Haineko

Steven, my brother who lives in our basement, has been wanting a cat for forever. But since I hate hate HATE hair, I kept telling him no. See, the rule is that nothing in my house is allowed to shed more than me (except maybe my daughter, when she's older). If I could stop my hair from shedding, I would. I hate finding it attached to me, my clothes, the carpet, the back of my jacket, etc. That's why when we found Tavi we glanced around to make sure the Humane Society people weren't looking and then we tried to pull his hair out, over and over. (He loved us anyway.) Still, Steven's fondest wish was for a kitten, so I thought about it a lot. Then it occured to me that he could get a hairless or nearly-hairless breed and I would be okay with it. I did some research and learned about the Cornish Rex. Of the three layers of fur a cat normally has, Cornish Rexes only have the bottom layer. They are very social, fun, trainable cats, and so I thought I could live with it. Also, the nearest breeders were on the East Coast, and the kittens could cost $2000. Joking, I told Steven he could have a Cornish Rex. I knew that there was no way he could afford to spend that much on an animal and fly it out here. Clearly, I underestimated his desire for a feline. I had told him about it in December, and by January he was already making payments on a kitten. She arrived in May, and Steven name her Haineko (High-neck-oh) which is Japanese for . . . "cat." I think it also means "annoying."

When she first arrived we all thought she looked a little freakish, but now we are so used to her big ears and short curly fur (and curly whiskers) that other cats look strange by comparison.
We fell in love with her right away--all of us, even Tavi. She loved all of us in return, except for the dog. Tavi is very good with cats. He doesn't bark or try to bully them, he just wants to be friends. So he couldn't understand why the fun new friend kept hissing at him. We tried lots of forced contact to get her used to Tavi, but it wasn't until Steven used Haineko to attack Tavi that they finally figured out it could be fun to play. Now they chase each other all over the house, alternately pouncing and running, clawing and licking, dive-bombing and play-biting. It is really fun to see. They also like to cuddle occasionally.

Meanwhile, the kitty decided that Annalee was a little too much sometimes, and often tries to avoid her, much to Annalee's dismay. We are trying to teach her to respect the cat's space so Haineko will like being around her more.

So yes, we have an indoor cat, which I never thought would happen in my house. But she is a valued member of our family, and we're so glad she's here. (Especially since I don't have to clean her litter box.)