Ahhhh... you wanted more eh? Well, Pippin did a diary for the shelter volunteers of his first week with us. Here it is...( "the dragon" he refers to is Fiona. She's not really a ferocious dragon, but he had never been around a dog, so he was SURE it was a dragon! Now they get along great - Fiona is loved tremendously by all the boys. I was out of it with the flu for the first few days, so Dad was in charge of everyone - boys being boys, it was one big party!!!
Someone asked about moving the furniture when you have a blind pet. As far as Pippin goes, he adjusts pretty quickly and just uses those whiskers and his incredible hearing to avoid the obstacles. We moved the whole circus from Connecticut to Seattle, Wa in Oct. 03 and Pippin did the best on the 5 day trip - he had the hotel rooms figured out in about 30 minutes, hopped up on a bed and went right to sleep.

Ok here ya go....THE PIPPIN DIARIES.....

Day 1 - Dear Diary –

After a really long ride in a bumpy cat carrier with MOM, listening to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" CD, I arrived in a very strange, but wonderful place. I have my own little space equipped with kitchen, bathroom and comfy bed and I met my new brothers, my dad and "the dragon". My new brother TC and I hit it off immediately - he thought it was hilarious that I bumped into the walls and things and he started chirping and talking to me to make me feel at home and told me when to take a left to avoid the chair legs. Percy & William were a little more reserved about my arrival - I hope I make friends with them soon. Tiger has decided he is the boss of me and in charge of orientation for the new kid, so he barely leaves me alone, showed me where the important litter box was and even gave me a demonstration! As if I needed it. The food is great and plenty of it. I have yet to figure out what the deal is with "the dragon". Its huge, makes big sniffling noises and sometimes I can hear it crunching the bones of some unfortunate creature called a "rawhide". Glad I'm not a rawhide! Dad is very cool and lets me do adventurous things, like explore the closet. But he also likes cuddling and tickling my tummy. For now I'm confined to quarters until I get used to this room - then I'm told there is a whole lot more to explore. PS...I bit Tiger on the tail and we had quite a wrestling match before he gave up.

Day 2 - Dear Diary:
Early morning-- Mom's been up since 2AM with the really bad flu. Not keeping anything down! I did my best to snuggle and make her feel better, but she's got it bad! She didn't go to work today, so that's good because she can spend more time with me! Tiger has been helping out with how things are in the family. I talked to Percy a little and we exchanged paws through the baby gate. Then he jumped over and checked out my digs, had some crunchies and played with me in the closet. William is still waiting to see what I'm all about, so I play with my mouse and jingle ball to show him I'm harmless and friendly. He likes to sit up high and just watch what I'm doing - I can hear him up there on his box, so I go over to see if he's willing to shake a paw and say hi. I think he's pretty worried about MOM - she's so wiped out all she does is sleep. Dad has taken over the her half of the family care duties and boy is he fun! He took me out to the living room today and let me sniff all around. I told you he's cool. I almost ran into "the dragon" today by accident, but she just sniffed me and went back to sleep. Still don't trust her though!

Day 3 -Dear Diary:
Very early morning-- Mom got so dehydrated from the flu bug that Dad took her to the hospital to get fluids! She's a mess! Tiger and the boys kept me safe from "the dragon" while they were gone. Mom feels better now - just needs to sleep and get over the flu bug. I wish I could find that bug for her- I'd catch it and kill it right away! Mom's off work for 3 days, so that's some consolation!

Day 3 --Later on-- Mom's still sleeping so that means Dad's in charge! I've been given upstairs privileges and have been upgraded to private first class in this man's army! I can now jump up onto the futon and love to snuggle in the covers - I roll around and snuggle down in them while playing with my mice and Tiger and I play with each other in the new cat condo Ruth gave us. I love the crackly sounds the tunnel tube makes. I'm getting very good at finding my way around with only the occasional nose bump, but I get a little confused when there's lots of activity with "the dragon", mom & dad and the boys walking around all at once. William is starting to fall under my charm - he rolled around and played with me a little today - Tiger tends to interrupt too much and William takes off - but I'm making friends fast!

Day 4 - Dear Diary:
Mom's feeling better! I just want to know who's idea it was to show her how to clean my eyes and face! YUK! She washes my eyes and puts this sticky stuff in them. OK, it feels good, but the other guys call me Mr. Magoop!

Much progress with family relations today. I've been so accepted that Percy let me play with his tail with only a slight protest, and William has started playing with me and wants me to chase him down the hallway. As soon as I figure out where everything is, I'll be hallway racing with the best of them. Tiger and I wrestle and he is very gentle, except when I'm not! I can't get away with much and I'm learning very good "tiger tribe" manners. Like its not cool to bite too hard and hissing and spitting isn't necessary or polite. I love the futon and sleep there most of the night- I just stretch out and sleep like I own the world!

Day 5- Dear Diary:
3 AM --I got my first "mousing lesson"- here's how it works! Percy finds it downstairs, brings it up and William & Tiger chase it around toward me. But, I've never chased a real mouse, so I didn't know what to do. They would go catch it, bring it to me and I just couldn't get the hang of it. . Then dad got up, rescued the mouse--lesson was over. Oh, well, its only the first lesson and I guess everyone messes up the first one!

I've learned so much in 5 days! I can find my way around upstairs, jump up and down from my boxes, my bed and the futon - the bed is a long elevator ride down!. But everyone says I'm pretty tough, strong and have a steel nose! Hallway racing is a blast, but stay out from under "the dragon's" feet. Meals are morning and evening, except I get special mid-day snacks, cuz I just burn too much energy. I'm doing my best to endear myself to mom & dad - being just darn cute & snuggly by nature… its working. Even "the dragon" is nice....I guess.


Gotta go now, but I’ll write soon…here’s some photos of me in my new home and my brothers Percy & Tiger!
Love ya,
Pippin (AKA The Pip Squeak)