Miss Muffin

[the_mother_thing]

Today was 'the day' ... we brought Miss Muffin home!

She was a bit skittish at first (to be expected of course), and hid under the guest room bed for awhile, but after a few hours and me popping in every hour to check on her, she came out and with the assistance of the red laser light that her foster moms sent home with her (because she loved playing with it) she found her food, water and litter box. And she seems quite fond of her cat tree that lets her look outside. Her foster moms also gave me a few of her toys and a blanket that has her former-home scent to help her feel comfortable and have some familiarity when she got here to her new home.

A couple pics from 'Day 1'.

 

[AGBF]

Oh, Jenn! She looks happy in her new new bed and in her new house! How beautiful she is! You must be over the moon! Give her a gentle hug from me!!!

Deb

 

[stracci2000]

Oh! She is such a beauty!!

 

[bunnycat]

Pinto: I am so sorry to read of your recent loss. I so understand your pain, as you know. ((hugs))

Thanks much to everyone for the kind comments. And I promise that I will share TONS of pics once she is home and settled. I am so excited to bring her home, it's almost reminiscent of when I was 'nesting' while preggers with DD, only this 'delivery' won't require a visit to the hospital & recovery.

Please, if anyone has ideas to help ensure a smooth transition, feel free to share them. My hope & goal is to minimize the shock of so much change for Miss Muffin as much as possible, as she has had a bit of a 'bumping around' as a rescue.

We took in a rescue cat that my son first took in but could not keep because it did not get along with their dog.

Give her a safe space to call her own with her cat tower, toys, scratching post. Show her where the litter box is.

And then left her adjust on her terms. We let mittens explore by opening up more space to him each day so that he could scope out the whole house one room at a time and feel safe and not overwhelmed.

Then I would just sit there and bat a toy or offer a favorite treat. I did not approach him, but waited for him to come to me.

Then we started playing and snacking, and now he is my shadow and cuddle bug.

That's what I would do with her.

Since she's an adult rather than a kitten, you might let her "play it by ear" and see what her preferences are. If she's shy, she may need a quiet spot to call her own til she's more confident. Or, she may just dive right in, but I'd let her guide you to her preferences and be prepared for either/or or a combination.

She's so beautiful! I love long hair kitties. I have a short legged long hair one also. She's not a good jumper because of her legs (unlike #mommyslittlemonsters the bengals), so I have a bench at the end of the bed to help her have an extra step up.

 

[arkieb1]

She is such a gorgeous cat!!!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Thanks ya'll! I am snuggling in the guest bedroom with her right now, and she sure is a kneading, cuddling somebody!

I will say that it broke my heart a bit today leaving the meeting place with her, as her foster moms both had lots of tears flowing today. They've really cared for and loved her so much. I promised them I'd send daily updates & pics of her while she acclimates, and invited them to stop in for a visit anytime.

I don't know I could ever run a foster/rescue because I know I'd end up keeping them all, and being the crazy cat lady.

 

[Kbell]

Awwwww she's so pretty! I'm sure she'll be at home in no time!

 

[the_mother_thing]

She sure was a cuddle bug with a strong purr-motor last night. And girlfriend LOVES to 'make biscuits' (knead).

 

[chrono]

Love the pics. Wish I can squeeze her to bits!

 

[AGBF]

Darling kitty. And you deserve her, Jenn. You made the lifetime commitment to care for her. We all want to snuggle with her and pet her. Her foster mothers devoted time to her and loved her as their circumstances allowed. (Bless them.) But you are giving her her forever home. You are being her mom.

Big hugs,
(((Jenn)))
Deb

 

[the_mother_thing]

Thank you all! She is quite a beauty!

Deb: the reason I felt bad was because she'd been with her foster moms for almost 2 years. Muffin doesn't 'show' well due to her shyness, so anyone who might give her a home has to take a leap of faith, which we were willing to do. But that is a long time to be in foster, so naturally they were pretty attached to her. I do hope they will pop by to visit her sometime, as I made it abundantly clear they were welcome anytime.

In other news, she just had a bit of an adventure. When I went to go out of the guest room from a routine check/visit with her, she was feeling brave and curious I guess and scurried past me out the guest room door. Donut came down the steps, and chased her out to the family room, where Muffin demonstrated her amazing aeronautical & acrobatic abilities, then found a corner to take shelter from the dogs. She let me scoop her up and take her back to her safe room, where she is currently back under the bed.

Just before then, she was feeling photogenic, so here are a few more pictures.

 

[ksinger]

I adore our sweet goofy lab, but I am a cat person first and foremost. And....KITTY!!!

She's gorgeous and fluffy (my favorite!), and I'm jealous, because my chances of a cat before our lab passes, are pretty slim, for many reasons. Sigh...

