I still can't look at picture of Mooch without welling up a bit. Stupid cat.
However.
Some will remember this picture from the vet's office, snapped during one of my many visits with Mooch:
Some will notice a striking similarity with that cat and this one, who I found sitting just outside my bedroom door:
This one -- who we are calling Barnacle because a) he was found in a barn and b) likes to cling to the undersides of things -- is four months old and has brought out the kitten in Trout, who seems to be adapting with aplomb. No real hissing. No real territory disputes. I think Mooch had already taken the fight out of Trout. Plus, it's Trout's true nature to be fairly placid.
For the first 24 hours of Barnacle's residence, I figured I'd made a huuuuuuge mistake because he refused to come out of the basement. In fact, we almost named him Crawlspace because that is where we figured he'd always be. Now, however, he's developed a knack for being underfoot and sleeps with Scott and I, so I think he's settling in. The kids still freak him out -- but they still freak me out sometimes, so I can't really blame him.
Barney, as we tend to call him because it looks like he's already suited-up, is no replacement for Mooch, thank god. I worried that it was too soon but realized that the house just doesn't feel right without two cats in it. And Barney just kept squeaking at me whenever I came to pet Mooch, which felt like some sort of sign.
So we have another cat. He's fitting in. I miss Mooch, still. We move on.
![](<img src="http://www.martinimade.com/52969729.jpg" />){kind=link}
![](<a href="http://www.redcross.org"><img src="http://www.martinimade.com/badge_BC_I_give_blood.jpg"/ </a>){kind=link}
It took months before we stopped holding the front door open and waiting for the dog to follow us out of the house.
What a cutie! Love the idea of naming a cat Crawlspace, though.
Posted by: Melanie | November 29, 2007 at 02:54 PM
Totally striking similarity. Wow.
Posted by: Heidi | November 29, 2007 at 03:02 PM
Getting a new kitty was what got us (or, uh, me) past it when Esther died... she was an only cat and left us catless, which was just wrong.
He's darling. Welcome Barnacle... yet another of the Segartinis' creatively-named cats.
Posted by: Shelley | November 29, 2007 at 04:48 PM
He's adorable!!!!
Posted by: thordora | November 29, 2007 at 05:23 PM
Barnacle is adorable, and he has a great name.
We adopted one of the cats my mom could not keep recently--a mushy Maine Coon-Siamese mix--and yesterday at the vet I found out he has the same heart problem common to the breed that my old Maine Coon succumbed to a few years ago.
Damn vets. Damn cats.
Posted by: karrie | November 30, 2007 at 06:24 AM
Funny how they follow you home.
Posted by: Juno | November 30, 2007 at 10:02 AM
Congrats! He's so cute. Here's to hoping he doesn't turn out to be evil.
Posted by: Trish | November 30, 2007 at 10:21 AM
What a little cutie! Good for you for sharing your home and heart with him.
Posted by: Debra | November 30, 2007 at 01:13 PM
It was a close call between Crawlspace and Barnacle. The Diva was the swing vote, who'd accept Barnacle only if we called him Barney most of the time.
And, yeah, it's funny how they follow you home when you stuff them in a box. :)
My hope is since he is Mooch's photo negative, he'll be his personality negative as well. Given how today has gone, we are doomed. It's looking like Pest might have been a better name.
Thanks to all for the good wishes! I'll keep you posted on his evil level...
Posted by: Adrienne | November 30, 2007 at 02:55 PM
All kittens are insane. Actually, make that all *cats* are insane, they just nap 20 hours out of any given 24 so the insanity is diluted. Kittens, however, are de facto batshit insane AND frighteningly energetic.
Posted by: Melanie | November 30, 2007 at 10:31 PM
Weirdly, Batshit is one of the names we kicked around...
Posted by: Adrienne | December 02, 2007 at 03:33 PM