New Cat: Meet Archimedes

We've adopted a new cat. who arrived today. He's also a shelter cat, and an older cat. He was rescued from an animal hoarding situation where someone was keeping at least 18 cats in a small apartment, so he is quite nervous. At the moment Archimedes is hanging out in the spare room as he's too scared to go any further. He's being checked in on, but given his space, with gradual interaction from us until he is more settled. He is likely to be an indoor cat as he is quite timid and not used to the world outside (I think he was kept within the apartment and not allowed out), and already an adult cat of a few years, so it may always be too much for him.  We're a quiet household with no other cats, which is ideal for him as he doesn't like being around other cats after being crammed in a small apartment with so many of his extended family for so long. He got called Archimedes because he looks like a smart cat, so I was trying out classical thinker names, and he looked up at me when I said Archimedes. We're calling him 'Archie' for short. When we got him, he was called Oreo, but he's not a biscuit.

Archimedes in his 'blanket fort'. We're replacing the beige carpet soon.

I've mentioned my previous cat, Kuro ('Black') before. Kuro moved with my Dad to a rural small-holding. My Dad is still mildly allergic to cats as he has always been, but with antihistamines and the cat spending a lot of time outdoors, they are doing well. My Dad has become very attached to Kuro, and I still live a very long way from my Dad, and as Kuro is getting older, we think the journey up to Scotland would just be too stressful for him. I still get to visit Kuro, and I do miss him, but I think Kuro would not be happy as an indoor cat, and we live too close to a busy road to let a cat that likes to wander some distance roam free. Kuro lives in the middle of nowhere, with acres and acres of car-free land to roam about as my Dad's small-holding abuts farmland. I think a quiet retirement in the countryside is good for both my father and Kuro. 

Kuro, also known as 'Satan Kitty', in my Dad's garden.

Interestingly, my Dad is only allergic to cats with a specific fur type, and he got a second cat, with a much finer, sleeker coat, called Yami ('Dark') which he is not allergic to! Yami is a black cat that had escaped from a temporary foster cattery and followed Kuro home. After taking the cat to the vet, and noting he was microchipped, my Dad went through the process to adopt Yami because Yami just wouldn't leave my Dad alone!

All of these cats are rescue cats - please, adopt - don't shop. There are so many cats wanting homes, especially as they breed pretty rapidly. I've written about Kuro and cat adoption before ::here:: and my advice remains the same - if you're thinking of getting a cat, please consider adopting an adult cat. Archimedes had been with the shelter quite a while as timidity causes some minor behaviour issues (he gets scared of people, and hisses, will scratch if he feels crowded) but it's something is highly likely to work itself out with time and patience as he gets used to being around humans.

Cat Pictures And Cat Adoption

Food!

I have probably one of the most cliche pets for a Goth, short of having a bat. I've got a black cat called Kuro (after the Japanese word for the colour black). He's a rescue kitty, and as such we're not entirely sure how old he is, except that he was a medium-sized kitten when I got him. I was told that by his size he must be quite old, and wouldn't grow much larger - he certainly proved that wrong! 

Nomnomnom!

I strongly suggest that if you are planning on getting a cat, that you adopt from a shelter, rather than buy a bred kitten. There are so many cats out there who deserve a loving home but who are waiting in shelters. Black cats often wait the longest, perhaps because people in some places consider them unlucky or sinister, or perhaps because they don't look as cute as the more colourful cats and kittens. I did not pick Kuro because he was a black cat, as he was one of the cats "matched" to me when I was quizzed on what sort of cat I wanted and my circumstances. Kuro is very much a cat that wouldn't want to share his home territory with any other cats, and is a playful and active cat that is quite independent, so was suited to a home with no other cats, and one that would be happier to explore a rural garden rather than stay indoors all day.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Please think of adopting an adult cat - kittens always quickly find homes, but adult cats are less sought-after, despite how they often quickly adapt to a new home. Kittens might be cute when you get them, but they do grow up, so either way, you will be caring for a cat. Many adult cats are already house-trained and very friendly and socialised, plus less sociable cats are often very happy to go to rural homes where they live as "farm cats" - free to roam the countryside with a lower level of human interaction, but fed and looked after, instead of living in a shelter where they are confined to a run and are in close proximity to humans frequently. With an adult cat, their personality is more established, so you know what kind of cat you're getting right away, whereas kittens often mature into cats very different in personality from who they were as kittens. 

Think very carefully before adopting a cat or any pet - are your circumstances stable enough to make the commitment? Are you likely to still be able to afford a cat a year on from now? Are you likely to move frequently and perhaps move somewhere you can't take your cat (as unfortunately happened to me)? Can you afford pet insurance or unexpected vet's bills? Are you living somewhere that's cat-compatible? Remember, cats are a commitment of years - I've known several cats that have lived between 15 and 21 years! It is still the case that people take on cats as kittens, not prepared for the long term commitment, and for the fact that they don't stay babies for ever.

