... Dexter! Isn't he a handsome lad? And doesn't he look happy? Sure he does! But looks can be deceiving...

Friday night I met my parents at PetsMart to pick up our new family member along with all the necessary supplies. After all the forms were filled out and everything was purchased we loaded him up and headed home. My parents reported that during the car ride home (I was in my own vehicle, they in theirs) Dexter rubbed against my dad's hand through the carrier and purred, never once meowing or complaining. All seemed to be going well! Until we got home....

Upon arriving at my parents home I went in first to distract our older cat, Isaac, whilst my parents snuck the new baby into his temporary room upstairs. Isaac felt the excitement/tension in the air but couldn't quite figure out what it was about. He meowed and squeaked and whirled at us quizzically and was very excited by all the toys we seemed to have brought home for him. New scratching posts and a litter box and CATNIP! He had hit the jackpot!

My parents took Dexter up to the spare bedroom and set it up with all the necessary fixin's (litter, food, etc) and let him out of the carrier to investigate his new surroundings. He immediately dashed under the bed, never to be seen again. No coaxing, cooing or loving was luring him out. He was scared and was not budging. Fair enough, so we left him for the night.

The next morning my mother called to inform me that my dad had finally hauled him out from under the bed and that he was curled up on the bed purring and happy. Happy, that is, until either my father or mother moves, in which case he gets frightened all over again.

When Isaac saw Dexter for the first time, Dexter was *thrilled* to see another cat (he had been sharing kennel space with seveal other cats) and was happy to see a new friend; Isaac was none too impressed and expressed his feelings accordingly. He hissed, growled, and stomped off.

The long and short of it is this: Dexter likes very much to cuddle up alongside anyone who will lay down with him. He will purr nonstop and stay like that for hours. He has no interest in getting off the bed to explore and has little desire to eat, drink or use the litter. He likes people well enough until they get up off the bed, which causes him to hide under the pillows. Same goes for reappearing back into the room you may have just been in with him moments prior; as you approach him he acts as if you're going to kill him, and flattens out on the bed and prays for his life. Once you lay down again he's happy as a clam and curls up with you as if he was never afraid of you. It's all very strange.

Interestingly, he is not particularly bothered by Isaac hissing and growling at him. He wishes he wouldn't, indeed he rather wishes Isaac would play with him, but he doesn't seem to be afraid of him, per se. Just big people who move. This is clearly going to take time for both cats, as happens when you adopt a 'rescue' cat.

Overall, he's a very sweet little soul who readily purrs and enjoys being pet. He prefers to sleep on the countertop of my mother's bathroom sink (the bathroom is just off the bedroom, so it's not too far from the bed) and seems to find solace in his reflection. He cried to the other kitten in the mirror much of the morning, but now he just looks at him and rubs his face along the mirror. It's kinda sad, but hey, whatever works for him. Baby steps.....

P.S. did I mention that just a couple of days before I found Dexter in the PetsMart I had a dream about an orange kitten? *grin* I shoulda known...