Opal

I realized through a friend's post on my FB wall last night that I completely forgot to share with you all about our cat, Opal. Aaron and I got opal 4 years ago this month. We got her during the phase when I first started wanting to have a baby and Aaron most definitely did not. So, he got me a kitten instead. We found her through Craigslist and when we first got her, she was this teeny, tiny, fuzzy little thing with bright blue eyes and she was sooooo vocal.

Well, about a year ago, she developed this horrible habit of popping her nails on our carpet. Because our carpet was 25 years old and completely disgusting, we let it slide. We actually found it amusing. Then, in early March, we got new carpet. We tried for weeks before this to break her of the habit. Deterrent sprays, leaving a blanket over her favorite popping spot, spraying her with water when we caught her doing it, and in the past she had different scratching posts, but never used them. Then we got this beautiful new carpet and she started popping her nails on the steps. Nothing we tried worked and we didn't want her to destroy the new carpet, too. So, we decided to give her away.

I posted her on Craigslist and someone was interested. I had a bad feeling about these people since the first time they contacted me. They called at 9:30pm on our anniversary (Saturday) and acted frustrated that they couldn't come get her right then. We set up an appointment for them to pick her up that Monday and they blew us off. That Friday, they asked if they could come after work and get her, and then blew us off again. They said they're absolutely come the next day (Saturday), but called to cancel 20 minutes before they were supposed to come so they could go to a St. Patrick's Day party. Finally, that Sunday, they came to get her. They didn't ask any questions about her care or temperament, just about how much she sheds. This couple was total white trash. They were in their 40's, unmarried, poor, and both reeked of cigarette smoke. But we (selfishly) chose to spare our carpet and give her away.

As soon as they took her, I started crying. And then over the next few days, I cried and cried more because I missed her so much and felt bad for giving her away. I wanted her back, but when I called to check on her after she'd been with them for 5 days, they said she had adjusted very well and they just "loved her so much". That gave me a little bit of comfort, but I still missed her.

Two weeks after they had taken her, the woman called to ask if I would take her back. I asked why they didn't want her and she said her boyfriend was allergic to her. Riiight. Well, I lept at the opportunity to have her back, so they met me after work and handed her over. Funny how they blew us off 4 times to pick her up, but couldn't get rid of her fast enough.

They left and we let her out of her crate. She REEKED of cigarette smoke (and I have asthma, so that's not cool). She was absolutely hand shy-- she bit Aaron and drew blood. Her fur was falling out in clumps. And they had put this cheap plastic collar with a bell around her neck so tight that it was cutting into her neck. She was skinny and when we set her in front of her food and water bowls, it was as if she had been starving. Poor thing! I felt so guilty! We gave her a bath and I brushed her for about an hour. After that, she laid on my lap the rest of the evening. That was a Monday.

The following Thursday, we had her declawed. I'd had mixed feelings about doing this to her because it's widely considered to be inhumane. I read online that it's illegal in the UK because they consider it to be mutilation. But, we had to think of our carpet and whether being in a home where we were constantly angry at her was worth the guilt trip. So, we had her laser declawed. I tell you what-- it was as if they removed her claws and injected her with a huge dose of affection serum. She has been sweeter than she has ever been! We've kept her segregated to our guest room so the dog won't chase her, and she has LOVED it. We did have an issue a couple evenings ago where she was chasing a laser pen and one of her incisions came open and started absolutely gushing blood. I took her into our bathroom so she'd stop bleeding on the carpet and after 5 minutes, it looked like someone had mopped blood in front of the vanity. I cried then, too. Ugh. After about an hour it stopped and the vet said it would heal on its own.

So, she's going to take it easy for a few more weeks and get lots and lots of attention. And that's the long winded version of what happened with Opal. Thanks for reading!