…the newest member of our family! This is Maizey. We adopted her from a local animal control shelter this past week. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not really a cat person. I am a dog lover because that is all I’ve ever grown up with! Due to an ongoing battle with… mice… eek, Lee and I were at our wits end. We were discussing the issue and possible solutions with some of our friends. They somewhat jokingly said, “you know what will get rid of mice?… A cat!” I laughed, but they were serious! Lee and I mulled over the idea, and after much reading and discussion we went to the shelter. We left with nothing. We were torn, should we adopt kittens, or an adult cat? What would be easiest to introduce to Tucker? What would be easiest to maintain? Should we declaw or not? Indoor, outdoor, or both? We were stuck again with more questions. After talking with family who owns cats we felt encouraged again. While Lee was at work I was out running errands and decided to stop by a different shelter. I didn’t have any expectations, I was just going to visit. The volunteers at the shelter were very nice and I spent time visiting with each cat and kitten. On our last visit to the shelter I was drawn to the kittens, who wouldn’t be!? So of course I was drawn to them again. But as I made my way around the room this pretty calico caught my eye. I am usually a little timid with cats, because I am NOT a cat person. When I walked up to “Jazz” I was hesitant, but she immediately walked towards me. I spent time petting her, but then she started to reach her paw out of the cage. I thought, “oh crap, my hand is going to be shredded to ribbons.” But to my surprise she was gentle and she didn’t expose a single claw. She let me play with her paws and pet her. There was definitely something different about this cat. I knew immediately that this was the one! Forget the cute kittens, this cat it awesome! The rest of my time at the shelter was spent hanging out with “Jazz.” Lee and I had also been trying to think of cat names, which was another stalemate. But just as soon as I decided that she was the cat, a name popped into my head, “Maizey!” It was settled. I immediately called Lee and figured out a time he could see her too. The people at the shelter held “Jazz” for us until Lee could some see her. Maizey got his stamp of approval too. Lee went back the next day to pick her up and stopped by the vet for a check-up on his way home. Even the veterinarian was impressed with Maizey, saying now friendly she was. Needless to say,  I think I am now a cat person, or at least a Maizey person. :) Our next challenge is to introduce her to Tucker. Right now Maizey has a room all to herself. She and Tucker have spent their time sniffing each other from behind the door. Getting these two accustom to each other will take time and patience. More to follow on their progress…