Bringing Todd Home

On March 29th, we finally got the email with the good news: Todd was ready to bring home!

My husband and I arranged to go over to Cat Mom's the very next day, Friday the 30th.

We sure had a lot of things to buy: bowls, food, litter, litter pan, toys...

Our first purchase was a placemat and the mouse toy I had brought for him to play with during our first visit. We found the perfect stainless steel, non-slip bowls that I filled with fresh water and Purina Kitten Chow, same food that he was accustomed to since being weaned. We decided to set up his litter box in the stairwell going into the basement, with hopes that it could eventually be moved into the laundry room.

We didn't get a carrier yet, so Todd would be coming home in a box. We put his empty litter pan inside and lined it with absorbent paper and a towel. When we arrived at Cat Mom's house, Todd was found under a bed, taking a nap. With the help of Cat Mom's sons, we had him in our possession at last! With a short goodbye (Cat Mom was sad to see him go... in fact he was the kitten she would have kept for her family!) he was ours.

The car ride was more than enjoyable. Todd was very curious, poking his head out of the box, looking out of the window and very eager to climb out of my arms. I distracted him with the catnip mouse toy and treats.

When we got home, Todd took his time exploring his new environment. In the kitchen he enjoyed playing with his feathered ball.

My sister in law and her boyfriend came over for a little visit too; they were almost as excited about Todd's arrival as we were!

After all the excitement of the day, Todd curled up in the flying pigs blanket bed I had prepared for him... until he found his way upstairs and crawled into bed with us.

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Visiting Baby Todd

When Todd was about 6 weeks old, my mom and I went for a little visit.

Armed with her mega-lensed Nikon, we got to see Todd in his natural environment.

Upon arrival to Cat Mom's house, the first thing I noticed was how tiny his mama was! She was so skinny and petite I almost thought she was a kitten herself. With a few prolonged meows, she called her litter to come feed. Todd and his calico sister were the only ones within earshot, and therefore the only ones that got a milk dinner (Cat Mom had an offering of kitten chow so that weaning could begin).

Todd loved to feed! Even after his mama had enough and got up to walk away, Todd chased after her and tried to latch onto her traveling teat.

Amongst his siblings, Todd was a bit of an instigator: Scrapping with his sleeping brother, rolling in the litter box, play-biting his munching sister.

Having caught a few mice in the house the days before, we knew Todd would be an excellent protector of our home! He even responded well to the catnip mouse we brought for him to play with.

We couldn't wait for him to be 8 weeks so we could officially call him ours!

Naming: How Our Kitten Became Todd

Naming a kitten is hard. We knew what we didn't want: nothing too popular (no offense to any Max's or Milo's out there) or nothing too cutesy (Smokey or Pumpkin just wouldn't fit the bill).

One night I was reading through names on babynames.com, in the T section, and out of my mouth came Todd. Immediately my husband and I burst into a fit of giggles. "Todd", he repeated, chuckling again, "Todd the cat".

As days passed, we would joke, "what do you think Todd's doing?", and we would laugh all over again.

Finally, my husband says, "you know we have to name him Todd now".

Laughing, I agreed.

We had named our cat Todd.

It was later that we realized the true meaning was actually very fitting for our little ginger friend...

Pre-ownership: Birth

Todd was born in the wee hours of February 5th, 2012. He is one of seven siblings; exact birth order unknown because his mother's owner (referred to as Cat Mom from here on) fell asleep during the delivery.

Thanks to Facebook, I saw the first few glimpses of Todd's life. My husband and I had been planning to get a kitten, but thought we would wait until after our Euro trip in July. Yet the thought of a 'free' kitten (more on that to come in later posts) to fill our new home with joy was too tempting to pass up.

After a quick inquiry to Cat Mom (a family friend, btw) about the orange and white kitten, we quickly decided he was 'ours'.

Introduction: Meet Todd the Tabby