Janelle's First Trip to The Vet

At the end of July Dennis and I decided that it was time to make an appointment for Janelle to see the vet. This would be the first time we had ever taken Janelle to the vet, and this would be my first time every going to a vet's office in my entire life so it was an experience for all of us.

We woke up for the 10 a.m. appointment and put Janelle in the new carrier we had bought her. She seemed calm sitting inside of it, until we brought it outside. I can only imagine what was going through her head. Did she think we were giving her back to the humane society? I sat in the backseat with her as she meowed the whole way and tried to paw her way out of the metal bars.

When we arrived at the vet's office we signed in and I realized that we had left all of Janelle's paperwork at home - so Dennis drove all the way back home to get the paper work while we waited for the vet. There was a resident cat walking around licking itself and a man had brought his dog in. Janelle meowed and seemed scared, she wouldn't even eat any of the treats I tried to give her.

Dennis got back with the paperwork and then the vet's assistant saw us.

We took her out of the carrier and she seemed scared and worried. The vet assistant put Janelle on a scale, it read 10 pounds. When we first got her she was 8 pounds, and Dennis was worried that Janelle was underweight, but the assistant assured us that she was just the right weight.

I requested that the vet trim her nails, but when trimming Janelle's nails she can be vicious. The vet assistant wrote "CAUTION!" on the paperwork.

When the vet came out he looked at Janelle all over, but he couldn't give us a reason why she was grinding her teeth other than her tooth decay at the back of her mouth.

He went to clip her nails and we were expecting this to be a show - we were expecting Janelle to fight the way she does when we try to clip her nails. To our surprise, Janelle was more than compliant and she just let him clip away. The vet said it was because she was uneasy in a new surrounding and vulnerable.

I gave her some treats for being a good sport about it and then we left. On the car ride home we stopped to pick Janelle up some wet food for being such a good sport. Let's hope the next vet appointment goes just as well.

Things That Go CHOMP In The Night

Janelle loves sleeping in bed with her mommy and daddy every night, but the only downside is the routine that she picked up, luckily she has not done this so much lately, but the first few months we had her were filled with chomps in the night.

It was like our very own personal alarm clock - except far too early. We would be sleeping and all of a sudden we would hear "CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP" in our face. The sound of teeth grinding and chomping coming from Janelle was annoying. For two months straight I would get up at 3:30 a.m. and walk her down to her food dish which had food in it and watch her eat - maybe she was scared to go down and eat alone in a new home, or maybe she was just training me to do everything I can to make her happy.

It got annoying and we thought it would stop if we brought the food upstairs. At 3:30 she'd start to chomp in our faces and we'd just throw her off the bed and direct her toward her food.

We realized that it wasn't just her saying that she was hungry, but it was her way of getting our attention. Some people have cats who will just go about their day and hide under the bed, sleep, and not really interact much with humans, but Janelle is more like a small dog always wanting to be the center of attention and needing constant reassurance that she's loved, but what can you expect from a shelter cat?

She's so loving that we don't mind the chomping much anymore. We'll occasionally lock her out of the room but then she will just paw at the door and meow outside of it - further proof that maybe we don't own our cats, but our cats own us.

Welcome Home Janelle

Hi, I'm Nikky Raney and this is going to be a blog about my cat, Janelle. Before I just dive into talking about my cat I am going to make this post an introduction to my cat and me. So, here is the story of how it all happened:

My boyfriend, Dennis, and I had moved into our very own apartment in May of 2011 - the only downside was that his fraternity brother, Craig, would also be living with us. At the end of the month Craig had the idea that we should go to the Bangor Humane Society and look at cats. I had previously thrown out the idea that I wanted a cat, because I had never had a pet before and I love cats, but I didn't think it would actually happen. Dennis knew this was a disaster waiting to happen since Craig and I could never agree on anything.

When we arrived at the Humane Society it was not yet open, so we had to wait another hour for it to open. While we waited there was a fenced area where the cats could go and sit on a ledge or play around. The three of us went to look at the cats and there was one that I really liked. Dennis took a picture of the cat on his cell phone, and that cat was a 5-year-old named Janelle.

When the Humane Society finally opened I rushed in and saw Janelle. I started playing with her and immediately felt like we had a connection. Whenever another cat tried to come near me Janelle would hiss and attack that cat. I felt like she was meant to be my cat.

Craig was not so keen on Janelle. Craig found a gray cat named Phoebe which we found out had been moved from the open cat area for being too aggressive. Craig wanted Phoebe and I wanted Janelle. Neither of us had asked the landlord for permission to get a cat yet, so we ended up leaving without either cat.

I couldn't stop thinking about Janelle and how much I wanted her to be my cat. There were other people there that were holding her once I left and I was sad thinking that I would never see her again.

June 7 was my 21st birthday and Dennis and I were in New Hampshire celebrating with my parents. Dennis told me that for my birthday I could have a cat, and that he had agreed with Craig that I would be getting the cat for my birthday. I was so excited and I thought about finally being able to have Janelle. My boyfriend insisted that Janelle would not be there when we got back so I shouldn't get my hopes too high up.

We returned to Maine and on June 9 we went to Petco to buy all the essentials for having a cat including a litter box and litter. While we were there we saw two kittens that were for sale, but I insisted that I wanted to go to the Humane Society and get Janelle.

On June 10 Dennis got home from work at around 5 p.m. and the Humane Society was closing at 6. When we got to the Humane Society I ran in and there she was. In a cage that was right at the front desk was Janelle, my cat. There was a sign on her cage that said "Name Your Own Price!" and that alone made Dennis happy.

I didn't even look at any other cat. The man remembered me from the few weeks prior and he gave me paperwork to fill out. Janelle was put in a cardboard carrier as she waited to be brought home. The video attached is the car ride home:



We knew that life with Janelle would be full of surprises.