This is Pandora, Queen of the Couch.

I don't know what her real name is
as she was abandoned in the basement of
an apartment building when her owner moved and
felt she was disposable. They judged her to
be about 3 to 4 years old so
I made her fourth birthday May 25, 2001,
the day I picked her up.
I'm actually beginning to think
I should have made her at
least 5 from the way she acts.

I really met her about three weeks before
that and wished I had taken her home
that day. I have been looking for another
kitty to keep Rufus company for a long time.
Naturally being the same color and hair length
is a plus to me with my allergies.

But I didn't take her that Saturday.
Sunday one of my neighbors called to say
the stray cat she had been feeding had
kittens living under her house and my thoughts
turned to the kittens that I needed to rescue.

That Friday I caught two of them but
I couldn't get them into the shelter because
they needed socialized. I was also thinking about
Pandora hiding in her cage at the shelter.
I had decided I wanted to adopt her
but I couldn't bring her home while
I still had the kittens.

So this began a two week kitten
socialization marathon before we made the trade.
Don't get me wrong, I love the kittens
too and would have probably kept them but
I am still trying to catch three more
and I can't have that many in the house.
And kittens stand a better chance of being
placed through the shelter than an adult cat
that is highly stressed like she was.

So on Friday, May 25, 2001, with teary eyes
I took the kittens to the shelter
and brought Pandora home.

I am not good about turning fosters into
the shelter and I think Pandora helped me
to be able to turn the kittens over
to them, but my heart is still broken
and I will always remember them with smiles and tears.

Pandora hated all the animals because she was scared.
She just growled and hissed at everyone.
She is a wee little thing, smaller than
Rufus and much smaller than Lucy.
She also has a little bit more of
a persian face but her hair is only
medium length. I'm assuming she didn't live with
any other animals before she was abandoned.

It probably wasn't fair to bring her into
a household with so many animals but she
doesn't seem unhappy so far and I'm thinking
that she will work it out with them
eventually. So far she seems to like Rufus
but he doesn't like her to get real
close yet. I'm sure Rufus would have liked
to have kept the little girl kitten, Sabrina,
as his own as she was extremely friendly
but I felt Pandora needed the help more.

You can see pictures of the kittens HERE.

Pandora received this present from the gang at Cosette's Lair.
Lestat says he is in love.
Big hint, Lestat - Pandora can be courted
with the aid of many, many pounce treats.

In August, 2001 Lestat courted and won
Pardora's heart (without treats too).
He asked her to be his Wink Wink
and she accepted.
Here is a picture of her very
catsome boyfriend Lestat.
Please visit his webpage
and meet his other family members
while you are there.

It is with deep sadness that Pandora's
beloved Lestat passed away on 2/3/05.
He will be deeply missed.

Finally got some pictures back that I took
the first day Pandora came to live here.
She doesn't look very happy in them.

A ribbon tempted her to play though,
a good sign, I guess.

And here she is investigating the downstairs bathroom.
Right after these were taken Madison scared her
and she ran back upstairs to hide.

We did have a slight breakthrough last night
after she had been here less than a week.
She slept with me last night.
She started out above my head, went under
the covers and tickled me, then came back
out and hogged the pillow causing me to
give it up and that's where she stayed
most of the night. She still hissed in
the morning but I called that a great success
anyways and think in time things will only get better.

Pandora and Lucy have been having screaming matches.
No hitting ... just screams.
I think Lucy is actually afraid of her,
which makes me chuckle. I never thought I
would feel sorry for Lucy the way she
has picked on Rufus, but I do.
Pandora doesn't seem to like me to pick
up the other cats or give them attention.
Maybe she's just growling because she sees them.
She has also sniffed Madison's tail when he
wasn't looking and didn't run away, so I'm
hoping she is settling in.

