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In late May of 2006, Lindsay came home from a walk with a small, furry surprise: Akeelah! The little kitten nestled in her arms was only 8 weeks old, and she was a little darling from day one. It was a classic "She followed me home - can we keep her?" story, except in Lindsay's case, it was more like "I carried her home - can we keep her?" Of course, the answer was "yes" - she was adorable!
We named the little kitten Akeelah, which was our feminization of Akela, the name of the great gray wolf in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. We later learned that Akeelah means 'mind' or 'intelligence'in arabic. This, as it turns out, was quite fitting, as our little gray and white furball has turned out to be very well-behaved and extremely bright. She's also become a beloved member of our family. Below, I've chronicled Akeelah's life with us since she arrived. I try to make an entry at least every couple of weeks and I'm sure to note her age at every entry so you can get a sense of how fast she's growing up. I hope you enjoy! |
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Age: 2 years April 19, 2008 After way too long without updating this page, Akeelah's back (in a box)! She's a full-grown crazy two-year-old cat and she's every bit as cute as she was back in 2006, as you can no doubt see from the photos below. Enjoy! |
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Age: 8 1/2 Months November 13, 2006 Lindsay and I spent the weekend up at the cabin and Mom let us know before hand that The Cat Couldn't Go (TM). Something about not wanting cat butt on the countertops. Go figure. Anyway, long story short, the Bug (aka Jeff) was left with the heavy responsibility of coming by once a day and feeding poor, lonely Akeelah and we packed our bags and left. As usual, whenever we leave her alone for more than one day, Akeelah was totally freaked out when we returned, meowing constantly (which she rarely does) and refusing to leave our immediate presence for the next day or two. I came into the living room shortly after getting back in and found Akeelah relaxing in my open duffle bag. It looked so much like she had climbed in to make sure I took her next time I left that it practically broke my heart (I'm a real softie where Akeelah is concerned). I feel absolutely rotten every time I leave Akeelah. I'm going to have to negotiate with Mom so Akeelah can come with us next time. |
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Age: 7 Months October 6, 2006 Akeelah the sailing cat! I walked into the computer room this evening and I found Akeelah sitting in a little cardboard box looking, for all the world, like a little sailor in her boat (at least to me). She was really out for the cardboard flaps that she likes to chew on and decided that sitting inside the box itself would make her crunchings and munchings much more efficient. Akeelah is growing up incredibly fast. She's getting huge! I think she's probably well on past 7 pounds now, although it will be a while before I have to take her back to the vet for her 1 year checkup (thank goodness). Akeelah is really turning out to be a very well-behaved, sweet-natured cat. Everyone who meets her loves her and she returns the affection, unlike a lot of cats I've seen who run away from visitors. Akeelah just walks right up and says hello. |
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Age: 6 1/2 Months September 17, 2006 In my never-ending task of Keeping The Cat Entertained (TM), I tossed a bottle cap into an empty Cherry Dr. Pepper box for her to try and get at. Akeelah took to the task with gusto, lunging into the box and scrabbling around trying to grab ahold of the bottle cap. As might be presumed from this much activity, Akeelah is much improved after her recent spay surgery. She's not showing any effects from it whatsoever. She's been running all over the house like her typical self and Lindsay and I are both happy that she's feeling better. |