Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Penelope Post

Time for a new post about our little Penelope.  We've had her for over two weeks now.
A lot has happened and she has learned so much.

She started sneezing a lot during her first week here.
That meant she got to take her first trip to the vet.  She was a brave girl...


It turned out to be a feline cold...very common for cats that come from shelters.
No problem though.  Her lungs were clear and she didn't seem to have developed any infections.
We took her home with a tube of L-Lysine gel to put on her food to help her immune system.

The vet trip was only the beginning of her travels that day.  Later that afternoon, she got to go on her first camping trip!  Other than screaming at ear-piercing levels on the way there and back home (sure hope that improves over time!), she did great.  She really liked being in the close quarters of the RV where she could see us and know where we were just about all the time.   She enjoyed the sun streaming through the windows.  She took lots of naps and did a lot of snuggling.


She tried to stay up late but just couldn't keep her eyes open.
She fell asleep one evening as she sat on hubby's lap...


She even snuck in a few naps on Salsa's bed!


The close quarters helped Penelope and Salsa get to know one another and start to become friends.


We figured that, because it's Salsa's bed, it was only fair to share.
So, we told Salsa it was okay to lay on the bed too.
They didn't lay there very long after that but it shows how far they've come in a short time.


When we took Penelope to the vet, she still only weighed 2 3/4 pounds.  She hadn't gained anything in the first week.  She wasn't eating much...probably because she wasn't feeling well.
But, a week of rest did her good.  She's eating like crazy now and feeling great.

So, I thought it was time to weigh her again.
She's checking the scale to make sure the setting is right...


And, checking it again while she was on it to see what she weighs.


Wow!  She has gained about half a pound.

She knows where her litter pan is and has been a very good girl with using it. 
As far as we know, she hasn't had any accidents.  She gets to roam the entire house, even at night. She's still learning about sleeping through the night though.  She wakes up every night around two or three a.m. and starts walking on us, purring loudly, and licking our faces.  After a while, we usually get her settled back down and she sleeps until six or seven. 

She learned a VERY SCARY lesson... We have a loft above our living room with a half wall.  
We tried to keep her downstairs as long as we could but she eventually snuck around the barriers.
I was sitting on the sofa in the living room below when I heard her bell jingling in the loft.  Next thing I knew...I saw her little body come flying over the wall with her legs flailing.  She tried to jump up and onto the wall but jumped a little too high and far.  Hubby raced over to stand below and try to catch her.  Luckily, I have a quilt draped over the wall and it saved her life as she was able to grab onto it with her claws.  As she hung on the side, I tried to calmly and quickly get to the loft to rescue her.  But, as I reached the top of the stairs she had already gotten back onto the top of the wall and walked over to meet me.  WHEW!  Since then, she still goes up there.  She even seems to think it's funny to race toward it and leap onto it when I'm looking...like she knows how it gets me.  Crazy girl!  And, she thinks it's a nice place to hang out.  I'm just glad she knows about it now and should, hopefully, be okay with it.  She is a lot more sure footed now than when we brought her home.  And, cats are usually pretty skilled at things like this.  Fingers crossed!


11 comments:

Cindie said...

you gave me my chuckle for the day - kittens are so funny....and she's a cutie!

Unknown said...

Sounds like she's keeping you on your toes! Penelope is SO adorable!
Thanks for sharing!
Sarah xx

Deborah said...

I love reading about your cats. Maybe I told you this but my daughter is a cat lover and has a "few" kitties who run her house!

Neesie said...

She's a typical female then...checking the scales are correct before hopping on LOL
I think you're going to have so much fun seeing her develop and grow both physically and mentally! ^..^
I think she's a very lucky kitty to have found a loving home like yours.
Have fun!
Thanks for popping over to see me earlier. :D
Neesie ♥ #

trishie said...

What a little cutie. So cute that it's friends with the dog.

Shanda said...

Oh this had me just a chuckling. Sleep through the night? I've had our 2 kitties since they were a day old, literally, and they do not sleep through the night. Round about 2am is kitty war in the house. Usually we are sleeping, but not on weekends, so we really get to hear and see it then. Every once and awhile they will wake me up with their shenanigans during the week, but we usually find some sort of evidence of it in the morning!! So glad she found her claws on her little nose dive!! Sounds like she definitely learned her lesson though!! It is so much fun watching them discover the world around them.

Sel and Poivre said...

The idea of pets overhead is just so foreign when all you've got is a dog! They are so much more "bound" by gravity!

Tammy said...

Penelope is so sweet! Gosh! Scary moment there. I'm glad she's okay. Hopefully she learned her lesson. Best wishes, Tammy

Tootsie said...

what a cute baby! thanks for the follow today...popped over to return the gesture and say hi! hope to see you again soon!

KarenB said...

Yikes! Good thing kitties are quick on their feet and can also climb so well. I bet she's so fun to have around.

knitalatte said...

Penelope is such a cute kitty. Looks like she has integrated into the family well. First time I've ever heard of a cat going camping, too funny. One of our cats, Cleo likes to sit in our truck when it is parked in the yard. One day my husband went to the store not realizing she was in there. When he arrived at the store, she leaped out of it ahead of him. It took him forever to get her back as she was hiding under a nearby parked car and was terrified to come out. Luckily he did and he has been careful to make sure she is not in it before he goes anywhere!