My First "Adventures with Arya" Tag

So its been a long time since I shared what was going on with my life. So n my last post I shared with you the story of my last days with Chloe. My Black Manx I've posted about when I was previously blogging. If you missed that post, you can find it here.

I would like to take this time to introduce you to the furr baby I will be blogging about now.

Caution: Highly photogenic, there will be lots of photos.

This is Arya.

I cant take credit for the name, and here is why...

Arya once belonged to a girl in my nerd friend circle. Her and her bf at the time adopted 2 kittens, brother and sister. The boy was named Rickon and the girl Arya.

For those of you who don't know, they are named after sibling characters in Game of Thrones..

... and not ones who have sex with each other.

This is the pair of them as kittens in 2014, this photo was sent to me by the first kitty momma so photo cred to her

Some time went on, and the pair of them split up, and the siblings got separated also. After some more time she had moved on and was now expecting a baby, and getting a new place to move into with the father of her child.

Finding a place with a pet, and coming up with the extra pet deposit was really challenging, as the rental market is incredibly limited, so its very competitive. Its even worse now. So she had to make that very difficult decision to re-home her.

Around this time, 5 months has past since I had to say good bye to Chloe. Feb/March 2016

I had been living with my boyfriend at the time about as long as Chloe was gone. He had a cat growing up but it was more bonded to his mother than he was with him so he never considered this cat to be his. So when i was ready to adopt again, he was a little hesitant, but by this time he saw how important it was for me to have a pet, and decided he was ready for us to start looking.

Kitten season was approaching so we were watching adoption listings from the 2 local rescues in town, waiting for the right one. However, I was also willing to adopt an adult so I put the work out on Facebook that we were looking.

Arya had already had a new home lined up to go to, and her mum was moving into the new place in a couple of days when they bailed on her. So she contacted me asking if I could take her.

I said my boyfriend and I were hoping to pick out a kitty together, but I could check with him, and we could at least foster her until she had another arrangements set up for her. Moving day was in a day or two, so there wasn't much else she could do, I was happy to help.

This girl and I were not particularly close, however the soon to be father of her child was a friend of mine and lived in my building, so Arya was there briefly while she was in between housing at a time. I had leant them Chloe's litter box (after she passed away) so I only breifly saw her once when i was at the door. So really, I was meeting Arya for the first time when they dropped her off at my house.

My boyfriend at the time was at work till 10ish so it was just me at home. she came in her little baby blue carrier, which we set down in the living room, opened it up and let her have a look around.

Checking out my place for the first time

After some sadness, her momma left her and her things with me. including the litter box I had lent them a few months ago.

I let Arya explore, trying not to overwhelm her too much with my attention. She was more interested in the space with me, so I let her be. Then after she checked out every room, she hid behind the curtain to the sliding glass door, for quite a while. 

So I left her food bowl at the end of it and proceeded to make dinner for my self in the kicthen. After I was done I sat on the couch, put on some TV and ate my food.

Then, she came out and joined me

Actual photo of this encounter

I smiled, gave her a pat and continued to eat my dinner as she watched me. After I was done eating she seemed more comfortable, and ready to explore some more. So I sort of followed her around taking pictures of this sweet little kitty playing under my bed.

Checking things out some more

She seemed to be enjoying her new space and warming up to it pretty well since she was dropped off 2 hours ago, and that was when her personality really started to show. Its safe to say I was falling in love.

My boyfriend at the time was now getting of work, rushing home and excited to meet the kitty we would be taking care of. Within 30 seconds of walking through the door, he was on the floor and she was offering him an invitation for a belly rub.

And it wasn't a trap either, actual belly rubs were had with out teeth or claws

We decided within that moment that this wasn't a foster, and her momma didn't have to find another home for her. We would keep her.

And that was it, she was ours.

Arya wasn't fixed or vaccinated so of course we brought her to the vet a couple weeks later for a check up, some shots and to book her spay.

Her pre-operation examination did not pass with flying colours, they had some concerns and requested additional testing. This was a little alarming, what they thought might be cat leukemia, ended up being a result of a poor diet. It was more like, leukemia is the worst case scenario for what we are seeing so we should rule it out with blood work, but it was up to me. So we paid for some additional blood work too, but found out this fussy furr baby is allergic to chicken, but otherwise a healthy kitty.

