from raleighwood to hollywood

it's official!

after a month of being ready for a kitty, a VERY long week of searching, and a lot of ups and downs along the way, i finally found the one.

coming back from my trip home was much harder than i expected. i had settled back in so much with my friends and family that part of me was nervous to go back to my quiet little apartment so far away from everything i know and love. i had hoped that the night i returned, there would be a little kitty on my doorstep awaiting my arrival. i would have even settled for one standing outside the airport holding a sign that said "slater: party of one". but life isn't that easy. and i don't think cats can hold signs since they don't have thumbs.

i spent day after day searching for cats online, visiting homes where they were being fostered, attending petco adoption events, and even swinging by a shelter or two. it wasn't as easy of a process as i had hoped, and one unexpected turn after another really put me into a deeply emotional place. doing this for the first time, all by myself and in a gigantic city, was more difficult than i had anticipated. i was exhausted, i was feeling more alone and by myself than ever, and every waking second was consumed by this search. although i was the one choosing to put myself through this, i was so determined to find the right kitty, that i didn't even realize how this was affecting me and those around me. after using the word "cat" about a hundred times a day, i know that my family and friends probably couldn't wait to hear me go back to talking about nothing but boys.

i'm an extremely indecisive person. i'll spend twenty minutes in trader joes and have nothing but hummus in my basket. i'll stand in the meat section of ralph's for close to fifteen minutes trying to decide which kind of ham to buy. these are the kind of decisions to make quickly. i knew that my cat search had to be done thoroughly and that it should not involve drastic decisions; however, i learned a valuable lesson about pushing myself and those around me to their limits. if i spent an hour discussing the pros and cons of rosemary ham versus honey baked ham with the shelf stocker at ralphs, i probably would have gotten on his nerves too. i'm a scorpio and being a little extreme runs through my veins, but at the end of the day, if you're acting a little obsessive about something, you need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and realize that you--and others--might need to take a timeout. at the end of this search, i was physically and emotionally drained and praying every single night that i would know in my heart when i found the right one.

after one cat-astrophe after the next (omg...i'm SO my dad), i thought i had made my decision. i spent all day buying her specific food, litter box, toys, etc. only to receive the phone call that she had an infection and couldn't be adopted out for AT LEAST a month. to say the very least, i was devastated. i had finally made up my mind, prepared my home and my heart for her, and then had the rug pulled out from under me. if i truly knew in my heart she was the right one for me, i would have waited TWO months at the sound of this news. but something inside me pushed me right across the "this is a sign" threshold and back out into the world of cat searching.

one trip to the kitten rescue sanctuary, and i had found her, i mean REALLY found her. after realizing that a goofy little black and white kitty had been following me around for five minutes, i knelt down to say hello. she jumped from my knee, into my arms, and then immediately fell asleep on my shoulder. upon hearing the news that she had feline herpes, i was so in love, that the woman could have told me she had two tails, needed to wear a diaper, and disliked queso dip and i STILL would have wanted to take her home. at the same time, part of me was so angry at having finally had "the feeling" that i had been longing for, but there being a catch. before learning more about the feline herpes virus, i went back in forth in my head debating the risks and if it was a situation i should be putting myself in--regardless of my love-at-first-sight feelings for this little kitty. in the end: her eyes get a little drippy, she gets medicine twice a day, and she needs to be in a very low-stress environment.

i think i can handle that.

who would have thought that my perfect kitty has herpes, a teeny kink in the end of her tail, and spots like a cow?

it was a long journey to find her, but i'm finally at peace, and beginning to feel a lot less alone, and a little more like myself.

this was her very first picture inside her new home. not a great angle--thanks to all the wires and the fact that she sort of blends in with the carpet, but who ever said that the first picture had to be a perfect one?

at first, her only interest seemed to be me. she followed me around into every room and meowed if i was out of sight for a second. at one point i went to the bathroom and she ran into my room searching for me...under the bed. she's still trying to figure things out.

i was worried she wouldn't have any interest in her kitty condo that i spent an hour assembling last night, but boy was i wrong...

mom, i know you told me not to use the "fancy" placemat, but it's not like i'm planning on having the pope over for dinner anytime soon.

she seriously couldn't get enough of that thing...

i wonder if chick fila is hiring for more spokespeople.

my best friend once said to me, "you eat so much, i don't know how you're not the size of a house."

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

other than learning that she's a big eater, i discovered that she loves a good game of "what's hiding under the blanket?"

i also learned that we have one very exciting thing in common:

blogging!

after she had finished updating her blog, i began to use my computer to write this post. she looked at me like "um. i thought we were going to nap now?"

at first i was worried that she would be upset with me...

but six seconds later i realized i was wrong.

we have a lot more getting to know each other to do, but for now, we have some sex and the city reruns to watch and some serious napping to do. so far, her eating, pooping, and sleeping skills have been successful.

i can't wait to see what else she has to show me tomorrow.

the name suggestion box is now open for business.

many many thank you's go out to those of you who have accompanied me along this journey, spent hours looking at pictures and coming up with names, put up with my happy and not-so-happy moments, and helped lead me to *insert name here*. i couldn't have done it without you.