Author Topic: Queen Eva's Gotcha Day  (Read 24902 times)

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Offline Middle Child

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Queen Eva's Gotcha Day
« on: August 15, 2014, 07:13:47 PM »
SUBJECT TITLE:  Gotcha number changes each year.  :)

 I met her in a very bad situation when she was only 4 weeks old and after telling me her name was Eva she demanded I take her home. It took another four weeks for me to manage to get her out of there, while I worried about her day and night. In the car on the way home she informed me very loudly that her name is QUEEN Eva.

I'll never forget that first day.  I was up all the previous night preparing for her (a story all by itself)

I had to pick her up early in the morning, and it was a long drive. I brought her home and rushed her straight to the bathroom and the bathtub.  She had had diarrhea and had vomited in the carrier on the way home. As I washed her in the tub (she was also covered in fleas, and I mean covered) she screamed and screamed and screamed. After I washed her and dried her I shucked my clothes before stepping out of the bathroom (leaving Queen Eva in there of course).  I expected to see three adult cats sitting at attention at the door wondering what all the noise was about.
Instead all three of them were in their various spots, sound asleep!  I just couldn't believe it!  I mean..I had been telling them about her for weeks, but...it was so strange how they just instantly accepted her arrival, and all I had to do to her that first day.  (Back into the bathroom every half hour to comb fleas off of her)

First Day home:
 


Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2014, 07:14:58 PM »
The next day, I dropped her off at the vet in the morning, where she spent the day being tested for disease, and being de-flead and stuff like that.  She also spent the day charming everyone at the clinic.  Though they did claim anyone that had to handle her was deaf by the end of the day!

Home from an exhausting day at the vet, now de-flead she could have a stuffed animal, her White Bunny


Havok rekkin started early................................................the solution
 


Tolly :angel: and Mazy and Jennie accepted her right away.  Such fun and games and cat piles!  I have a thousand pictures of Tolly and Queen Eva piled together, but here I'll just post some initial getting acquainted shots.

Tolly :angel: and Queen Eva.  Tolly loved her immediately of course.  Tolly loved all cats.
 



Tolly was sick that week, and Queen Eva took care of him.



Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2014, 07:15:40 PM »
Mazy and Queen Eva
 

 


Jennie and Queen Eva


One Big Happy Family!



Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2014, 07:16:37 PM »
It's was a bumpy road health-wise, even after we got rid of the fleas and roundworms,  with a back injury, ingesting of non-ingestibles, a week in the hospital and then two weeks recovery in the crate after a spay complication, and her digestive/intestinal problems.

For her first week she wasn't even allowed to play.

Finally she got the green light and was allowed a toy in her Castle.




Queen Eva had her own ways of doing things and growing into things.


For her first week she lived in her Castle by day (after she was de-flead),


and I put her in the bathroom at night. It was a very busy week for me and I couldn't keep her shut up in that hot bathroom all day long. So she was in her Castle (large dog crate) set up in my bedroom. But at night, I wanted her to have more room to play and jump and I wanted to sleep, so she went into the bathroom.

By the fifth night though I was letting her loose in my bedroom







Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2014, 07:17:35 PM »
Her second week I was home on vacation and the integration began.

All day long she stayed out and about with me and the other cats.  On a nice day, when I wanted to take the cats out, we would wait until she fell asleep in the bedroom, then I would close the bedroom screen door, and take the big cats out.

At night, still concerned for her safety, I continued to put her to bed in the bathroom.  And she went, willingly.  In fact she would actually put herself to bed.  I would go into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and she would follow me in and curl up in her bed.

On the seventh night after her integration (and after being here two full weeks) she decided she no longer needed to be shut in the bathroom at night.  You know how I knew?  I knew because that was the night she didn't follow me in, to be put to bed.  Instead I found her here:



From then on she slept with me and the rest of the cats.


Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2014, 07:19:31 PM »
Queen Eva has had other milestones that first year.  That first fall, after her shots I did start taking her out with the rest of the cats.  She took to the harness with no trouble, but I still wasn't ready to have her running loose in the yard.  So, since she wasn't using it in the house any more, I brought her Castle down to the yard, and every time I took the cats out, I set up her Castle, and she played in that, while we were all out side.  And she was perfectly happy with that.


   




I took her in and out via a carrier.  I put her harness on, she got in the carrier and I carried her out, opened the carrier door facing the Castle so she went from the carrier to the Castle..  When it was time to go in, I put her back in the carrier and carried her in.

The first time I let her out of the Castle was at the end of an outing in late November.  It was cold then, and after a quick run (at headlong speed) around the yard, she came inside willingly with the other cats.



Mazy, it seemed, wanted to see what it felt like to be Queen Eva


During the winter I took them out, because there wasn't any where for her to go, but the shoveled paths.

In the Spring, I let her come out without the Castle. However, in order to prevent any kind of door dashing behavior, I continued to take her out in her carrier.  I put her harness on, she walked into the carrier, then I took the carrier out to the yard, opened it and let her out. I also continued to bring her in, the same way. I wasn't quite ready for her to associate that door with the outside yard.

After a couple of weeks, one day, when it was time to go in, instead of getting in the carrier, she ran inside with the other cats.  So I stopped using the carrier to bring her in, but continued to use it to bring her out. 

Then, one day while they were all outside, they were startled, and all ran for the door.  I followed them in and shut the door, and waited for the noise that had scared them to abate, then I opened the door again, and that was the first time she walked through the door to go outside.

The next time we went out, when I got the carrier down, instead of getting in it, she went over to the door and stretched herself up against it.  That was how I knew she no longer needed to be taken out in the carrier, she told me she could be trusted, and she was. I was so proud of her!


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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2014, 07:21:01 PM »
One of my favorite memories is of the day she discovered the Big Cat litter boxes. 

She was so tiny, and the first few days after her integration I still had a litter box in her Castle, even though she wasn't being shut in the Castle any more, she was still using the litter box in it.

Then, on the third day I watched her discover the stairs. She plopped down them one at a time as I watched closelly from the top.  Once she got down them she began to explore.  Then she discovered the litter boxes!  Such EXCITEMENT!

 Brrrmph! mrrrpmph! She called to me.  I hurried down the stairs and she ran up to me stretching herself up on my legs brruping a mile a minute. Then she ran back over to the litter boxes, turning to look back to make sure I was watching.  More brrups and mrrmphs as she jumped up onto the platform and walked through all of the litter boxes.

 I could tell just what she was saying. "Look Mom!  Hey mom, lookit, LOOKIT Mom, there's a BATHROOM down here, LOOK, a BATHROOM!"

 Goodness was she excited.  And from that moment on she never used her baby potty upstairs again, so I put it away.

First time on my lap


First Sunbeam.  She was nine weeks old, it was her fourth day after integration, 11th day forever home




Queen Eva is a dedicated Burrower.  She has actual daily Burrow routines, in addition to her many random Burrowing antics.

A Burrower is Born:
Queen Eva's first documented Burrow, August 24 2010


Happy Gotcha Day my precious Baby Girl. I thank Ootay :angel: daily for sending her to us, she is so special and I just love her so much.

Offline DeeDee

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2014, 07:24:31 PM »
It looks like you're really lucky to have her in your life. And I KNOW she's lucky to have you in hers.
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Offline Pookie

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2014, 10:41:32 AM »
Happy Gotcha Day, Queen Eva!   fireworks1
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Offline Shadow

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2014, 12:10:43 PM »
Happy Gotcha Day Eva!  HeadButt
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2014, 08:24:03 AM »
Thanks everyone.  I love re-doing this story every year, because it always fascinates me, how well Queen Eva communicates with me, even as a Baby.  she always foujnd ways to let me know when she'd out grown one of my pre-cautions, you know?

She still does that, telling me what she can or can't handle, but of coure now she's more training me thaan the other way around.

