New Addition: Meet "Boo."

Last week, we added a new member to our family.

Her name is Boo.

She has been going by Missi Mouse for the last couple of months, but Gracie isn't even close to being able to say that...so Gracie named her new kitty Boo.  Fitting, since she is an all-black cat.  And she has one green eye and one brown eye.  I can't quite tell if she is blind in her brown eye - when we get her "fixed" we'll have them check it out.

This was the hardest picture EVER to get!  She was very fascinated with my Blackberry, and wanted to rub on it/me and be petted!

Boo is very sweet.  She arrived on my parent's farm late last Fall, along with a few siblings.  Two of the siblings have not made it to their first birthday - farm life is rough.  One of the kittens was actually severely injured when thrown out of a car on to our property.  Can you believe people do this?  Anyway, my mother, being the very caring animal lover that she is, took this poor kitten to the vet and had them do all kinds of tests and x-rays.  She spent a good chunk of money.  Unfortunately, the injuries were too extensive and my mom made the decision to put the little kitten down.

My mom then took up with another little kitten that she called Spooky.  But once Spooky got brave, she ventured out on to the road, and was hit by a car.

So then there was Boo.  Boo was very friendly, and got especially friendly with some male kitty about 2-3 months ago...this week she ventured on to our back porch, and when the dogs were let out of the house, they went after her.  She's not as quick with a litter of kittens in her tummy, and they caught her.  My dad managed to help Boo hide in the bar-be-que stand, and he wheeled it out of the fence so she could get away.  One of the smaller dogs got out of the fence and proceeded to chase Boo in to the garage.  It was all very traumatic.

My mom was telling me about this incident at lunch on Tuesday, and I said, "Screw it.  I'll take her."  Or something like that.

I have been resistant to getting a cat because I care about them and want them to be safe, but I don't like having cat hair in my house or on my things.  However, last weekend my hubby and I cleaned out our garage and got it all organized, and I realized that I could have a cat and she could stay in there, and then gradually start moving in to the house.

So that is what we are doing.  Boo's food, bed, and litter box are all in the garage.  She will be in there whenever we are not home or cannot supervise her.  I realize this isn't completely ideal for a cat, but it's for her own good, especially until she has the kittens.  Plus, she's one of those cats who really just wants to be a lap cat.  I think she'll be fine with the arrangement.

The first night was a little stressful for poor little Boo.  She tried to escape the dog kennel I had her in, and got stuck half way.  Then she hid under my bed for a little while.  Then I moved her in the garage and she got a good meal, then hid behind the water heater.  I had some laundry to finish up, and you know how sometimes the clothes in the washer get clumped together and the washer gets really loud?  Well, that happened and I thought Boo was probably having a heart attack...or maybe going in to early labor.

The next day my mom stopped by to check on Boo, and she said that when she opened the door, Boo came out of the little bed that I made for her!  She said that Boo had already used the litter box (pretty darn good for a barn cat!) and that she ate the dry food my mom put out for her.  I'm really thinking Boo is going to be a good addition to our family.

Now, in the case of the kittens...well, anyone want one?

Gracie is absolutely bonkers for cats.  My mom's indoor cat is not a huge fan of the baby, but Boo not only tolerates Gracie and her squeals of excitement whenever she sees a kitty, but I think Boo actually likes it.  I can't imagine how excited Gracie is going to be when the kittens get here.  That's how we got the hubby to sign off on this whole thing - "Honey, just think how excited Gracie will be to have a kitty of her own!"  That was it.  He couldn't say no.  He says no to me all the time, but not to his little girl.

Doing my best to photograph an all-black cat.  Hardest subject ever!

Stay tuned, I'm sure there are to be many adventures of Grace and Boo!  Wouldn't that be the cutest children's book ever?!

-Grace's Mom