A NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

We have two dogs, Kona the Border Collie and Boomer the Basset Hound. Part of the plan was that by the time we were ready to cut the dock lines, our fur children will have grown old and moved on. I love them all so very much and really dread the time when they will no longer be with us, but boat life will be much more relaxing if we don’t have a zoo.

On June 17, 2014, I got a text message that kittens had been found on the construction site Hubbie worked on. Now, I carefully avoid pet stores, humane societies and animal shelters because I tend to want each and every one of them to come home with me. Hubbie asked if I would be up for finding homes for the little fur balls – Of course! In the end, we were only able to catch one, so we left out some food and water and agreed to try again the next day. Apparently momma came back and realized that their “home” was probably not in the best location, because the next day they were gone.

We took the little guy we caught to the humane society to see if they could find a home for him. Their policy is that the kitten must be vaccinated and then quarantined at your own home for two weeks before they would accept him in the cattery. Clever plan! How many people can keep a kitten for two weeks and then just give him back. Certainly not me!

We took Chester home, gave him a bath, mixed up some food and kept him quarantined in the bathroom. We didn’t realize how filthy he was until his colors changed from tan and black to white and black. Within a few hours, his eyes changed from a dull gray to a beautiful blue. He looked so much more alive. As the two weeks passed, we agreed that he was part of the family.

But, how does a new kitten fit into our boat life plan? You start young with adventure training! Chester will be a boat cat and in his first year of life, he has been camping once and to my Dad’s boat a handful of times. As you can see, he does rather well.