Chanel 2000 - 2016

On Thursday, March 10th, Chanel passed away at the age of 16. I remember the day we adopted her like it was yesterday.

We had decided to get a cat, but being new to Toronto, we didn’t really know how to go about it. There were plenty of ads in the newspaper stating “Kittens seek a good home”, but without a car it was hard to get around.
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When a neighbor told us that Petsmart has animals up for adoption we wasted no time. On the bus I was a little worried though, how was I going to choose a cat? There would be so many there, all with a pleading look in their eyes to pick one of them.
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As it turned out, the choice was easy. As soon as we walked into the adoption center of Petsmart, there were these two adorable white kittens playing with each other, and huddled in a corner sat a sad grey kitten.

The kitten looked at us with eyes that said “Nobody wants me, compared to those two, I don’t stand a chance.”

Well, she was wrong, ever the champion of the underdog I decided that this was the kitten for us. I filled out the form, paid the $180 adoption fee and before we even left the store we had decided on a name ... Chanel.

Chanel was like every other kitten: she explored, she played and she got up to no good. As she grew up she developed a unique personality though, she turned out to be a caring cat.

This became most evident when I was diagnosed with pneumonia. During those first three dangerous days, Chanel stayed with me the whole time. She didn’t move except to eat, drink and use her litter box.
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When I got a little better and moved from my bed to the couch, she parked herself on the backrest of the chair while I lay and watched TV.
When I made some more progress and was able to get up to use the bathroom or make myself some lunch, Chanel followed.

I could tell a hundred stories about the 16 years Chanel spent with us, but since a picture is worth a 1,000 words, lets rather look at Chanel's life in images.

Last but not least, Chanel inspired me to write "Kitten Diaries". In print and in memory, Chanel will live on.

Friday is Cat Dat - Sink Appeal

Most cats are afraid of water, 

yet the kitchen or bathroom sink holds a magical appeal.

Charlotte ... 

Tap water is so much better from the tap than from a bowl.

Gabriel ... 

the dishes will have to wait.

Mickey ...

Unidentified stationary objects

Mickey ... 

Don't even think of opening that tap

Chanel ...

I don't care for sinks, I prefer the top of the fridge

Holly ...

I don't care for sinks either, I prefer the inside of the fridge. 

But where did all the food go?

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Kitten Diaries

"Kitten Diaries" holds two stories: 
"Chanel's Story" 
and 
"Queeny's Diary".

The following is an extract from "Chanel's Story" ...

For a while I lived in a shelter.  It was a place filled with dogs and cats and I was there all by myself, even though I was just a baby kitten. 

Then one day my friends and I were put in cages, loaded into a car, and transported to a pet store.

On the way, I saw a sign that read “National Pet Adoption Week”.  

It’s not unusual for pets to be taken to pet stores, but that is just for a day or for a weekend.  This week, however, cats, dogs and other small pets will be taken to pet stores all week and can be adopted at a reduced fee.  They do this whenever the shelter gets too full you see, in an attempt to have as many pets adopted as possible.

Being adopted by a family would be nice.  While I was in the cat shelter, I saw plenty of people come and go, but I was never chosen.  I did not have much hope that today would be any different.

People walked past the cages, saying how cute and adorable the other cats and kittens were, but they never said that about me.  If anything, they frowned at the sight of me.

I saw them leaving, cradling their new furry bundle of joy in their arms, while I stayed behind.

Nobody wanted me.  Nobody even wanted to rub my little head, let alone pick me up and hold me.

I am not cute or adorable, you see.  I am ugly.

My fur is not short and smooth like Mona’s; it is long and sticks out at angles.  My color is not black like Suzy’s, white like Ceasar’s, cream like Mike’s, or even striped like Angela’s.  It is a mixture of grey and cream, patched all over my face, body, legs and tail.  I’m the kind of cat that people look at once, then turn away quickly.  

I was not sure why they brought me along to the pet store.  Nobody was going to take me anyway.

To make matters worse, I was sharing my cage with Lisa and Lynette, pure white twins.  They were the most beautiful kittens I had ever seen and believe me, I have seen a lot of kittens during my time here in the shelter.  

The twins were so adorable when they played.  Come to think of it, they were even adorable when they were asleep. So, how can an unglamorous little girl like me compete?   There’s another problem; they tell me that when I sleep, I sometimes snore.  Do you know anyone who wants an ugly kitten who snores?

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Goodbye Kiki, hello Zippy

Recently I learned from a friend that she called her Beta fish JC (short for Jackie Chan).  Even though JC swims alone in an aquarium and thus has nobody to fight with, everyone knows that Beta fish are fighters and that Jackie Chan is a fighter, hence the name is appropriate.

Whenever we adopted a cat, finding a name was never a problem. 

Chanel was named after Coco Chanel, creator of the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume.  Since Chanel was our fifth cat, the name was perfect.

Charlotte had a mischievous grin on her face when we first met and she reminded me of an ex-colleague named Charlotte who was always up to something.

Mickey came to us with a name.  After mom died and dad decided to move to a retirement home, a home had to be found for Mick.  I knew right away that I was bringing Mickey to Canada because I didn’t trust strangers with him.

Gabriel looked angelic when I first saw him.  I was told that he was a fighter though.  Naming him after an archangel was the logical choice.

With our latest addition, we made a bit of a mistake.

When we adopted a four week old bunny, we named her Kiki because she kicked up a storm when held.  Today, barely four days later, we’ve decided that Kiki is not the best name for the creature and we renamed her Zippy.

If you were to see her move, you would understand why.  While most of the time she hops, if she gets playful she zips from here to there.  Quick as lightning she is and catching her (during her roaming free time) is near impossible.  The best thing to do is to wait until she gets tired and then make a move.

How do we know where Zippy is?  All we have to do is look for Mickey, he follows her around like a big brother.

Gabriel sniffs her and when she gets on his nerves, he swats her with his tail.  If she doesn’t get the message, he sits on her.  If she happens to be under his butt, so be it.

Charlotte is still a little wary of the newcomer and keeps her distance.  If Zippy crosses the line, she gets hissed at. 

As for Chanel … she’s scared of her own shadow, so when she first set eyes on Zippy she ran like a bat from hell.  Soon her curiosity got the better of her though and very carefully she had a closer look at Zippy.  Today they’re not really friends yet, but she lets Zippy sniff her tail.

I’m confident this will have a happy ending.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the little trouble maker.

 A shoulder can be quite comfortable

You heard of grumpy cat ... this is me, grumpy bunny

Smells like chicken 

                                                Mickey is inspecting Zippy's accommodation 

                                                  (can be extended when Zippy gets bigger)