Meet Breezy

Breezy blew into our lives on October 3. She’s a one-year-old tortoiseshell with plenty of tortitude. I brought her home after three weeks of seeing her at PetSmart. PetSmart isn’t a store I frequent, but I needed cat food for Boo, and I didn’t want to fight traffic to get to our independent pet supply store. I took a detour past the rescue cat cages and saw her there, sleeping in her cage. All the cats looked adorbs, and I felt for all of them, but there was something about Breezy that captivated me so much that I returned to the store four times in the next three weeks. Every time part of me hoped she would be gone, while another part wondered if it would be possible to introduce a new cat into Boo’s home. I found a post about her on Angel of Hope’s Facebook Page, and even asked for more information concerning her attitude toward other cats.

I didn’t think Nick would be on board, so I put off the conversation for about a week. He was surprisingly agreeable to adopting Cat 2, so that Monday I stopped at PetSmart on the way home to officially meet her and returned later that night to pick her up.

For about a week, Breezy was confined to the computer room downstairs. After work, I would lock Boo away in my (her) room and let Breezy out to explore. One of the first things she found was Boo’s banana. If you have a cat and they don’t have a catnip banana, you need to buy one now. Boo goes crazy over the banana, but Breezy lost her GD mind.

It was so wet and soppy and gross when she was done. I ended up leaving it in the computer room with her and ordering replacements (banana, rainbow, and cigar triple pack!) Nick ended up confiscating the banana because she couldn’t handle the nip. Don’t worry, she’s since learned to use it responsibly.

One thing we learned about Breezy right away is she has an insatiable appetite. No more free feeding in our house. Also no more food on the counters (including bread) or lidless trash cans. On a positive note, so far she hasn’t eaten anything not intended to be eaten. Aside from the pushpin I snatched from her mouth when she was in the computer room. But that seemed to have been a one-time thing. She also leaves the non-kitchen trash cans in peace. She knows where the bounty lies.

See the paper towel with a hole? Yeah, she ate the part with old cat food on it.

After Halloween we had a giant loaf of french bread. She stole it off the counter. When I showed up to investigate the loud thud, Breezy took one look at me, picked up the loaf of bread in her mouth, and ran. I chased her around the poker table in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, because that bread loaf was bigger than she was. For about a week the bread was successfully stored on top of the fridge. Until we came home to this:

Cookapalooza Sundays proves quite challenging as well. We never had to worry about food sitting out with Boo around because she has no interest in human food. (Except for rotisserie chicken. You’ve gotta guard those.)

Then there was the time Breezy got into the bag of cat food and knocked over an open bottle of wine and we came home to THIS:

The first time she ate asparagus I thought it was an accident. But then she did it the next day, and the day after that.

The nice thing about Breezy is that most of the time I can still eat in semi-peace. When she realizes she’s not getting anything, she’ll usually sit quietly beside me, until the next time I enter the kitchen.

Breezy’s love for food isn’t the only way she differs from Boo. Breezy loves people and exploring. Even after the vet poked and prodded her, she continued her investigation of the exam room.

One thing the two cats have in common is their affinity for the carrier. When I put on the door to bring Breezy to the vet, Boo ran right in it. It took me a couple of minutes to get her out, and then Breezy ran right into it.