora-chan. Or at least when your new humans fell in love with you.
Thanks for the cuddle a few minutes ago. . . Goodnight.
Category Archives: Pets
Sora and Midori Hanging Out in the Sun
A lovely day to sit with a friend by the balcony :-).
Lunch Guest
Sora-chan is getting bolder. She now seeks us out for play, is starting to just hang with us, and today she joined me for lunch :-).
No, I Don’t Want Eye Drops!
Little rescue Sora still needs drops twice a day, and she knows every time what’s coming, no matter how we try to distract her or sneak it into another routine.
We hate chasing her down, and she’s hissed a few times. But so far she hasn’t scratched or bitten, and once bagged, she cuddles and hides her head.
At least she doesn’t hold a grudge, and minutes later is happy chasing a feather on a string, her fave activity 
.
Photos by Yumi.
Damn I love this little kitty, and looking forward to earning her trust in all situations. . .
Sisters Sharing Sunlight
Came up for a breather from my basement office to find new rescue Sora-chan stretched out near her big sister Midori, sharing the sunlight. So cute!
Sora-chan continues to make progress. This is the first time I found her flaked out in the living room, a big move from her usual sleeping place under the bed : – ).
New Rescue Sora-Chan Accepts Us as Family!
Final Sora-chan progress report for the day. First ever cuddle for our gradually warming new rescue! Lasted about five seconds, but we all sat on the living-room floor together, and she went round and round us, rubbing her head and chin on hands, feet, knees.
We’re marked now, and family for life. Thank you, Sora.
New Kitty Still Hiding, But Play Brings Her Out
When new kitty is still hiding, it’s time to go fishing 
After half an hour of play, dunno who is more tired, me or her, but I know damn well she’ll be raring to go again soon!
Got a bite!
Mmm, yummy fake feathers. . . ?
Good way to get her on the cat tree — she still hasn’t been bold enough to try it on her own. Now she knows where it is, and is eyeing it appreciatively though it’s still too exposed for her comfort.
Look out, Yumi’s heron is going to get you!
Welcoming New Kitty Into Family
We picked up Binky, a fixed 10-month-old female from the Vancouver SPCA today. We fell in love with her on a visit yesterday.
She’s a lovely grey, and we’re still debating what to call her. One option was Goma-chan, goma being Japanese for sesame, since her fur has that grey-blue sheen of ground black sesame seeds.
Another possibility is Sora-chan, or Sky.
“Chan” in both cases is a diminutive used in Japanese for children and close family, usually by seniors to juniors.
We’re leaning toward Sora-chan as it sounds softer.
Anyway, poor Binky/Goma/Sora is still freaked out after about six hours at our place. We were warned she was very shy, and while she was friendly and accepting to us in the shelter yesterday, I guess the trip and new surroundings frightened her.
Sounds like she’s had a trying life, passing through several SPCA shelters across BC before we scooped her.
We’re letting her be, not trying to pursue her or pick her up, and just letting her get used to us, and our home.
To give her time and space to acclimatize, we initially left her in the downstairs bathroom where her litter is, and even in there she kept trying to hide whenever we’d gently check on her, even disappearing into the washing machine. Yikes!
Eventually she made it upstairs on her own, and poked her head into the living room, saw us, and slunk off into the kitchen where she squeezed in between a buffet and a corner wall for an hour or two.
Now she’s hiding under my computer desk in my office, and I’m quietly talking to her as I write this post.
We know she’ll come around, but are admittedly a bit taken aback at how frightened she got.
Take your time Sora-chan. We know you’ll warm up and become a welcome addition to the family.
NOTE: I’ve been careful to take these photos as non-threateningly as possible, and closeups are with a telephoto.
Can’t see me!
Where are you? Oh!
Look at this beauty. . .
Made it up the stairs and into the kitchen on her own steam, but slunk off behind a buffet as soon as she saw that we saw her.
Didn’t want to come out, but enjoyed chin scratches back there, with no meowing, or hissing. There was even a bit of purring.
This is a big step for us, we mourned the passing of our dear Choco nearly six months ago for a long time. But we’re elated to have a new kitty in the house, and look forward to years of burgeoning love and affection.
Midori Visits Victoria
Midori visiting Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. We took her with us for the long weekend. She’s actually a great traveler, despite what turtle books say about changes of scene causing stress. She loves looking out the window when the car is moving. Dunno what the heck she sees. . .
NOTE: We’ve had ‘Dori for nearly 25 years, and we do not recommend turtles as pets. They require care and attention like any living thing, and because she’s a wild animal and not native to BC, we have permits from the government.
Yeah, I know, invasive red-eared sliders are all over the place, and that’s precisely the point. Either you take care of it for 25+ years, or don’t get one and then dump it, eh?
Making Friends in Edinburgh
This gorgeous cat greeted us in Edinburgh several times. We began looking forward to seeing it, and were disappointed if we didn’t encounter it heading out to, or coming back from, our explorations.
