Lucy

Lucy is the newest member of our household. She's about a year old and hails from the Humane Society. PetCo has some kind of deal with them, so that's where we actually picked her up. (Good for PetCo! It was also a much more pleasant environment than a kitty Auschwitz. Plus, they threw in valuable coupons.)

Lucy is affectionate, curious, brave, agile - and so far, not skittish, naughty, loud, or demanding.

After the difficulties that arose between Deb and I in the last days of our dog, Malika, (revealing that I am not the animal lover that Deb is!) she took matters into her own hands about the cat. She decided when we'd take action, picked the animal (though I met her at the shop), signed the papers, chose and bought all the 'accessories,' (more stuff than I would have deemed necessary), and paid for everything. I was a bit surprised. So, I guess Lucy is Deb's cat. Or Deb's her human. That may be best, and reduce the chances of further conflict. If decisions need to be made they will be hers. I can stick to a supporting role.

The Humane Society has a policy against taking checks and debit/credit cards; Deb had to go next door to get cash. While we waited, I stayed and played with the cat in the employee break room.

"Tarragon" (as she was named at that point) came right up to me. She was happy to be held but not insistent, and didn't seemed freaked out by the situation at all, so that was nice.

Tell you what freaked ME out though. The motivational posters on the walls about how PetCo intends to take over the world. (Through good customer service and taking back market share from WalMart and PetSmart, though, not breeding cats and dogs!)

At any rate, from the vantage point of Day 2, I think we're all going to get along fine.

To my amusement the neighbors' huge gray cat - who unlike most cats in these parts is allowed outside and sometimes comes in our yard - sat on the porch and stared in at us for quite a while this morning.

For most of you, that is all you want to know about that, or maybe more. But if you happen to be the type who can't get enough of this sort of thing, there are a few more pics here.