Carmichael

Carmichael came into our lives 7-1/2 years ago. He was an itty-bitty thing - - in fact, I could hold him in my cupped hands and still have room left over! Some friends of our had rescued him off their church's parking lot and brought him home. They already had numerous cats, and when Judy told me about him (all gray, almost a Russian Blue color), I immediately wanted to meet the little guy.

I went to Curt and Judy's house on my lunch hour the next day. Judy picked up this little bundle of dark gray fluff and placed him in my lap. He immediately purred, curled up in my lap, gave out a huge "groan", and went to sleep. And yes - - I melted. Judy said, "You're going to take him home, aren't you?" All I could do was whisper "Yes." (Didn't want to wake the little guy!)

The next day after work, I went and got him and brought him home. Callie was NOT happy with this intrusion on HER private property, and having this, this - - KITTEN - - getting attention from HER people! There were some tense moments over the next few weeks, but she finally gave in and got used to him. We think it was only his "kitten status" that saved his little hide!

We took the new kitty to the Vet to have him checked out. Although we thought he was only about 6-7 weeks old, because of his small size, it turned out he was almost 3 months old! He was so small because he was hungry! WELLLLL - - this is an Italian household - - NOBODY, not even a cat, is going to go hungry in MY house! We started packing the groceries in him, and he filled out in no time. (He's a big chunky boy now!)

We noticed right away that he had a bad habit of clawing things, so when we took him back to the Vet to get altered, we also had him front declawed. Hey, I love cats, but I also love my furniture, my drapes, and my carpet!

We were still trying to decide on a name for the little guy. I was thinking very strongly about George, for "Curious George", because he was so darned curious about everything, and getting into all of it! (I also considered "pain in the ass", becasus he was that, also!) But George just didn't fit right, and 'P.I.T.A.' was too darned long. What to name the little guy . . .

At work, I was clerical support for a team of caseworkers for Children and Family Services. One of my caseworkers, whose last name was Carmichael, real character; he was always walking up behind me, and was so soft-footed, he always wound up startling me. He didn't do it purposely (I don't think, anyway).One day, shortly after the arrival of the new kitten, Don again walked up behind me asking for something, and scared me half out of my wits! I told him that I had this new kitten who was always underfoot, always startling me, and was a general pain in the ass, just like he was, so I was going to name the little guy Carmichael! He just laughed and walked away. But I am a woman of my word. The next day, when I took the kitten to the Vet for altering, I gave his name as Carmichael!

Carmichael (or Carmie, for short), has been a trial at times, but has provided Dear Hubby and me with many hours of entertainment, and an abundance of love. He loves to run and play, and loves it when we take one of his toy mousies and throws it so he can chase it across the fllor.

Carmie adored his big sister Callie. She would always sleep during the day at the foot of our bed, on my robe, which I left there specifically for that purpose. I would come home at lunchtime, and would always find one of his toy mousies on the bed, next to the robe. He was always bringing one of them to her.

When we lost dear Callie, Carmichael became very depressed. He wouldn't run, or play. We would throw one of his favorite mousies, and he would just sit there and watch it go past him. If he did run after it, he would then just sit there and look at it. He wasn't eating like he normally did. He kept watching the doorways, looking for Callie to come into the room. The day after we lost her, I came home at lunchtime, and found one of his favorite mousies on the bed, next to my robe. I just broke down in tears. He and I were both totally heartbroken.

Steve and I had a long talk, and decided that even though we felt it was too soon for us, it was NOT too soon for Carmichael. He needed a companion, and he needed one NOW.

That is when Destiny came into our home. Carmichael hissed quite a bit the first couple of days. (Who is this? This is NOT my big sister!) We started calling him "Air Leak Kitty", and told him we needed to fix that leak before he went flat! But he got over that, and is now back to his normal, fun-loving, playful self. She is apparently just what the doctor order!

So there you have it - - the Jackson Household cats!