CAT cat cat cat cat

So, a few weeks ago I was talking with my roommate about the downstairs neighbors who basically always yell or scream at each other. I'd come back from outside and their fighting echoed in the stairwell, which was a bit more than usual. Apparently people have called the police about them on occasion for being so loud. This is Germany, so it could have been someone grumpy about the Ruhezeit being disturbed (10 pm to 7 am, and also 1-3 pm, and all day Sunday) or it could have been legitimate concern for someone's well-being. You never know.

Anyway, she told me they have a daughter and a cat, and I mentioned that I'd seen a cat outside one time, a very sweet, soft calico and I love cats. She said if I wanted to get a cat, she'd be okay with it going in the whole apartment except her room. (Her partner is slightly allergic, so she'd like him to have a no-cat room when he's here.) Then of course my brain went on a journey of "CAT CAT CAAAAAAT" and I looked to see if I could foster for a rescue organization or anything like that. (That's not as much of a thing here as in the US.)

So I looked into adoption. I already knew that the main animal shelter in Berlin is extremely picky about who they adopt to. They basically require access to the outdoors (free roaming or balcony) and no solo cats, plus detailed questionnaire and home visits and all this. There's a rescue page on facebook run by a couple of Polish women, which also has a detailed questionnaire with questions like "what food will you feed them? State brands." I found a group that works with shelters in Spain, and they had a cat whose profile said she'd prefer to be a solo cat and she looks like my beloved Claire. But they denied me because I don't have a balcony. (The balcony is off my roommate's bedroom.)

But at the queer women+ crafting group I go to, someone mentioned she had gotten a cat via a colleague of hers (a reporter) who goes to Ukraine and works with animal rescue when she's there, and I was like, if this one with Spain doesn't work out, hook me up with the deets. Then Spain didn't work out, so I looked at their instagram page and loved them all. The crafting person put me in contact with her and she asked which cats I was interested in (Tigra reminds me of Isis (icon), Basya looks sassy, and Lala has the most face). She told me about two particular cats she really wanted to find homes for, because they'd been adopted (separately) and brought back by their adopters (assholes), and they're both so cute.

I'm an absolute SUCKER for a tragic backstory. Mucia was pregnant when she came to the shelter in February, and all her kittens were adopted. Then she was adopted and returned. She's been there so long, and that's so sad. So I told her to sign me up for Mucia, the grey tuxie. (I love Nika's little gremlin face, and I love torties, but Mucia's been there so long.)

The next transport from Kyiv is December 3. I'll meet the driver in a parking lot, hand him 250€ cash, receive cat with passport and medical records, and go home. I know this sounds Extremely Legit(TM), but the crafting person got her cat this way (in the last transport, I think)

I'm getting an order together for cat supplies (litter box, litter, food, bowls, toys, bed, brush, claw trimmer...). I've never had a medium-haired cat, only short, so I'm not sure what kind of brush I need to get. I also don't want to go too nuts on toys (because cats, amirite), so I've got a furry mouse with a feather tail and catnip refill (a Kong) in my basket. I have a shit-ton of cheap yarn, and I can crochet a swarm of little mousies while I watch Netflix. (I don't want to get rattle balls because we have laminate flooring, and those are loud enough on carpet.)

I keep remembering things, like "oh, yeah, I should get a scratching post, and probably a backpack carrier because I don't have a car..." (At some point, I'll investigate bike-mounted solutions, but not yet.) (I have a driver's license and an account with a carshare app, but that adds up quickly, even if it's the one that charges you by km, not by time. About a Euro/km doesn't sound that bad until you realize it's 15 km from IKEA to your apartment.)

I have no idea if she's a cable chewer, so I guess we'll find that out once she's here (and then I'll have to organize cord protectors if she does, but I can get those at Saturn or Media Markt easily.)

It's been such a long time since I had to think about catproofing my space. When I had cats, it was just the lifestyle. Don't buy things that you don't want to become cat toys; don't put anything you don't want broken anywhere a cat can get to. I haven't thought a lot about that in a while, but once you get into the habit of not putting things where a cat can get to, you just ... do it.

Anyway, I should get myself into the shower and start the productive part of my day. (Oh, the neighbors are shouting again.)