Update from the cat!

Hello there everyone! Lots has been going on, but I thought I'd update you on a few things that have been happening here in my blog :)

The big news is that we got a new cat! Samantha is still alive and well, but last Saturday the 14th Hunter and I were down at the PetSmart getting fish supplies (did I tell you we also have a fish tank and a couple of fish, too?) and the Florence Humane Society was there with some of their strays. Well, there was a particular cat that was extremely friendly, in spite of being in a cage and being surrounded by noisy customers and such. He'd roll over on his back right there and nuzzle you through the cage mesh, it was extremely cute.

I had pretty much made my mind up a long time ago that I wasn't going to get another cat; mainly because I didn't want to stress Samantha out, and I wouldn't have much time to devote to integrating them. Well, Hunter and I talked it out for a long time, and with him here, that's possible! So, here's a picture of the new kitty, Remington (named by the shelter). I call him Remy (like Remy Martin, hehe):
He's really a well tempered cat, and pretty much nothing phases him. He's about two year old, and "altered" of course (they don't like to use "fixed" anymore because it implies something was broken). As of today, Samantha is still getting used to him, but we have been taking it very slow. Here's our steps so far:

1) Keep Remy in a separate room from Samantha (who gets the full roam of the house).
2) Introduce sock rubbed all over the cat to the other cat (no problems from this except lots of curiosity).
3) Put Samantha in Remy's room and let Remy have run of the house for a little while (this worked well, too, with Samantha sniffing around curiously and finally settling down in the room).
4) Put Remy in the cat carrier, and allow Samantha to come in the room to see (first time, Samantha hissed and growled and was extremely nervous, but second time, she just watched, so this went well too)
5) Bring Remy in carrier into bedroom where Samantha sleeps for her to check him out (she hissed a bit more at him, but perhaps did not expect him to be allowed into other parts of the house)
6) We tried letting Remy out into the bedroom where Samantha was, and with one hiss he became submissive, rolling around on the floor. Only when he attained higher ground by jumping on the toilet did she freak out and chase him around until he hid. I think this is normal, though, and it seems she wants to be dominant cat, which is fine! Remy is very easy-going and will take to it well.

Remember, Samantha's been without another cat in her life for over 10 years, as she is only an indoor cat and was rescued from not ideal conditions behind a bowling alley ;)

Okay, that's the big cat news! :D In other news, yesterday I was part of a "career day" at the local middle school, where I got to represent the Utility I work for, and let kids know about why it's a good field to go into. As part of that, we asked the kids what they liked to do and what kind of job they were looking for. Most were interested in sports and the entertainment industry (I guess those are the new "fireman" and "doctor" type jobs), but one kid in particular was actually interested in going into taxidermy. I was a bit surprised, but it takes all kinds :D He had even researched it and discovered a local taxidermist he could intern at, and was planning to after high school. Well, it's good to have goals... ;)

Ah, one other thing of note is that my birthday is tomorrow, yay! March 19th for the win! :D I'll be 38 finally.. Back in the even numbers. Not long now until the "Big Four Oh" I guess, but I think it'll be great :)

Take care everyone, talk to you later!