New house guests

Earlier tonight, I was a little concerned about Gray Kitty because I hadn't seen her since I got back from East Texas this afternoon. Matt said that she'd been gone all day, and that he was starting to wonder about her, too. Apparently what happened was that she caught a big dose of fleas from some other neighborhood cat, so Matt put some kind of flea treatment on her that she didn't like one iota. She ran off as a result and hasn't been around for most of the day. Gray Kitty doesn't normally stay gone for most of the day like this, but I guess getting dosed with flea spray is a pretty good reason for making herself scarce.

Anyway, around 11:00 I opened the front door to call for Gray Kitty, and what did I see? Not Gray Kitty, but a completely different kitty altogether:



? Thought I. I knelt down and called to the new kitty, and to my surprise, she ran up to me and started rubbing my hand! Well, this endears me pretty quickly to kitties when they are friendly, so I petted the new kitty for a good long while, letting her (I think it's a she) rub against my ankles and legs. I wanted to pick her up, so I finally decided to risk getting scratched and hefted her up to my chest. She didn't fuss at all... she actually liked it, which is kind of rare in my experience with kitties. Even Gray Kitty doesn't like to be held unless she's the one who decides that I'm going to hold her, and usually that means she's going to allow me to let her curl up on my lap.



After that, guess who got jealous and ran up? Gray Kitty! Now, Gray Kitty probably is used to me chasing off all of the neighborhood cats when they come prowling around, so I'm guessing that when I didn't immediately chase off this new kitty, Gray Kitty might have been a little confused or even miffed. Apparently she'd just been biding her time, watching this new kitty and seeing what was going to happen. When I finally picked up the new kitty, I don't think Gray Kitty was too thrilled, which is why she chose that moment to reveal herself. So, I picked up the Gray Kitty and gave her some love too. Now, this whole cat jealousy thing might just be all in my head, but it's fun to imagine.



After I put Gray Kitty down, the other kitty was immediately interested. I didn't want to see a cat fight, so I got ready to chase the other one off. However, nothing really happened. The new kitty followed Gray Kitty around the yard for a little bit, and Gray Kitty tolerated her as long as she didn't get too close. Gray Kitty hissed once at the new kitty, but that was it.



For some reason, Gray Kitty attracts every single neighborhood cat within several blocks. However, Gray Kitty has never gone into heat, and I know what a cat in heat looks and acts like, thanks to a kitty who I used to hang out with not too long ago. During her 'time of the month', this particular feline seemed to be of the opinion that I was her boyfriend. Aggravating, let me tell you.

I figure there are two possibilities... either Gray Kitty is spayed, or she is in kitty menopause. This means that either she is still pretty hot for an old lady, or that she's just super cool and all the other cats want to hang out with her all the time. Maybe she's a celebrity kitty; she is a pretty fearsome huntress, and I wouldn't be surprised if she has some fans.

About those fleas... unfortunately, Gray Kitty does have a pretty bad case of them. Just now I found one crawling on my arm, so I either got that one when I picked up Gray Kitty, or they're actually in the house on the furniture. Yeesh. I wonder if a bug bomb will kill a house full of fleas? And Gray Kitty probably caught them from the new kitty, and I had that one all cuddled up next to my hair...

Oh well. I'l get some flea dip for Gray Kitty tomorrow, and see about bug bombing the house. Sorry Gray Kitty, but you can't sleep in my bed until the fleas are gone. :\