Introducing Demi

Me holding Demi after his first bath.

As some of you know, our little family of just Autry & I grew in April to include our cat Emerald. She was adopted from a local animal shelter and has been an good company keeper & pet since. Back in April I introduced Emerald on the blog and then in June I shared the post Days With Emerald which showed a little of what she had been up to since we got her. In July I shared a post about Emerald's reaction to my pregnancy and since then things have been quiet on the post scene for her.

Well now I have something new to share! A friend of Autry's from work had another friend with several kittens. Their house had just burned down and they were not staying on the property and were therefore unable to take care of the kittens and needed homes for them. Autry knew I love cats and how hard it's been for me with Emerald because she doesn't really want my attention or company most of the time and that is so rare for cats to behave like that around me. Usually cat's love me and want all the attention I can give them, but not her.

Demi after his first bath.

As a surprised Autry got one of the kittens for me. I was worried at first about how Emerald would react to having another cat in the house since her previous care taker had said she liked to be the only cat of the house. I think it was because Emerald would get more attention that way, but as I said...she doesn't really like or want my attention. Demi was about 6 weeks old when we got him. I think he was an outdoor cat who was fed table scraps, but that's quite alright. He is adjusting quite well! We did have to give him a bath for several days to get rid of his fleas though. I was really pleased with how well he behaved during each one.

I don't think this is considered 'sharing'.

Demi was kitten enough when we first got him that for about a week he wouldn't eat the kitten chow I bought because it was too hard for his little teeth. Eventually he graduated from straight soft foods to some soft & some crunchy to now where he eats all crunchy. Even now when he hears the microwave beep he'll run to the corner of the kitchen were I would feed him and look for his plate of food. He is such a silly cat! Both Emerald & Demi have their own water & food bowls in the laundry room which is right next to the kitchen. I still feed Demi kitten chow, but many times he will eat the regular cat food before he touches it. Emerald, on the other hand, likes the kitten chow... Here you can see them both going after the kitten chow. On a side note, back before we got Emerald I made a little crochet rug for her food and water bowls to sit on...I now need to make one for Demi's so his will stop sliding all over the floor!

For the first few days Demi lived with us he was kept in the mostly unused front bathroom. I had to keep him in there for several reasons: 1) he didn't know how to use the litter box and would pee anywhere he wanted to, 2) he was too small to leave out at night, and 3) he had fleas. A small litter box was put in the bathroom for him to use and after about the second day he was using it regularly. He still messed on the floor outside of the box & bathroom for several weeks, but it was only on occasion and any time I caught him in the act I would pick him up and take him to the litter box to finish his business. Eventually he got the point!

Demi spending some time curled up in a blanket on the couch.

Not long after we got Demi and gave him regular flea baths we were able to let him out to be around Emerald and lay on the couch. We've discovered that he really likes to snuggle and often, when I look 'everywhere' and can't find him, he's usually curled up between my stuffed horse & bear in the recliner chair. He likes to climb, run, and play with toys and socks too.

For awhile Demi enjoyed laying in my yarn baskets,
he doesn't do this as much anymore.

When Demi was first let out of the bathroom, once his fleas were gone, I carefully watched him around Emerald. At first she would have nothing to do with him and a few times she even hissed and swatted him away, but that didn't last long. Emerald & Demi are great play mates now. They roughhouse with each other quite a few times each day and they love to chase each other up and down the basement stairs and around the furniture in the living room. I think Emerald has adopted him as her own because she will reprimand him when he's doing something he's not supposed to and she will clean him if he will sit still long enough for her to do the job.

A very typical face of Demi's when he's found something new & interesting...
in this case it's the red light on the camera before the flash goes off.

I'm not really sure if Demi is a boy or girl cat, but I think he's a boy (obviously) from what I can tell. His 'parts' look different than Emeralds so I'm probably right. When I first saw Demi when hubby brought him in I knew right away what his name would be. In college I spent a lot of time at my friend Emma's house doing homework on the computer. They had a grey boy kitten for awhile and his name was Demi. He would curl up in my lap and keep me company while I was busy doing home work. My Demi reminds me of him, not only in color but in personality as well.

Demi has claimed one of my baskets of blankets as his 'bed'.

I am really excited to have Demi in our little family. I love that he will come snuggle with me when he gets tired or lay next to me when I am on the couch working on my laptop, reading, or journaling. He is a sweetheart and though I was not happy to see another cat when Autry first brought him home I am SO glad we kept him!