These pictures are from my trip to England at Christmas. Kuro currently lives with my Dad, as my apartment in Scotland is strictly "no pets", the journey to Scotland would probably be quite stressful for Kuro, and he is keeping my Dad company as my Dad now lives alone. 

As you can see, at the time I had dark purple hair... Stay tuned to this blog to see how that has changed!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! 

Bonne Année! 

(In French because of the HouseCat's French connections and family) 

Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhaoibh!

(Irish Gaelic, in honour of Raven's family)

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

(In Welsh, thanks to Raven who lived most of his life in Wales)

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr dhuibh uile!

(Scottish Gaelic  because I live in Scotland)

I celebrated the solar New Year 11 days ago -the Solstice - as I am Pagan. I hope the festive season has been good for all of you, with that covering everything between Thanksgiving and Imbolc! (More festivities to be had!) I hope you had a good time, whatever it is you celebrate, from Solstice to Christmas to Festivus to New Year. Also feel free to contribute what festive greetings are like in your native language if it isn't already here. Next Year might be a bit more diverse!

I'd like to hear about what my readers did - if you have blogged about it, link in the comments, or if not, feel free to tell me about it. 

Have a picture of me at my Dad's house, feeding my over-sized cat Kuro from the palm of my hand. I went to England for a week to visit my family and friends there, and went on a plane for the first time that I know of (I think I may have been on a plane as a baby, but I was too young to know what was going on) despite being terrified! I have conquered my fear of airports and aeroplanes! I had a quiet Christmas with my Dad, and a busy week visiting everyone I knew within in a 20 mile radius of my Dad's house, which is a LOT of people. I got mostly chocolate as festive gifts, so my New Year's resolution to eat more healthily is not starting well... 

Kuro (Cat Pictures!)

Without further ado, I cave to peer-pressure and post pictures of my cat.

These are not cute kitten pictures. Kuro is not a cute fluffy kitten. He's a big grumpy tomcat with a bad attitude but he's a bit of a secret softy.

He was attacking the strap dangling from the camera.

Thug Lyf 4 Eva

Kuro is a rescue cat we took in as a kitten from a local shelter. He was found as a kitten in the carpark of a branch of Asda, and as such named 'Asda' by the shelter. I was working for Tesco at the time, and thought having a cat called Asda might not be the best show of corporate loyalty, plus I didn't think a cat ought to be named after a supermarket, or for anybody to be named after the place they were found - not the best part of his life, really. I re-named him Kuro, which is Japanese for black (for rather self-evident reasons). He was very sleek as a kitten, but has grown up into a stocky and muscled cat.

He was not socialised as a kitten, and several years later still isn't the most sociable, friendly cat. I don't think he ever will be a sociable or particularly friendly. When we first got him he'd usually hide or attack guests, and was quite aggressive with humans, but he soon started following me around and getting friendlier with people he got to know regularly. In the end he became rather attached to me especially; he used to sleep on the pillow next to me and lick my hair when he thought I was sleeping. He is still a quirky sort of cat, with a few bad habits, especially those of stealing food, raiding bins, starting fights, killing things and generally behaving like the alley-tom he used to be. If he was human he'd have an interesting criminal record by now! 

Clichés in abundance. Kuro at about 8 months old.

I guess as a Romantic Goth and Witch with a black cat I am a walking cliché. I am aware that I am a walking cliché in a lot of respects. Kuro was generally quite respectful of my sacred space when working, and didn't jump up on my shrine or chew on the candles or bat around any of my stones or shrine items.  He did, however, like chewing books, and made no distinction between paperback fiction, books on Witchcraft or even my personal diary. He still chews books.

Goth Kitty

Currently I am living in a strictly no-pets apartment. Kuro is living with my Dad. As my Dad is allergic,  to cats, I miss Kuro terribly and Kuro misses me, this isn't an ideal. I talk to Kuro (and Dad) on Skype, and Kuro tried to break the laptop open to 'free' me the first time he saw on me the computer screen, and he gets all excited when he hears my voice on the phone. When I last came home to visit, Kuro bit me for my insolence in leaving him and then spent the rest of the evening being a cuddly cat. Kuro is still victim to my style - he's got a black leather collar with a red enamelled tag with a fish skeleton on it. Goth cat! 

An iron fist in a velvet glove.

I know, I know! I was supposed to be making my blog all serious and deep about Goth culture and architecture and all these deep and serious things and here I am posting pictures of my cat... but.. but... cats. 

❝After scolding one's cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word.

 And has filed it for reference.❞
~Charlotte Grey