There's a New Cat in Town!

It's been really nice to hear from so many of you who have missed this little blog while I took an unplanned, extended break.  I've been away from home a lot in the past few months - visiting with family, attending Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge and AQS in Paducah, with a couple of quilting retreats thrown in for good measure.  All in all, good things but they didn't leave time for blogging.

However, this little charmer is one of the main reasons for my blogging absence .... meet Rocky!

As many of you will remember, we lost our sweet Gypsy a year and a half ago, and decided to take a while to just be the two of us before thinking about adding another cat to the family.  Because of her age (18-1/2), Gypsy had lots of health issues which required that at least one of us be at home to care for her daily, so travel or vacations were just not possible the last five years she was with us.  We weren't looking for another kitty, not even close .... but I ask you, how could I resist this little guy?

First cuddle!
See the snow on the ground?

Rocky stole my heart in early April when I went to visit my mom in the NC mountains.  He had a home down the road from them, but mostly chose to live outdoors.  Several months earlier, smart kitty that he is, he decided that he wanted to be Mom's kitty - probably because he was jealous of their cat, Gus, who pretty much gets treated royally like the King he is.  He had taken to sitting on their doorstep and begging to come in every time they opened the door.  But they couldn't let him in because Gus had already made it clear that he would not accept another cat in the house.  They were terribly worried about him because quite a few cats had begun disappearing from the area - taken by coyotes.  His mom and at least a couple of his siblings had already met that terrible fate.

That look on his face .... "Yep, she's mine!"
(And look at that totally adorable dirty little nose!)

I took one look at him and thought he was simply adorable.  Definitely too cute to become coyote fodder!!!  My defenses were broken down further when I picked him up and he began to purr happily and curled himself up contentedly in my arms.  Since he was primarily an outdoor cat, he still had his thick, furry winter coat - the first night I was there it snowed! - and felt like a cuddly teddy bear.  He was also dirty and covered in fleas and ear mites, and had an open abscess the size of a quarter behind one ear where he had been defending his territory.  He was a typical 3-year-old tomcat, and not even close to what I would ordinarily have chosen for our next kitty.  I resisted.  I really did.  At least the first day.

After that, I was a goner.  My poor husband was so understanding.  Even though he really wasn't ready for a new cat, he told me to bring him home if I really wanted him.  He said he was surprised it had taken me this long to fall in love with one.  He knows me pretty well, doesn't he?

Rocky has adjusted to being an indoor kitty much more easily than I thought he would

So I brought this little mountain kitty home, pretty much put him through torture at the vet's office the first couple of days, and then we began to think of names for him.  We really had a hard time coming up with a name for him - something that fit him perfectly that we both liked.

See those super sharp claws?
Yep, we had to clip them pretty quickly!

My first choice was Dickens, because he is so fun-loving and precocious, and I loved the connection to my love of reading.  But no one else liked it.  I suggested Teddy because of his fat little chipmunk cheeks (Theodore of Alvin & the Chipmunks!) and his soft pelt, but my husband said he needed a more dignified name.  Around and around we went with no name really working for us.  We tried to think of something that would harken back to his NC mountain roots, but nothing seemed to be that just-right name.  Finally I declared enough was enough and named him Dickens.

For three whole days, he was Dickens.  Until I decided to look up the name "Dickens" to see what it means and where it comes from.  And learned that it is another name for the devil!!!  Whoa Nelly!!!!  No way was I going to be calling the devil's name every time I called my sweet cat!  I went running downstairs and told my husband, "That's it.  We have to change his name!"  He laughed when I told him why, but agreed that it had to go, especially since he had never liked it to begin with.  But we were back to square one.

How could such a sweet little guy have such a wicked name?  No way!

Later in the day, My Guy said it was hard for him to think of names because the little guy was still very shy of him and had not had a lot to do with him.  He hadn't had a chance to get to know his personality.  I said he hadn't survived for 3 years in coyote-infested mountains without being cautious and he would learn to trust him.  I said, "He's a survivor and deserves a strong name."  Immediately, my husband said, "Rocky!"  Because the band Survivor sang Eye of the Tiger as the theme song for the Rocky movie.  We both knew right away that it was the right name, even if it was for a convoluted reason LOL!  And to top it off, the road that leads to my mom's house is called Rocky Lane.

Did you want to use my iPad this morning, Mom?  I'm a little busy here ....

It has been an adventure incorporating little Rocky into our home!  He's a ball of energy and I have had to practically child-proof our home!  He's learning not to claw the furniture, not to pull pins from the pincushion, not to wake me up at 5 in the morning to play ... well, we're still working on that one!  Thankfully he had been trained to a litter box as a kitten and picked up that habit quickly!

Nope!  Not writing in your notebook this morning!
I think I'm going to have to confiscate this here pencil.....

He pretty much believes that anything that takes my attention away from him should be destroyed, or at least pushed out of the way.  In typical cat fashion, he immediately lays on top of my iPad, computer keyboard, organizer - anything that keeps me from holding or petting him!

Whatcha doin' Mom?

But he loves being a Quilter's kitty!

He always seems to decide that this is the most comfortable chair in the house when I'm ready to sew....

And he found this quilt on the back of the sofa his first day with us!

Does he look content, or what?  

Then, a few days later he discovered my favorite blue-and-white Pineapple Blossom on the recliner in the studio and made himself at home....

I have so many photos of Gypsy sitting on this same quilt - such bittersweet memories!

Gypsy - taken during her last year with us.
(Can you tell from her expression that she wasn't quite as "sweet" as Rocky? LOL!)

Then yesterday, I laid my Montego Bay quilt on the sewing table while I cut strips for binding it.  When I came back to the table to sew the strips on, this is what I saw....

So hopefully I'll get that binding on today.  I need to take it to my guild meeting on Tuesday as my monthly UFO Challenge project.  As I'm typing this post, he's back on the quilt this morning, watching me calmly and sending me telepathic messages about my chances of reclaiming "his" quilt.

What do you think of my chances of getting this quilt bound by Tuesday?
Yeh, me neither =^..^=

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=