Meet Dante.
He’s sitting in front of the window where I first met him.
He was crying his little heart out, paws up against the window, begging for someone to notice him.
I did.
He had cuts all over his face, including a big swollen gash from his nose down his lip. His ribs were all too visible and all his toe pads were mashed up. I went outside to check him out and he hopped up in my lap, shaking from head to tail from the cold and his exhaustion. We brought him in to warm up and eat, and he’s been with us ever since.
We named him Dante, after Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy. They both have long faces and long noses and were exiled from their homeland. Our Dante likes to be scratched under the chin, and when he’s being pet, the very tip of his tail swishes back and forth like a pendulum.
Dante and Hobbes are the complete opposite in every way and they haven’t learned how to be friends yet. Our house is filled with conflict and tension as they work out their differences. Dante has a distinct disadvantage in these encounters – in his past life he was declawed (boo-hiss…I will resist the urge to vent my frustration about that and instead provide useful info for declawing alternatives). Poor guy isn’t able to put up much of a fight so he makes a lot of noise instead.
If you are curious about how my husband-of-the-many-allergies-including-cats is holding up – he is not allergic to Dante, even though he’s a regular not-fancy-schmancy-hypoallergenic kitty!
So the question now is….do we still get the Siberian kitten we’ve been waiting for from Hobbes’ breeder? I say yes. Hobbes still needs a play mate. Steve is on the fence. The cats should not outnumber the humans. But to that I say – time to make some more humans!
Aww! Dante is gorgeous! Congrats on the new member of the house 🙂 Careful or you’ll end up like Pat and I, completely outnumbered by critters! We currently have three cats, a dog and two snakes 😀
How long has Dante been with you? I’ve heard that it takes between 3-6 months for cats to work out their business and settle in. We’ve had Mystie for about 4 months now and we still have scuffles from time to time.
You *are* outnumbered!
We’ve had him inside for a little over a month, so it’s still early yet. Time will tell!
Heh, for sure. I am officially a crazy cat lady 🙂 In my defense, all of our pets are rescues, hand-me-downs or inheritances.
Oh, and I especially appreciate your comment on growing your family to meet the cat to person ratio demands! 😀
I like your logic about making more humans! And just so you know, Johnny and I had 3 cats before we had more humans too……so I totally agree with your logic. And good for you for rescuing Dante! He is beautiful.
Thank you! I’ll tell Steve I have evidence that it can work out! 😉