It had been bugging me for a while that Tilly-Roux needed a friend.
"Cats don't need friends," Big Papa would say. "Tilly loves being an only cat."
But I couldn't leave well enough alone. It matters not that I'm terribly allergic to cats. I decided that if I loved one cat as much as I love Tilly-Roux, then surely Tilly-Roux would love a little friend just as much.
On Black Friday, Sophie and Bre and I headed out to PetSmart to view the cats from the humane society that were up for adoption. I wasn't completely sure I would be bringing home a cat with me, but I wanted to look anyway. Right away we spotted the most precious long-haired black male kitten, whose littermates had all been adopted earlier that day. He was the only one left.
Sophie pleaded with me to adopt him on the spot, but since I didn't want to make any snap decisions, I decided to wait and sleep on it, and see how I felt about it the next morning.
The next morning came, and the very first thing I thought was this: "Oh no! I really hope no one adopted my baby black kitten! Tilly needs him! And surely Big Papa is tired of being the only male in the house!"
So I grabbed Sophie and Bre and we headed back to to PetsMart. I was trying very hard not to get my hopes up about his still being there, and I thought Sophie would burst into tears at the thought of someone else adopting him. But there he was… all 1.8 pounds of him.
And so we brought him home.
Fezziwig is very loved.
And he gets more than his fair share of treats.
This is what he looks like after a long nap, which makes me laugh…
And when I'm doing laundry, he likes to sit quietly and observe.
We weren't sure what we wanted to name him, and my vote for Tuppence wasn't well-received. I just love the line that Jim Carrey's Scrooge says in A Christmas Carol.. "Tuppence is tuppence," when he steals the coins from Marley's corpse in the beginning of the movie. They didn't mind if I wanted to name him Tuppence; they just couldn't seem to remember it. They would say, "Well hello, little… umm… Tipsy? Tellulah? Tallboy?"
We put his collar on him, and it jingled, so I suggested we name him Jingle. Everyone liked that, so we called him Jingle for a few hours.
But he wasn't a Jingle to me, so I thought some more.
He was also Darth for about a half-hour, thanks to this face:
I also thought about naming him Black Friday.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that since I was in such a holiday spirit and I couldn't stop singing the theme song from A Christmas Carol, then it had to be a Dickens character from that movie. Ebenezer was too harsh… Marley made me think of a big yellow Labrador… Tiny Tim reminded me of that awful Tiptoe Through the Tulips song…
Fezziwig! That's what he was. A Fezziwig. But mostly we call him Fezz.
Here is the very first photo we took of him in the room at PetSmart; I asked one of the girls to snap a picture of him to send to Sabrina (she was working and couldn't be with us), and when I saw it, I knew immediately that I could NOT send it to Sabrina, or she'd think I'd lost my mind.
Although this pose certainly could have earned him a moniker like Scrooge.
And that's how this sweet little boy came to live with us. (Thank goodness Tilly-Roux can't blog about it.) I hope you're all enjoying your week! I'll see you soon!
30 Comments
Melissa Cook
Aww he’s adorable! The Doctor Who geek in me loves that you call him fez he just needs a bowtie. I’m sure Tilly will grow to love him.
Karen Herndon
Having grown up with black cats, I think you have made a wise choice. 🙂
I think you might want to reconsider the milk, though. http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cats-and-dairy-get-the-facts
Good luck and hope we get lots of pix of your two adorable kittehs!
Karen H.
Karen Herndon
Oh, and just wanted to let you in on a kitty factoid.
Black cats are the least likely to be adopted. Torties are the next least likely.
You’re a good kitteh mom. 🙂
Karen H.
Paulette
Karen H.,
Thank you so much for the information about the dairy! That’s good to know. 🙂
Paulette
P.S. Theresa Venette of Shakespeare’s Peddler helped me make the decision for each of these adoptions, and she said the same thing about black kittens being the least-adopted. That’s so sad!
joann
I have two black dogs and we all think you
Made a wise choice ! Joann
April Taylor
Fizz is so cute!!! I love all that black long fur!!!
Cindy
That beast has unreasonable amounts of cute :O
Kim Bartkowski
He is too cute. What a great addition to the family.
Margaret
Well you know Fezziwig has already won my heart. lol — I love how he looks after a long nap. Oh my gosh! My question is how does Tilly Roux like Fezz? Hope she’s happy with the little thing.
Linda
Oh I love a story with a happy ending!!! I’m so happy you adopted him, Paulette! What a very lucky little guy.
Kath Hintz
Mmmmm when Tilly-Rous meets Fezziwig…. those photos will be interesting…..
He is a cute kitty for sure.
Marsha
SWEET!
Kim
How long before you decide he needs a Mrs. Fezziwig? My black kitty, Spike, and I very much approve your choice! Thank you for adopting.
Cathryn
I LOVE him! Well-chosen all the way around, kitten, name and pal for Tilly! TFS. 🙂 Cathryn
beritbunny
Adorable! And I love the name above all things!
…I hope he won’t grow into a Five-Star Fur Factory–for your sake–though.
Karen Crowell
I laughed reading your blog about Fezz, the photos are precious and all the other comments are interesting too. I’ve got 5 cats of various coloring and love them all. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Katrina
What a cutie pie!!!!!!!! He’s just adorable and I think the name suits him :-).
Vickie
Oh how precious!
Robin Hager
He looks so much like my dear departed “Hairy”….yes, that’s how we spelled his name! He lived to be 28 years old. No, that isn’t a typo! His mother lived that long as well!
Many happy days with this adorable boy 🙂
Vicki
Awww, he’s a handsome little guy! Congratulations on your newest member of the family.
Ann
He is so cute, two cats are much better than one:-)
Deb
He is absolutely adorable . He is the spitting image of our “Frank” when he was a kitten and now he is beautiful and has such a lovely nature. I am sure you are going to have many happy times together.
But what did your other cat think of him?
pmcfee@roadrunner.com
Precious! We have a black cat and he is the absolute best cat we have ever had.
Merry Christmas!
Robin Henderson Patrick
He’s adorable! congrats on your new family member.
Maureen
He’s so cute I can’t stand it! Although that last picture scares me little. LOL! So how many pets is that?
Joanie
Adorable Fezz! I love his nap picture and the “scary” one too. Personality abounds.
Question: How is the Yorkie taking to the little guy?
Laura J
That’s how I got my Schmooey. She ended up being the last one in the litter and I couldn’t say no. I love black cats, they are my favorite.
Lyn
Adorable! I have a large, sweet maine coon and I am allergic to many cat breeds (it’s breed specific, per my allergist). When I first got her, 1o years ago, I did have some allergy problems, but my vet suggested Allerpet/C and it worked! I could snuggle her without any problems. After using it for a while (at least a few bottles), I got to where I no longer needed it, and my allergist said he’d had other patients who had adjusted to their cats. Good luck with allergies and your cat (and check out the allerpet/c)
Lynn Jones
Fezziwig is an awesome name! He is just the sweetest kitty! I’ve been trying to convince my DH that Clarisse needs company but so far he’s not going for it. If at first you don’t succeed…..!
Marilyn Brown
Dear Paulette, Just received my kit for A Colonial Candle Pocket, love it, can’t wait to get started!
I have enjoyed your blog very much, keep up the great work!
Regards,
Marilyn