New Stitching Companions

My life has change a bit over the last few months.  In October I bought a house.  The first time living in my own place, which meant that for the first time since I was a child I was able to get a pet bigger than a goldfish.  So, in November I adopted a cat.

Eevee

This is Eevee. I'm not entirely sure of her background as I adopted her through our local Pet Rescue.  They take pets from the pound, foster them, and try to find new homes for them.  Eevee was 9 months old when I adopted her and was originally called Evie.  I couldn't handle that (too boring) so changed the spelling.  Eevee is one of my favourite Pokemon so it worked out well.

Some of Eevee's favourite pastimes 

She's a bit shy with new people and doesn't really like being picked up but is very chatty, loves a scratch behind her ears and her favourite toy is a long yellow ribbon that came off a Christmas present.

However... I was worried she was lonely.  I work full time, and can be pretty busy on the weekends (or just wanting to sit and sew) so thought Eevee needed some company.

Enter Skimbles. Short for Skimbleshanks.  As in the railway cat in "Cats". (T.S. Elliott/Andrew Lloyd Webber).

Skimbles

A cat belonging to friends of mine had a litter of kittens which they were trying to adopt out.  I ummed and ahhed about it for a week or two before saying I would take one of them.  He was so cute I couldn't resist and so mid December 7-week-old Skimbles joined the family.

Skimbles in action

There's been some debate about Skimbles' sex.  My friends told me the cat was a he, I took it to the vet for his first lot of vaccinations and the vet said it was a she.  Then I wasn't so sure as it seemed the cat was developing some genitalia.  At his second round of vaccinations earlier this week the vet confirmed it - Skimbles is male. Good thing the name is pretty unisex.  I wasn't fazed either way - my only thought when I was told Skimbles was a girl was "darn, she'll be more expensive to desex" and when we went back to male was "oh good, that will save me a bit of money."

In my experience cats are notoriously hard to sex.  When I was 13 I got a little black female kitten called Zanzibar and my younger brother got a tabby male kitten called Tiger.  Only it turned out Zanzibar was a boy and Tiger was a girl.  Again, good thing the names were unisex and that we weren't too worried about the sex.

My fur babies

Back to my fur babies.  I was a little concerned when I got Skimbles that Eevee wouldn't accept him.  Eevee spent the first couple of days hissing at Skimbles and swiping at him, and I had to feed them in separate rooms because they wouldn't eat if the other was around.  However after a few days I spied Eevee licking Skimbles and I knew it would all sort out.  Within a week their food bowls were next to each other and they would occasionally curl up on the couch together.  Now they are fine, except when Skimbles wants to play and Eevee doesn't but that's younger brothers for you!

Eevee guarding us from Sadie the robo cleaner

 Eevee likes being high - I found her on the shower screen one morning! She likes sleeping in the sink, and sitting on any windowsill.  She has a particular mew that means "I've found my ribbon and want to play" and will take off around the house at a moments notice to find it.  Her other favourite toy is the squeegee I clean the shower screen with although she's never managed to catch it.  Eevee is much more affectionate since Skimbles arrived and will willingly talk to visitors, particularly if they are giving Skimbles attention.

Skimbles is a kitten so wants to play.  He likes to sit wherever Eevee is, his favourite toy is whatever Eevee is playing with, his second favourite toy is Eevee's tail, and his favourite game is 'chase Eevee around the house' (typical younger brother). He has a funny chirpy mew that doesn't sound like a mew.  Skimbles has recently developed a habit of sleeping on top of me or right next to my head and will bat my eye/ear/nose if he thinks I need to be awake.

They both have to be in whatever room I am in, including the bathroom, and will sit by the shower wondering why on earth I enjoy the water.  When they're on my bed they have to sleep touching me and get distressed if I move.  Thankfully they also both love their scratching posts, although they also like my furniture.  We're getting there.

Helping me stitch

And I love them.  Even if they make a mess, knock things off benches, and have put holes in my new furniture.

Do you have a stitching companion or two?  I'd love to hear about them.

Happy Stitching!