Athena's new life

As I mentioned Saturday, last Wednesday was my Gotcha Day. My Mom and Dad and the younger humans in the house had a busy week and it slipped their minds. They felt horrible about it! So today's post is all about my favorite day ever - the day I came home.

My story can't be told without telling everyone about the awesome volunteers at Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay. Without them, my family would have never found me. The people at Urgent Cats go to the Hillsborough County Animal Services shelter almost every day and take the time to photograph and get to know all of the cats. Then they take the photos and post them on their website and Facebook page. Hillsborough County Animal Services takes in about 900 cats a month so these volunteers have A LOT of work to do. Sadly, because HCAS takes in so many cats, many are euthanized. That is why what Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay does is so important! 

This is me in the shelter when I was 5 months old. This photo was taken by the awesome volunteers at Urgent Cats of Tampa Bay and posted on their website and Facebook page. (The cat in the photo with me is my sister who was adopted a few days before me.)

My adopted Mom kept looking at all of the cats posted and decided that it was time to adopt! My human sisters and Mom hopped into the car and headed to the shelter. They looked through all of the cages - twice! (That's a lot of cats!) And they were very sad that they could only pick one. (There were two furry siblings waiting at home for me already.) I was soooo lucky I was the one they picked!

Here I am on my way home from the shelter. This was before my Mom realized the girls took me out of my box and made them put me back in to be safe. (I guess it is hard to drive when I am trying to help.) On the way home everyone talked about a name for me. I was called Sandy in the shelter, but I was very interested to find out what new name I might get. Because my cat brother and sister were named Zeus and Hera, they decided my name would be Athena. Pretty neat!

Mom said I was new and had to wait to meet my new cat brother and sister. She said I needed to hang out in my own room for a few days to get used to the place and make sure everything was OK. Even though everyone visited me in the new room all of the time I was lonely and cried. So my big brother Zeus saved me! (I guess someone didn't shut the door to my room hard enough.)

Things were kind of crazy around my new home for the first few months. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to climb the curtains! And I fought with my new brother and sister all of the time. I also loved climbing on shelves. But sometimes I broke the things on the shelves too. Oops! I stole all sorts of food off the table when no one was looking - even waffles! And I ran out the door every time someone opened it. (I am very fast.) I couldn't help it - there was just so much stuff out there!

I also may have watched a little too much TV.

It took about 4 months before I finally knew the rules. I now know where I can go and where I can't go. I don't break things anymore and I don't climb curtains. I am also not allowed in a certain bedroom with a certain hamster. Zeus and Hera and I still fight sometimes, but we love each other.