Despite all the tests, I have had a pretty interesting week and especially weekend.

Husband and I had decided that we will get a cat but we had thought perhaps in the summer when the weather is warmer and we have more time off from school and work. Just so we can spend more time with the cat. But knowing impatient and persistent me, I managed to convince the husband that perhaps getting a cat before summer would be nice. He thought about it and agreed that perhaps instead of June, we can get the cat in May.

Fair enough, I let that one go...for a few days. After that I continued to argue and whine my case to him and convinced him that perhaps looking through the nearby cat shelters wouldn't hurt. He agreed and said maybe we can go look at cats in the shelters sometime in April. I then started oh so subtly chancing upon the websites of the nearby shelters when the husband just happens to look at the computer screen. Of cos all this while whining (subtly and elegantly of cos) about how a nice kitten would be lovely. Husband agreed and we got the address but he wasn't sure when would be a good time to go.

I convinced husband that 2 Saturdays ago was an excellent day. He agreed and we went off to Hallsberg where they had a good cat shelter called Spinnhuset. They had a lot of beautiful and big cats and unlike what I had previously thought, all the cats were very comfortably set up in their own cage or sharing with a sibling with their own litter box, scratching post tower, a whole range of toys and what not. Not a single meow could be heard from the cats who were either snoozing away or lazily looking out the window. It was a very very calm environment and I couldn't even tell it was a shelter except for the fact that there were cage like doors swung shut so the cats couldn't run out since some of them didn't have a great temperament.

And surprise surprise, when we got there, husband pretty much fell in love with a semi grown kitten, Sussie. She's a black kitten of about 7 months and has a small face, is quite lean but a pretty long body. She looks older than 7 months bcos of her long body. And so even though he was the one hesitating all along about when to get the cat, husband was the one who came up to me with a sheepish grin and asked, 'So..shall we sign the adoption papers today?'

The adoption process is to me pretty good that ensured a decent home for each cat. We didn't automatically get the cat but had to wait for the chairperson of the shelter to call us to conduct an interview to see if we were suitable. We paid 700Sek (abt SGD140) when we picked Sussie up but that included all vaccinations and sterilisation. And if the cat is too young to be sterilised (like Sussie), they will give us a voucher to be presented to the vet so that the sterilisation bill gets sent to the shelter instead of us. Good huh? And if for whatever reason, it does not work out between the cat and its new owners, the new owners can always return the cat back to the shelter. The shelter lady told us of one of the cats who had been returned 3 times by different owners cos it didn't work out. For some reason, the cat just refuses to eat when it's at a new home. It literally starves itself so they have to choice but to return it to the shelter where it does eat. Upon filling out of the adoption papers (which we did 2 Saturdays ago), we had to wait at least 5 days in which time we can always change our minds about the cat. But we didn't change our minds about Sussie and barely 3 days later we got the call from the chairperson asking when we can pick her up.

Yay!! So we picked up our Sussie last Saturday and brought her home. She is a very shy and extremely careful little cat and is no longer as small as in the picture. I have been unable to take a newer picture of her since she keeps hiding under the sofa and refuses to come out when we are around. But she is very very active at night and is curious and playful when alone. So I guess we just give her time and it'll work out. At least she eats and has a pretty expensive taste when it comes to special treats cos she likes smoked chicken ham and prawn cheese. Mum in law calls Sussie the luxury cat. heh heh...