Tonight I actually caught "the girls" in the
middle of one of their battles because
I was playing with Lucy. Pandora was on
the bed watching and Lucy was on the
back of the chair. I creep my fingers
up the side of the chair to tug
at the tufts of fur on Lucy's feet
and she swipes at me making vocal comments
while we play. Pandora started screaming and leaped
off the bed and into the chair and
stood and just screamed at her.
I had to put her back on the
bed and sit with her. I told her no,
that Lucy and I were playing.
I can't imagine what she is thinking.
So now I know when I hear that
screaming, it is just Pandora.
Lucy never even opened her mouth.
In fact, she seemed frozen.
Then I heard it again and went racing
upstairs and Pandora was at her food bowl.
Apparently Lucy was trying to steal food.
So now I've tried to explain that the
food bowl will never be empty and
she doesn't have to worry. Who knows
how long she was in that basement without food.
Poor little baby :(

Something new that has happened with Pandora in July.
When she came here she was already declawed.
Much to my surprise she started into heat.
So she had irresponsible people who got her
declawed but not spayed, and possibly an unethical vet
who would declaw without spaying.
She was spayed on July 11, 2001.
I felt horrible leaving her there.
I was sure she would think I had abandoned her.
She's home now but right now she is
very quiet and sore and I feel very
sad for her. She had already been through enough
and really didn't need to go through a
surgery too but even though Rufus is neutered
it is for her own health to have
her spayed and I didn't want to put
it off any longer when they said they
could do it this week.

Pandora was featured as the Little Miracle
by our friends, Holly, Bailey and Avery.
Thank you for this lovely keepsake.

I am trying to teach her to share
and be kind to her brothers and sisters.

Pandora has still been having some trouble
adjusting to our household.
Where I thought the Evil Queen LuciFurr
was going to be a problem, it turns
out that Pandora has been the aggressor,
going after Lucy who is just minding her own business.
She is protecting the bedroom as her own,
which I have to chuckle about,
since Lucy did the same thing.
Only Pandora does it in that very LOUD voice.
I only hope that soon she comes to
realize that no one is going to hurt
her or abandon her and she will settle down.
She's okay as long as she doesn't see Lucy
and I haven't a clue as to why she is so aggressive.
I also caught her with a big mouthful
of Lucy's hair the other night.

I actually have pictures of all 3 cats
together so I don't know why she has
suddenly become more possessive of the bedroom.

Can you figure out which cat is which?

Don't feel bad,
I can't always tell which is which either!

And here is my most favorite picture of her to date.
At least she looks content.

Each day I keep hoping that things will
improve but most of the time Lucy stays
under the couch and Pandora stays upstairs.
I guess I can live with that as
long as Pandora isn't trying to kill Lucy.
My poor friends have to listen to all
my concerns about why Pandora is so aggressive
to Lucy and worrying about Lucy's health
while she lives under the couch.

One of the funniest things about Pandora
is her love for the bed.
She gets under the covers most nights and
sleeps there. I wonder sometimes how she can even breathe.
And I have to make the bed with her on it.
I keep moving her around while I try to work.
It isn't easy, believe me.
But she's very sweet, at least with me.

I have come to the conclusion now that "the girls"
will never be friends but things are getting better.

At Christmas 2001 Lucy finally started coming
back upstairs and although the girls glare
at each other a lot, I'm not
finding big wads of hair on the
floor any more. I think they
actually try to play sometimes
but Lucy plays too rough
and then I hear hisses and furniture
being moved and I have to go stop them.

Since Pandora has been eating better food
I'm also noticing her coat is getting
full and beautiful and her tail
is getting thicker. I thought
she was always going to have a
skinny rat tail.

Since Pandora moved into our house
she has been putting on weight
and now she is a member of
the Fat Is Fun Community like my other two.

Recently Pandora won first place in Thaddy's Vampire Contest.

It's been over two years now since she came
into our lives and things are much better now.
We have the usual problems but she has
adjusted pretty well now and even
tolerates the dogs better, I'm happy to say.

Also, please take a moment to sign my guestbook. Thanks.