Cut to many years later...I swear I'm still alive. Alright, to provide a quick update before diving into what I really want to talk about. My boyfriend survived med-school, we got married after 1.5 year long engagement, he matched for his surgical residency out of state so we moved, and we got a new cat while he was still in school. Whew. I put the cat last because that's what I want to discuss. As you may know from my previous posts, my husband and I have had a few different pets, 4 fish (Ralis, Ruto, Ra, Zora, & Zora II) - may they all rest in peace, and a cat name Midna. If you haven't caught on yet, we are huge fans of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series.

A little over four years ago, our little nerd-family grew a bit more. Midna was getting ready to turn 3 and Jordan and I had discussed getting another cat...partly because Midna seemed to be turning into a bit of a brat/maybe needed a companion, and partly because we knew we weren't ready for a dog but we wanted to expand our family and we definitely weren't ready to add a human baby to the mix.

Princess Midna

Thus our decision to get another cat, we spent a while pricing everything out to ensure we would be able to afford two cats (like we did with Midna), the cost for 2 Banfield plans, or as I lovingly refer to it as "pet health insurance", food, flea-tick-heartworm medicine, etc. We then began exploring the proper ways to introduce a new pet to the family. As stated in my previous post, I am the weirdo who thinks about the potential psychological effects on Midna as well as on the new pet and worry about long term issues that an improper introduction might induce. Once we were comfortable with all we had gleaned from our research we decided to head out to some of the local places where we knew they would have cats up for adoption.

Jordan and I decided we should get another female cat and were hoping to find another long haired cat since we liked how fluffy Midna was. We looked at several locations before heading to the Charleston Animal Society to see if they had any kittens available. As much as I would have liked to adopt an older cat in need of a home, I knew Midna, our current cat, would not react well to having to suddenly share her space with another adult cat. Hence our search for a kitten. We spent quite a while looking around once we arrived since weirdo me wanted to give each cat up for adoption the same amount of time and consideration. We had literally looked at every single cat and hadn't found one we felt like we connected with.

As we were getting ready to leave I noticed a cage that appeared to be empty off to the side just beyond some of the other cages we had somehow missed. I grabbed Jordan's hand and dragged him over to it. As we drew nearer, I realized that there was indeed an occupant in the large cage. It was a tiny kitten who was curled up in the litter box.

Hiding

(Side Note: I have often noticed that at big adoption events or even when you simply take a cat to a new location they will stick close to their litter box, if not try to hide it in. Midna in fact did this when we first brought her home years ago. I believe it has something to do with the scent of the litter since it is something they are familiar with and, like humans, are naturally drawn to things that they are familiar or comfortable with in new or strange situations.)

Anyway, as we drew closer to the cage the little kitten noticed us and sat up before letting out a tiny meow. I immediately crouched in response and watched in wonder as the little furball did an impressive front roll out of the litterbox in a fervent attempt to get to the front of the cage and as close to me as possible.  It bumped the front of the cage with its face before running its body up against them and trying to reach out to me with its paw.

Shocked by the kitten's response to us I stuck a finger in the cage to see how he would react. He noticed immediately and rubbed the entire length of his body against it, pressing with all his might to get as close to me as he could.  Jordan meanwhile, was watching this interaction before he too crouched down to see how the kitten would react to him. The kitten was just as eager to get as close to him as it had been to get close to me. We realized in that moment that we had found our kitten.

Baby Groot when we first brought him home

It was a two month old male domestic shorthair kitten. He was not what we had been looking for but there was no doubting he was meant for us.

We waited for a while until one of the employees was able to help us. We were taken into a room and allowed to spend some time interacting with him in the open.

Here we realized he was just as friendly outside of the cage. In addition he was quite the wiggle worm. Desperate for attention but incapable of sitting still. It was adorable.

After spending some time playing with him, we informed the employee that we wanted to adopt him.  We were given the necessary paperwork to fill out. We had the form nearly completed when we got stuck. A name, we didn't have one picked out. We had several girl names we had discussed since we were initially planning on getting a female cat but we hadn't even talked about a boy name.

We went stared at each other in silence for a moment before Jordan suggested the name Groot.  He explained that he thought the kitten's short fur and pattern on his tail looked kind of like a stick. We had recently seen the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and loved it since we are huge Marvel nerds in addition to our Zelda obsession. It was the perfect name really. We finished the paperwork and turned it in. I had already gone out and bought a carrier since we were committed to getting another pet and I'm unsurprisingly picky with the carriers I get for my pets (they must be hard carriers with a seat belt slot to keep them secure when we are in the car.)

Groot's sweet baby face

Once our new kitten Groot was settled into his crate and safely strapped into the back seat we headed home to begin introducing him to Midna. This was a long process. When we arrived home we kept Groot in his carrier and placed him on the floor so Midna could sniff the carrier and him from a safe distance. She checked him out before hissing at him. With that step out of the way we got Groot settled into the room we had decided to keep him in temporarily. We had a separate litter box and water and food bowls set up for him so he could get used to his new surroundings and we could safely introduce him to Midna.

I would rub each of them down with a wash cloth and then at feeding time place the washcloth near or underneath their food bowls so they would begin associating one another's scent with something good or happy like food. Eventually we progressed to having the door open. We blocked the opening with a baby gate that the cats couldn't fit through and then blocked the rest of the door with a piece of wood we had leftover from a former project. The baby gate allowed them to see and smell one another without allowing them to actually touch.

This means war

After nearly a week of this set-up we began to slowly allow them near each other under supervision.  Groot was insanely curious about his new surroundings and was happy to completely ignore Midna while she would observe him from atop one of the many perching surfaces in our old apartment. She would occasionally come down to sniff him and then typically hiss at little Groot. If he tried to chase her she'd growl at him and smack him.

You will obey me

We began to worry that they might never get along. Perhaps Midnawas meant to be a solitary cat. We weren't ready to give up though. We had decided to adopt Groot, he was now a part of our family and we were going to find a way to make it work.

I'll let you live...for now

Luckily as each day went by they began getting used to one another and Midna would allow Groot near her without attacking him. Not that Groot had been deterred by any of the smack-downs she supplied.

You're okay I suppose

It took a while but they eventually seemed to accept each other...Ok let me rephrase, since Groot never had an issue with Midna, it was Midna who eventually accepted Groot. Or Maybe she just resigned herself to the fact that there was another cat in her domain. Either way a few years later they are both still alive and getting along most of the time.




They occasionally fight but it seems to occur when one of them takes playing too far, so really I suppose it's just their way of expressing their feelings. Not gunna lie, my brother and I used to fight too when we lived together, so I get it. So long as they both seem healthy and happy I'm going to call this a success.

We're family now