Marina Needs A Home of Her Own

If you haven't read how I obtained this cute little cat, please read previous Marina entries (They are tagged "Marina" and you can do a tag search to pull up all the entries on one page). I really love this little kitty, however, I've finally come to the conclusion that she will have to be confined to her guest room OR I must find her a really good home. There is discord between her and my other Siamese (Pepper). I've broken up a few cat fights (so far no ones been hurt) and I worry when I have to leave them alone in the house. Marina gets along fine with Kobi (the dog) and seems to like my other cats, Chili, Figaro and Sparky (although she screams bloody murder when Sparky pounces on her without warning--he does that to all his family).

Anyone who knows me--knows how much I love my pets. I've never given a pet away and I'll probably shed some tears when I do. Marina is a loving little blue tipped traditional Siamese. She loves people. Every morning when I come in to say good morning (she isn't allowed on the bed as Pepper will go after her), she talks up a storm, purrs and begs to be picked up. She loves to be brushed. I bring her out during the day and she lays on my desk and purrs everytime I pet her.

So my dear friends, family & kind hearted animal people... I'm hoping you can help me find a home where Marina will be the "queen", spoiled and be able to roam about her Castle without fear of being beat up by another cat. I think she was already terrorized in her previous outing, when she found herself amongst a group of feral cats (thus the little tear in her ear you can see in her photos).

I would like to GIVE Marina to someone who can provide the following:

• An indoor home. She is not an outdoor cat, nor should she become an outdoor cat. She shows no interest in going back "out there" after spending days, weeks in 100+ degree weather. She is small and would be owl, hawk and coyote bait. In fact, I'm not a fan of anyone letting their cat out.


• Preferably a home without children and if there are children, they would need to be mature enough to handle her with loving care.


• A home where she may explore freely.


• Owner/s who will brush her, pet and hold her, talk back to her when she wants to chat and will spoil her rotten.

In summary, my ideal new home for Marina would be a mature couple or owner, who is retired or works from home and who can provide this loving little girl with the attention she deserves.

Marina has had all her shots, tested negative for feline leukemia and appears to have been spayed (She has shown no signs of going in heat (see my previous entry about taking her to the vet). Just to be on the safe side and to make sure she has a good start--I will include all her toys, kitty house, food for a month AND should there be the remote chance that she is not spayed and goes into heat (which you will know from the "yowling")--I will pick her up and take her to the Humane Society and get her spayed at my expense, and return her to her new home. All vet bills and record will be given to new owner.

Please pass on to anyone you might know that may fit the above criteria and who loves cats. I have no stomach to take to her to the Humane society or even put her on Craigslist as I worry that may jeopardize placing her in a good home.

It's been almost 2 months since I found her and so her fur has grown back where I cut all her matted fur out. She's an absolutely beautiful kitty. She is small, weighs 7.5 lbs and the vet said she is likely only a year old.

Marina Update

Well... it's almost 2 weeks now since I picked this little Siamese stray up at Tempe Town Lake Marina. I thought I would give a brief update on her integration into Diethelm "Pet Central". Today I spotted her sneaking down the hall and going into the bedroom. She eyed the big bed but noticed there was another BIG kitty on it (Figgy) so she opted not to go there. She went underneath and checked that out--hissed a little at Sparky who really wants her to play with him (he keeps taking all his toys in her room and dropping them). I think she's content to be another "Queen" in the house. Each day she warms up a little more and extends her territory. For the first week we couldn't get her off the carpet cat house set up in her own room. Now she's checking out the "mod" canvas fleecy cat condo I bought at Target. Her eyes match the fleecy material perfectly!

Every night she's spending an hour or two watching a television show in my lap. She's still growling and hissing at the other cats at first sight but settles down after she gets comfortable. Chili, Sparky & Figgy are allowed in her room without any confrontation but she and the other girl cat, Pepper (Lynx Point Siamese), are still not sure who's going to boss the boys around.

Regardless, she loves to talk to me as soon as I walk in the room. She's purring more, running to greet me and loves her brushings. She is quite joyful for the always full food dish and water with ice cubes. Not to mention the moist kitty food breakfast and dinners. Such a life of luxury after laying on cement under sailboats in 100+ degree weather with no food available and her only shelter a cement ditch area. Her hair is starting to grow back where I cut mats out and she loves to clean herself now. She's had all her tests and vaccinations at the vet--no parasites & no diseases. Each day she grows a little closer to her family and reveals a little more personality. I think she's beautiful and certainly she's becoming my "little" girl.

The Cat Named "Marina"

Yes... the little cat pictured below is at my house. There's a story behind this kitty as there is with ALL my cats that have been Humane Society or midwestern barn kitties (Sparky). I've been calling her Marina as she found me at the Tempe Town Lake boat marina. On Saturday I went to take my scull for a row. While I was getting my slings out of my gear box, I heard it... the meeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooow! Uh oh...

You see, there's quite a few strays and some feral cats hanging out by the marina. They like to lay in the drainage ditches to try and cool down. It's been easy to look the other way as they tend to run away from me. But this meow was getting closer... until she was smack dab in front of me. Looking up at me and meowing. I looked down into those big blue eyes and immediately felt a tug at my heart. She was hungry, dirty and her fur was all matted up. Then she "head-butted" my leg and I squatted down and pet her. Here was this small friendly cat out in what would be a torturous hot day. I gave her some water from my water bottle in a make shift bowl that I made out of the bottom of a soda bottle. She was thirsty...

I came to row and I told myself that she would be gone or somebody would take her. She was too friendly to be left out in the heat. So I rowed and the entire time I thought about her and started thinking about all the people I knew that could give her a good home. I finished up and carried my boat back... secretly hoping she would be gone. But she wasn't. She was laying under the sailboat next to my gear box. I had some granola bars in my bag so I got one out and she sniffed it and decided that she was hungry enough to eat this strange object. She snarfed down a good quarter of the Clif bar, purring and twitching her tail.

"NO... I cannot have another animal. I have too many." I kept telling myself this and mustered the strength to pet her and tell her someone would find her. Someone would give her a home.

All the way home, I felt terrible for leaving her. I went home grumpy and mad at the world. Mad at people who don't take care of their animals. They count on us. How can anyone be so cruel. I told Matt about it and he didn't say anything. I didn't blame him--we have 4 cats already.

On Sunday, I went to row again. Matt was helping me pack up the car and asked "Should I put the cat carrier in the car?"
I got to the marina and there she was—laying on top of my gear box. She chose me and I knew it. She even walked right into the carrier when I opened it!

After I got her home, I cut all the mats out of her fur. Her back looks a bit like a really, really bad haircut at the moment. My neighbor Jan came over and we bathed her. I thought she was all gray. But after her wash she had cream colored fur.

Today she went to the vet. That was really scary as her tummy was hard and they though she might be pregnant... I left her to get x-ray and blood tests done. They called a half hour later and I was SO relieved that she was not pregnant. She was instead a little bloated and there was a object in her stomach that looked like plastic or some other foreign material that she likely ate while scrounging for food. She had no ear mites, tested negative for feline leukemia or kitty AIDs and they couldn't tell if she had been spayed or not. So the vet said to wait and see if she goes into heat. If she does, then she can get spayed.

Tonight is Marina's integration into the household. We'll see how that goes. I think there will be some hissing but at the moment the other pets seem to be keeping their distance from this stranger. Kobi layed down on the floor in front of her and let out a sigh. He likes his kitties.... and now he has one more.

Here's some photos of her. Mind you, she had lots of shots today--so she's not too spunky. One more kitty with a good home. I wish they all could be so lucky.