Introducing Sweet Pea

I didn't intend to take a 3-week hiatus from blogging, but I went to Florida to see a man about a horse cat and only returned to France yesterday. Why go all the way across the ocean to adopt a cat? A very good question I asked myself several times in the long process of getting Miss Sweet Pea ready for import (microchipping, rabies shot, paperwork from the vet, special stamps from the USDA's office, to name but the highlights).
I'm still not sure how I got swept up into this situation, but the story is this: my parents found the kitty in their front yard one day and after weeks of feeding her, decided they would take her to the local shelter. But after a word of warning from a neighbor that the shelter's supposed no-kill policy isn't enforced 100% of the time, they had a change of heart and took her to the vet's to be spayed instead. Only after the anesthesia had taken affect did the vet realize she'd already been spayed. So my parents brought her back to recover and once inside the house, Sweet Pea made herself at home. Why didn't my parents just adopt the cat themselves?

Kitty is why. Kitty hates cats. Kitty hates cats so much that she up and left her home of nine years when the owner got another one (which is how my parents ended up with her). Kitty took one look at Sweet Pea and declared, in no uncertain terms, that violent bloodshed would be the only result of cohabitation.  My parents devised a method of keeping the two cats apart by letting one in while the other was enclosed in a bedroom and then letting the other loose in the house while the former was out on the porch room -- this went on for several weeks while they looked in vain for someone who could adopt Sweet Pea. My mother would sigh and say if only I lived closer, she'd be the perfect cat for me. And I'd sigh and agree and that would be that. But it wasn't until I mentioned to Benjamin that Sweet Pea was a Russian Blue and supposedly good for people with allergies (such as Benjamin) that he suggested I actually go ahead and get her. I booked my plane ticket almost immediately after.

I'll confess, when I met my future pet in the flesh, it wasn't love at first sight for either of us. She'd try to bite me if I pet her, she was aloof unless I was offering butter (her favorite treat), and after growing up with a big fluffy Persian, it took me a while to appreciate her sleek, seal-like coat. Of course, now I think she's the prettiest little princess fur-baby *insert incoherent baby-talk babbling here* and she's warmed up to me enough that I've gained status as her favorite cushion.

It remains to be seen if she'll be happy here in her new home. We're both recovering from jet lag and adjusting to the different space and I'm pretty sure neither of us was ready to give up the balmy Floridian sunshine for chilly Parisian drizzle, but we are making the best of it.

 Here's to beginnings and hopefully beautiful friendships.