Introducing Leo, the House Lion

A couple of weeks ago I applied to adopt a cat from the local humane society, and by the time we were approved and he'd had his neuter surgery, the first available date to pick him up was Halloween!

So Halloween evening, after work, I picked up our newest member of the family... Leo, the House Lion!

He was a stray so there was no history on him. According to the tartar on his teeth, they estimate he is about two years old. He's kind of small/petite for a male cat but has enormous paws, he has deep-set green eyes that are a little bit cross-eyed, super affectionate and must have been raised with dogs in his past life because he absolutely ADORES Charlie! Which is perfect, because Charlie LOVES kitties.

My recent article on Dogster.com, How To Deal With A High Energy Dog, received tons of comments from other people with high energy dogs and one commenter suggested getting an additional high energy dog to help them burn their excess energy off with each other. Charlie and I have a pretty tight bond and I think she'd be upset sharing me with another dog, so I figured a kitty would give her a new playmate without causing any jealousy issues. So far, it's working perfectly.

Charlie is not eating Leo ~ Leo loves to be loved on.

Now Charlie has a playmate to romp around the house with while I'm writing or working in the home office, letting me get stuff done without the guilt! Soon winter will be setting in and there will be less outdoor time for hiking and exploring so this was a perfect time to find Charlie an indoor playmate.

Leo has waltzed into our lives like he was meant to be here all along. He loves being snuggled by everyone, gets along perfectly with the dogs and has filled a hole in our lives that I didn't even know existed. When I considered adding a kitty to our house, I had at first settled on a very young kitten because I thought it would be easier to raise a kitty to get used to a dog rather than adopt an older cat who may or may not like dogs. During the visit to the shelter, Leo reached out and literally grabbed us. So for any of you considering adopting a shelter animal, please make a visit! Looking at photos and online profiles is great, but you can't really know a pet's personality until you visit and you might just be surprised at which one grabs you. The lesson I take away from this is that older shelter pets can sometimes hold more joy and surprises than the younger ones. Leo is proof.

P.S. Cats are really hard to photograph!