It looks like she's happily on her way to becoming "The Boss of This Place". The last cat I had - a retired show cat (Birman) - took a whole month to quit hiding and get acclimated. When she finally figured out everything was OK, she became a bossy diva. Adored her of course, as humans are supposed to do, right?

OK, back to looking at your pics.

 

[the_mother_thing]

She reminds me of a woolly bear.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Me lufvs

cheers--Sharon

 

[Matata]

She is beautiful from the tips of her ears to the tip of her tail. I have a sot spot for torties. Oh, and I've more than 1 vet tell me that in all their years in practice, tortie females have been the biggest divas.

 

[tyty333]

Ah sweet! I love her markings...so pretty. Just a matter of tIeME AND SHE'LL FEEL RIGHT AT HOME. mY cAT keeps putting his head
on my keyboard and turning the caps lock on...he can be such a pain!`````````````````````````````````

The " `" above is my cat Taz saying Hi! to Miss Muffin!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Just a few new pics of Miss Thang. She really loves her cat tree! I placed a shepherd's hook with a bird feeder in front of her favorite window. Also, we began inducing her to the dogs this past week.

Those eyes ...


Kisses for Nugget


She LOVES her belly being rubbed!


Being a busybody and watching for birds & squirrels.

 

[the_mother_thing]

She is beautiful from the tips of her ears to the tip of her tail. I have a sot spot for torties. Oh, and I've more than 1 vet tell me that in all their years in practice, tortie females have been the biggest divas.

Thank you! I would say those vets are 100% spot on! She IS a diva!

Ah sweet! I love her markings...so pretty. Just a matter of tIeME AND SHE'LL FEEL RIGHT AT HOME. mY cAT keeps putting his head
on my keyboard and turning the caps lock on...he can be such a pain!`````````````````````````````````

The " `" above is my cat Taz saying Hi! to Miss Muffin!

Thank you! Muffin likes to head-butt my tablet when I am on it; cats are the law-makers in most households, and that includes when we humans can be on the computer.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Omg! She is so pretty, love long haired cats. Torties definitely have their own attitude (I have one). She is a beauty!

 

[Puppmom]

What a beauty! I'm so glad it's going well!

 

[lovedogs]

Fun experience I had with a neighbors cat recently that I thought you all might understand better than I do (reminded of it from the headbutt comments). I pet the cat for a while, and he enjoyed head butting my hands and body. He licked my hand, and when I put my face closer he gave what I think was a "love bite"? It was a soft nibble/bite on my cheek before continuing to headbutt me. Is that a normal cat thing? Cats confuse me But it was sweet at the same time.

 

[tyty333]

lovedogs - that is a normal cat thing...that cat really likes you!

 

[lovedogs]

Thanks for translating "cat" for me @tyty333 !! I think the cat is adorable, but sadly DH is horribly allergic so I can't bring the cutie pie inside and feed him yummy cat treats

 

[siamese3]

Wow, she really is a beauty.. she just has snuggly sweetness oozing from her. I had a "headbutter" and loved it! Also an American longhair that was a crazy "bread maker" Beautiful photos and she looks so happy. I hope it is the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship.

 

[december-fire]

Oh, Miss Muffin is adorable!

 

[MJ_Mac]

Miss Muffin is a beauty. I love her facial markerings. I know she's a tortoiseshell but is she technically a chimera tortie?

 

[DAF]

Miss Muffin is a beauty. I love her facial markerings. I know she's a tortoiseshell but is she technically a chimera tortie?

I was thinking chimera,too. I love it, loos like two kitties put together, but it freaks out DF.

 

[PintoBean]

Fun experience I had with a neighbors cat recently that I thought you all might understand better than I do (reminded of it from the headbutt comments). I pet the cat for a while, and he enjoyed head butting my hands and body. He licked my hand, and when I put my face closer he gave what I think was a "love bite"? It was a soft nibble/bite on my cheek before continuing to headbutt me. Is that a normal cat thing? Cats confuse me But it was sweet at the same time.

It means you're delicious!

 

[PintoBean]

I love two faced kitties! I love all the pictures of Miss Muffin - I've never seen a long haired torture before and she looks like the floofiest softesf prettiest little thing!

We have a new tortie addition ourselves, but she's a different flavor . She's hella cute but between the two face, the big bug eyes, the head tilt, the extra toesies, her learning to run and leap and strengthen her splaying legs, she's quite goofy looking lolol but hella cute. We should start a show me your tortie/tortie tales thread! I can attest that this little bugger def is a diva!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Miss Muffin is a beauty. I love her facial markerings. I know she's a tortoiseshell but is she technically a chimera tortie?

I was thinking chimera,too. I love it, loos like two kitties put together, but it freaks out DF.

I'd not heard of chimera in cats until you mentioned it. I really don't know if she is or not. Based on reading, it seems the only way to know for sure is a DNA test. Are there other non-tests that would indicate such?