You know, how's she's taught me to feed her lunch in the bathroom with the door shut.  Why?  I don't know, but every day when I come home for lunch to feed them, Queen eva isnsits on eating that meal in the bathroom, with the door shut.

In the old days, before I started raw, and I was desperate to get her to eat enough, she taught me to swipe her left-over food on her body so she could lick it off.  She still does that sometimes.  I scoop the food out onto the spatula, saying "here Queen Eva just finish this last bite" and she turns her body sideways too me, looks down her flank and says "just put it right there, and I'll take care of it".

It's not often necessary any more, but she still likes to do it sometimes.

Queen Eva is pure delight and I am so grateful to have her here. I am positive Ootay sent her to us, because Ootay knew Tolly would be leaving us soon. Tolly's cancer and death were all so quick, I was in shock as it was, but Queen Eva helped us all cope with it.  (Well Jennie didn't need any help, but Mazy and I did)

She is s special girl.

Oh did you know she has WINGS?


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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #11 on: August 17, 2014, 11:29:44 AM »
Oh did you know she has WINGS?


That is so COOL!  thumbsup1
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Offline Lola

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Re: Happy 4th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #12 on: August 17, 2014, 12:32:15 PM »
I added her "Gotcha Day" to the calendar.
I got a kick out of her first day home... all the ruckus... and the others were sound asleep during it all.  lol
Queen Eve sure had a ROUGH start!  Poor baby.  Glad she found you.
The picture of her sprawled on the bed, with the others... does she ever look looooooooong and skinny!
The dog crate...what a great idea!
LOVED the stories.  All of them.  Thanks so much for sharing.  What a smart (an adorable) kitty, Queen Eva is!
Wings?
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Offline Middle Child

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Happy 5th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2015, 08:38:35 AM »
Well it's a day late, and Lola's post came a day early  funny2 but here's the story:

Most of you know the story, I met her in a very bad situation when she was only 4 weeks old and after telling me her name was Eva she demanded I take her home. It took another four weeks for me to manage to get her out of there, while I worried about her day and night. In the car on the way home she informed me very loudly that her name is QUEEN Eva.

I'll never forget that first day.  I brought her home and rushed her straight to the bathroom and the bathtub.  She had had diarrhea and had vomited in the carrier on the way home. As I washed her in the tub (she was also covered in fleas, and I mean covered) she screamed and screamed and screamed. After I washed her and dried her I shucked my clothes before stepping out of the bathroom (leaving Queen Eva in there of course).  I expected to see three adult cats sitting at attention at the door wondering what all the noise was about.

Instead all three of them were in their various spots, sound asleep!  I just couldn't believe it!  I mean..I had been telling them about her for weeks, but...it was so strange how they just instantly accepted her arrival, and all I had to do to her that first day.  (Back into the bathroom every half hour to comb fleas off of her)

First Day home:
 

The next day, I dropped her off at the vet in the morning, where she spent the day being tested for disease, and being de-flead and stuff like that.  She also spent the day charming everyone at the clinic.  Though they did claim anyone that had to handle her was deaf by the end of the day!

Home from an exhausting day at the vet, now de-flead she could have a stuffed animal, her White Bunny


« Last Edit: August 15, 2018, 02:55:09 PM by Lola, Reason: subject - number change »

Offline Middle Child

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Re: Happy 5th Gotcha Day Queen Eva!
« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2015, 08:39:42 AM »
Havok rekkin started early........................the solution
 

Tolly :angel: and Mazy and Jennie accepted her right away.  Such fun and games and cat piles!  I have a thousand pictures of Tolly and Queen Eva piled together, but here I'll just post some initial getting acquainted shots.

Tolly :angel: and Queen Eva.  Tolly loved her immediately of course.  Tolly loved all cats.
 



Tolly was sick that week, and Queen Eva took care of him.


« Last Edit: August 15, 2018, 02:55:27 PM by Lola, Reason: subject - number change »

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