Happy 1st Birthday, Catniss!

Catniss turns one* today!
* Based on the birthday that the shelter staff gave us, which probably isn't the most accurate, but we're going with it anyway.

In honor of the occasion, I thought I would dedicate today's post to talking all about her. The last time I did that was not long after her adoption. Four months later, it's funny for me to go back and re-read my original post. Some things have stayed exactly the same, but others are totally different.

The biggest change about her in the last 4 months is that she's all grown up now! She was only 7 lbs when we first got her and looked considerably smaller than the average-sized cat. Lately I noticed that she was looking bigger, and at her recent vet visit, she weighed in at 9.3 lbs, which is pretty average (most domestic cats are between 8-10 lbs). Most likely she has hit her full adult weight, and now we just need to work on maintaining it through portion control.

One thing that has stayed constant: her love of food. She is the opposite of picky and will pretty much eat anything I offer her. That's really convenient and probably one of the most helpful things when I was experimenting with different foods for her. I've never seen her reject anything or even walk away from her bowl if there's still food inside. She does eat very quickly but doesn't throw it back up like some other cats (probably the food is too precious to let it leave her body). Her favorite treats are these Kitty Yums. She goes crazy over them!

EVO cat & kitten wet food mixed with water to get even more moisture into her diet.

Her current favorite toys (she loves novelty) include peacock tail feathers, the cat dancer, boxes, and most strangely of all, a rolled up pair of socks. We discovered that last one entirely by accident when Engineer W left a pair of his socks lying around. When we came back, she was fighting it. She likes to do this thing where she grab it, then scratches and claws at it furiously. Sometimes she even walks over to it, plops down like a chicken hatching an egg, and then proceeds to roll around and "kill" the socks! It's really funny and cute.

Rock 'em sock 'em

Every cat owner probably thinks this about their cat, but Catniss really is awesome. She's so sweet and affectionate. She could just sit in my lap or on my chest for hours. She likes to follow me everywhere, even to the bathroom! She loves being petted, is generally obedient, doesn't scratch furniture, and never tries to run out the door. She's quite calm most of the time, even around strangers. I didn't know what to expect when we first adopted her, but she's exceeded my expectations.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed learning more about Catniss, and I hope she enjoys her birthday of petting, playing, eating, grooming, and napping!