With our oldest cat, Mocha, dying on Monday, there was much talk about getting a new cat (mostly from my son, Brian). Previously, we had said that there would be no new pets and that we would consider a cat at some point in the future. After re-evaluating that decision, I realized that the kids never really had that “new pet” experience and so didn’t resist the “investigation” (surfing rescue websites, reading about different breeds, etc.) that they began.

Not surprisingly, a trip to the local rescue “just to look” resulted in a new member being added to the family. May I please introduce Alexander the Great (Alex, for short):

We’re trying to get him aclimated as easily as possible. He’s been spending almost all of his time in my daughter’s room but has been exposed to the other cat (Bella) and the dog (Patrick). Patrick is the problem, though. He’s big (~100 lbs) with his head roughly the size of Alex himself and at only 8 weeks, Alex isn’t sure how to handle that. The current set-up is Patrick kept downstairs and Alex having free reign though, so far, only staying upstairs. There shouldn’t be a problem, but may take some time for Alex realize that he won’t be a chew toy. There’s actually no risk of that but he doesn’t know that.