Before I go into the vet bill, I am in no way complaining about the vet costs, its something you MUST prepare for when you adopt. Always have a sum of money prepared for a surprise vet visit when you take on the responsibility of a living creature. Free kitties are not free and WILL cost you more than any adoption fee from any shelter in North America. The only reason I'm sharing this is so that you ARE informed when you adopt outside of a shelter to try and "save money" Shelters are eligible for discounted spay programs or have vets who volunteer a certain amount of hours to perform them. If you adopt privately, you will have to pay the full rate for a spay if you do not have low income spay and neuter programs in your area. Comox Valley has this service now, and if you have one in your area, please follow them on Facebook & support their fundraisers as this is a VERY important service to have. I believe all homes are happier with the right pet addition to the family and low income families deserve this kind of happiness too, these programs help make this possible. But remember that you are obligated to provide necessary medical care, and refusal to do so, broke or not is an act of animal cruelty in the Animal Rights Act. So PLEASE prepare yourself before you adopt.

Okay, mini lecture is over. I think.

So at the end of the day, for her vaccinations, pre opp examination, blood test, spay and after care accessories & prescriptions $480

-Adoption fees tend to range from $100-$200 in our area-

They include a spay/neuter, first vaccinations and a check up

Now, The Blood test was about $50 so a female cat who passed their pre-op examination, and WOULD wear a cone ($10) instead of the onesie ($30) would have paid just over $400.

My name is Arya and if you try to put a cone on my head I will try and do back flips to get out of it and pull my sticthes hur hur hur, stoopid human. You must buy the $30 onesie from the vet with the special poop hole.

Before you comment with 

"Oh my god I called such and such and they said it would only cost this much and you got ripped off" 

I take my furrr babies to Van Isle Vet, and its been said by some people they are the most expensive veterinarian in town. I don't know if this is true or not, and I don't care. Here is why. 

At the time it was right across the street from my house & they are open late and on weekends so it was super convenient. Van Isle Vet also has a very current & clean facility which allows them to provide the best care possible for your animals. Innovative equipment means a faster more accurate diagnosis so in many cases, this will SAVE you $ as you pay for time and tests. so keep this in mind when choosing your vet. I don't recommend you call around for who does the cheapest spay/neuter or the cheapest check up appointment. If money is an issue, look into who has programs that can help.

Van Isle Vet has the Oscar Fund, named after the orange kitty who used to be spotted in the reception area before he passed away. 

He was actually Chloe's boyfriend, he gave her kisses when ever I brought her in

You can read his story here

This fund helps cover emergency vet bills in emergencies when $ is the difference between life and death. The Comox Valley is also including low cost spay and neuter programs, as explained in this article

This is just why I take them to Van Isle, so think about this when you decide who to take your animals to, also keep all this in mind when planning the cost of bringing a new animal into your home.

Okay, back to Arya.

So she was ours. She was fixed, vaccinated, on food that suited her best and she was ours.

And such begins the fun and happy life we will get to follow in this blog from now until she becomes an old lady kitty.

Now that boyfriend and I broke up. I don't know if  I will share that story. But there is a reason I wont be sharing the belly rub photo I took when he met her for the first time. as cute as that photo is, and as much as it will lend to this story, he and I are not on speaking terms and I respect the right to people privacy.  I also don't include the name of her former mum. She will probably read this when it gets posted, and follow the blog to see what her former kitty is up to. She might identify herself in the comments if she wishes, but people have the right to their privacy.

In the future, I will use fake names if I do not have permission from those people to be identified in my stories, for the sake of it being easier to read. "My boyfriend at the time" is kind of annoying. So sorry for that.

Here is a photo spam of what makes Arya so wonderful

Arya is a Flame Point Siamese Crossed with a Tabby. So she has very interesting markings.

Tabby Mask and Socks

She is very snuggly

Such a snuggle bug

She WILL NOT let you poop alone.

Hai hoomin, what doin?

I give you head buts while you poop

She does not like it when I spend too much time on the computer and will interrupt me and demand I hold her like a baby

Who's the baby?

If I am gaming, and she insists on affection, I can sometimes get her to sit on my shoulders

Gamer kitty

If I say no, I often will find her under my desk, like this

My heart, she looks so sad :(

She is also a fussy eater...

I have more interest in mums food than I do my own

She is very photogenic, so I will post pictures of her a lot.

Mum, do not go to work plz

And we have lots of cute moments worth sharing, Like this.

Kitty is big spoon today

So I think that sums up my life with Arya, and I will continue to share cute moments and stories with you all as the years pass. Arya is 4 years old now and in great health. I'm looking forward to sharing with you the journey of this little weirdo. She is intuitive, funny, affectionate and one of the most beautiful kitties I have ever seen. She is chatty, social and loves everyone. 

Now you all get to fall in love with her too