He's so little! Even his paw pads

Something that I still can't get over is that Chester's so little. Some cats you know run on the smaller side when you see a picture of them. Chester looked - and still looks - bigger in pictures than he is in person. 

A. mentioned to the breeder that I preferred large cats. She told us he was 10 lbs., perhaps so I wouldn't be disappointed. In his pictures he looks like a 10 lb. cat but he's closer to 8.5lbs.

A few days ago, I found a couple of stray claw sheaths in my office and showed it to a co-worker who has a very big cat. Her reaction was that they were so dainty! 

And even though I squee in delight at the different parts of Chester's body (his puffy tail, his mouth and its silly expressions, the small claws) my all time favorite are his teeny paw pads. Toe floof makes the paw pads appear even smaller than they really are!

The 3:00 position

Obligatory Close up

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

And they're so soft!

Chester, people, his table, and fireworks

The days that Chester was with us was turning into weeks. A.'s allergies and asthma were not acting up so we didn't have to fall back on our contingency plan which was giving the boy to A.'s cousin in Minneapolis. 

Growing up, there were always cats in the house because my sister had - um - a thing for taking in strays. Which meant the cats could play with each other, go outside, or nap in any number of places. But they - including the Siamese Neffie who sat on my back at night while I slept - didn't require our constant attention. Chester, however, had to be in the center of everything - and it was getting exhausting!

The beginning of July 2011, Chester had a new favorite spot - the dining room table. Just an aside that we were still using contact lens solution around his eyes and nose. It wasn't doing a very good job, though, and the boy's nose is crusty. We soon purchased something called Eye Envy which did the trick in cleaning his face.

I moved my 2 antique Lucky Cats into my clothes closet. I have a few on display but these are the ones that are easy to replace!

My friend calls this picture ode to a lost whisker

Yes, his fur is as soft as it looks. Even the orange fur! He has tabby coloring but it feels like cotton balls.

July 4th fireworks were going off over the water and we invited friends to watch. It was also a great opportunity for the locals who "met" Chester online to meet him in person - and help this new mommy give the furboy the attention he deserved!  He was such a charmer - I couldn't believe it. When he wasn't on the couch accepting rubs and pets, he was on the dining room rug taking in everything. That included keeping tabs on the dining room table. It wasn't where it was supposed to be - we moved it against the far wall. And it was covered with food. Chester was patient - but there came a time where he needed to reclaim his table! After a couple of hours, there he was eying the table, butt maneuvering, getting ready to jump. A few of us saw what was happening and intercepted him after he landed on the tabletop - luckily not on anything. In true Chester fashion, he just walked away after he was returned to the floor and did something else.

He didn't mind the fireworks - except during the finale where so many fireworks went off at the same time and for a couple of minutes. I sat with him and petted him and soothed him with my voice during that period - he was in the corner and was still - which was unusual for him. I realized he did have his limits and felt kind of bad for complaining about him being a handful. He made an instant recovery once the fireworks were over but from then on - whenever motorcycles pass on the highway or helicopters fly by - I'm there by his side to let him know everything's ok.

Chester doesn't play well with others...other cats that is

(Flashback to June/July 2011) A. and I were still in awe that we had a cat. I never thought that I would have a cat of my own. A. was allergic to cats and has asthma. We did have a dwarf bunny rabbit for 12 years. Yes, that little guy lived to be 12. His name was Harey but the vet dubbed him "The Energizer Bunny".  

After he passed away, A. was devastated and I figured we wouldn't have pets since the bun affected his asthma. 

But then came Chester

Chester meowed when I approached the door to leave for work in the morning. I was filled with guilt because it sounded like crying. When I returned home, he would be waiting by the door. I thought it was time for Chester to have a friend other than his Kong.

The cattery retired a girl cat and was looking to find her a new home. This was a white girl who the breeder told A. Chester liked. I contacted the breeder about getting her as a "friend" for our boy. Well, she said that he was best-suited to be the only cat.  He started fights with and beat up the other cats - Persians! - in the cattery. Really? This cat:

Oh boy! To this day, it's hard for me to believe that Chester could be the aggressor - especially because he's so little - but I wouldn't want to make life miserable for another cat. As someone at work pointed out to me, cats sleep most of the day anyway!

Chester is in the bathroom sink

Chester is almost done shedding his winter coat. Coupled with it being unseasonably warm means it must be time to sleep in the bathroom sink!

Continuing the story of when Chester first became a member of our family, here are some pictures from July 2011 of Chester in the bathroom sink.

 

Chester plays with straws

After about of week of playing with his Kong Kickeroo, Chester moved onto a new toy that we introduced to him - the plastic straw. He would play soccer with the straw and then pounce on it. He got so excited that his tail would get bushy - which was so cute!

Exotic Shorthair Chester: Dusty Chester and pictures from his first bath at his forever home

You may remember that Chester had fun on the top of the armoire and that he rolled over in the dust to play with me. Here are some pictures!

That's 6 years worth of dust - oy vey!  Luckily, the bath we had scheduled for last week had to be postponed until today since A. was away on business.

A. and I have gotten better at bathing and drying Chester since we gave him his first bath in his forever home.

Here are some pictures from that first bath:

And I have gotten used to the fact that Chester will voice his protest which initially caused me to feel uneasy.

(He's so little!)

But Chester goes along with the routine since he has received monthly baths his whole life and even moves his head, body, and legs in the direction of the heat from the blow dryer. The first couple of times, we dried him on the floor of the kitchen so he was DONE with the whole thing before he was completely free of water.

Chester walking away after his first bath - not dry yet!

We now have a station set up adjacent to the sink so getting him dry doesn't take as long as it used to and he doesn't walk away before Andy and I are done.

Exotic Shorthair Chester: The week of the Kong Kickeroo

Getting back to Chester's first week. On Thursday morning, the boy was meowing like crazy to get out of his safe rooms. Typically, Exotics follow their owners from room to room and Chester was no exception. He needed to be with us or just watch us from afar. 

Here he is in our master bedroom:

 
His favorite toy during that first week was his Kong Kickeroo:

This is also the last picture of the peace lily and Chester. He was ignoring it prior to this picture but then he acknowledged its existence so it was so long peace lily (no one in our building and none of our friends wanted it).

I took a video of Chester and the toy. I added a YouTube hardcore punk song in place of the news story on the nation's debt that was on in the background when this was filmed: