We adopted a new cat, Crackers

This is Crackers. We adopted her from a woman moving to the mainland. Olivia has been nagging for a cat for years, but it really amped up this month after a stray we found and kept for a week whet her cat-appetite. The stray was actually someone’s pet, but had probably run too far from home after some fireworks scared it on New Year’s Eve. We saw flyers up and returned that cat.

Yes, I am a pushover. And yes, I love cats. I love animals. Olivia does too. I like that about her. I just am not quite ready for yet another pet, but *ugh* fine. I gave in.

I heard about this cat from a friend of a friend. I had a very specific list of requirements for any new cat, mostly centered around it being low maintenance. I wanted:

-Indoor/ outdoor
-Not going to kill the guinea pigs
-OK with large dog
-Spayed
-Healthy
-Friendly
-Doesn’t scratch furniture
-Young adult
-Female
-Litter box trained

Olivia’s requirements:
-Draws breath
-Trappable to love and cuddle

I grew up with a lot of cats, dogs, and other small animals, and Olivia has, too. She’s very good with animals.

When I finally got connected to Crackers’ owner, Katie, it turns out the cat meets all those requirements and more: she’s somewhat leash trained! Katie has a large dog and two rabbits, and the cat was fine around them. We have a large dog and two guinea pigs.

Here is the weird part, and it concerns the cat’s name. Olivia had wanted to name the previous (short-term) cat Graham Cracker. When we heard about this cat, we were told its name was Crackers. What a weird coincidence! I felt it was meant to be. Of all the cat names in the world, Crackers is not a very common one.

Here’s what is even stranger. The cat’s actual name was Snacks, because Katie thought the calico coloring looks like arare, and the cat loves to eat snacks. But somehow, like in the grade-school game Grapevine, by the time Katie’s cousin’s friend heard about this cat, he was told its name was Crackers. I’m sure it was something like, “Her name is Snacks – you know, like crackers and such?” And thus the miscommunication probably became “Crackers.”

Crackers’ face looks a little crooked in the photos but she looks fine in real life. Either way, we don’t care. She’s nice, and we love her already.

This is Olivia’s cat, and she immediately absconded to her room with Crackers, announcing she would not emerge for the rest of the day. I am happy she’s happy. That’s all that matters to me.

So on this rainy winter day, we welcome Crackers into our little zoo.