That was not the happy end of the story

Welcome back to the cat blog! So Tomu saga continues. Tomu mostly hid under a bed for three days in his new residence. He also managed to do some markings and improper urination before he moved into a closet. I went to check on him on Saturday afternoon. "He is in the closet." Orly open the closet in the hallway. Tomu was right there behind shoe rack. I called his name. He immediately responded. He stood up, stretched, answered with a soft meow. Within a minute he came out. He remembered me. He was sweet friendly cat to me. Orly and Jed were impressed. "So he'll be friendly to us eventually." And that was still not the end of the story. Two days later, Orly calls me again, that he's peeing in the wrong place again. She thought that he was not trained to use the litter box. "But he never went anyplace else other than in the litter box here," which was true. Did we spoil him too much at SOY and is he protesting to his new owners? "Just put the litter box in the spot he's peeing." I said. "I see. Now he is using the box. But if he keeps peeing in different places, we have to bring him back to you." But otherwise he's really cute, she says. All the pictures she's sending me proves it. He is darn cute and we don't mind taking him back temporarily.
on january 27, 2009 @ 09:17 pm [link]

we will always remember you

The day has come. A morning after the historic inauguration of President Obama, our mascot of two weeks, Tomu the cat, was adopted. When my friend Orly came by on Monday, her kids were completely taken by Tomu. "He is soooo cute! We should keep him! We should keep him!" Kids chanted. But I didn't think they were ready to take him- she just told me the day before that she doesn't want to take any pet before February. Meanwhile, his number one offer fell through. I was getting a bit stressed out and decided to go for the back-up plan from Lia, who pleasantly agreed to take him in for a while. Then late last night Orly called and announced they are taking him. Finally our campaign was over. I went home and watched our brand new First couple dance. This morning I got in early and spent the last quality play time with Tomu, who was extra feisty. After many laps of running back and forth with him, I tricked him to get him into the little carrier that served as his bed for two weeks. Then I gave him away with his favorite toys. I am so glad he found a home I can also go visit! We felt a bit empty today after he was gone.
on january 21, 2009 @ 08:38 pm [link]

Busted

Early afternoon Wednesday, we had a visitor. An inspector from Health Department. Tom was right there in the middle of the floor to greet her. Of all the days of the year, she had to show up to find him here. He even tried to pounce on her, and she looked seriously frightened. "I found him outside last week, and we're looking for a home for him." She noticed the flyers on the wall. "I see." She did a very quick inspection of my little restaurant, and put her coat on. "I have to go across the street to write the report. I'm allergic." Tom was of course oblivious to what was going on. He was happy to be inside playing. It was like 20 degrees outside. An hour later the inspector came back, and of course I got a violation for the presence of an animal, but she did make a note that this cat was here temporarily. I don't know yet the price I'm going to pay for being a cat rescuer. I have to go in for a hearing in three weeks. Good news is that I don't have to worry about inspector showing up anymore. Damage has been done and it doesn't matter if he's going to hang around another week or two. We'll find the best home for our precious kitty.
on january 15, 2009 @ 07:17 pm [link]

A cat for Take-Away!



"I'm cozy in my carrier and ready to be go!"

Mission Tomu continues. Almost a week has passed and today for the first time he roamed around the dining area and sat in the window during lunch. He played (mainly by himself) for hours and finally tired himself by 4pm and crawled into his bed (which is a t-shirt-lined carrier). He's still easily startled, but we don't have to tiptoe around him any more. He is getting lots of compliments for being cute, but the right owner hasn't turned up yet. We are hopeful, though, for he is darn cute! This animal I've taken in has created more work for me, however, he's been teaching me more things, too. The way he was hopelessly crying in the rain made me feel that I had no other choice but to pick him up. It was as if I was presented with 'a living thing that will die if I don't do anything for him.' The search for his new home has been quite a lesson. I've been calling people, posting flyers, and plainly asking customers if they would like a cat special to go. And I have to expect no for an answer, but I have to keep going at it. It's been also a great conversation piece, or ice breaker. Even the customers who rarely smile may melt away at the sight of him comfortablly sleeping in his little space. I get many warm praises for my mission, which is great encouragement and ego booster, although for me it felt like I had no choice but to take this mission. And it looks like the mission is almost concluded already. We had a few 'maybe's today. Remember, this cat take-away comes with his favorite toys. Add cuteness to your home! For many years of unconditional love! Hurry! Only one left!
on january 13, 2009 @ 07:58 pm [link]

My week is not going to end

Two days passed since I found him crying his heart out in cold winter rain in front of 104 Suffolk Street. I just couldn't leave him out there. The little animal was in desperate need of help. I took him inside and he immediately started rolling all over the floor to make sure that we thought he was cute. I sent pictures of him on my email list (yes, personal abuse of our mailing list), made him the cover boy on our website, and words are being spread around about our cat rescue mission. We named him Tomu (Tom, Japanese style) and he's getting lots of attention. He's a big boned full grown kitty with cute round eyes. He's still adjusting to the noisy restaurant environment, but much calmer each day. Today he's comfortably settled into a box. When I come in in the morning and call him, he comes out from under a shelving, yawning and stretching out and tells me he missed the company. Oh, yes, it's easy for me to get attached to a cat, but unfortunately we can't keep him in the restaurant. We really want to find him a good home!

In the mist of cat rescue, I survived two dental appointments. First, totally hellish periodontal cleaning, then today two hour session for a crown with Dr. Shah, gum-chewing young Indian chic doctor with purple nail polish. As soon as I saw her, I knew she would be a good doctor. And sure enough she did a great job. But her assistant kept vaccuuming my tongue out it really hurts on my tongue. I thought I recovered fully from a jet lag, but I woke up at 5 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Stressful week. I'll rest well when Tomu is adopted.
on january 9, 2009 @ 05:24 pm [link]

Fujisan, monkey circus, cat rescue, and surviving the dentist's appointment

So much has happened since my last entry- which was before Christmas! My holiday started with "Festivus Shabu-Shabu" on 23rd. A few friends and my staff gathered around the hot pot to clear the contents of refrigerator before our vacation. Then I headed to the land of cuteness, Japan, with Erin. We both flipped out on the Japanese consumer culture that's so full of cuteness. There were so much to aquire Erin had to buy another suitecase to bring the treasure home. I enjoyed the view of Mt. Fuji on my morning runs. Erin fulfilled her dream of seeing a Japanese monkey circus. We took many dips at a hot spring in Hakone. She wondered why they play Auld Lang Syne at the store and restaurant closing time. I forgot about that, but when I heard it, I said, "they want us to go home." We visited temples and shrines for New Year, and made lots of wishes. There were hundreds of movie choices for 12-hour flight back to America, but I just wanted to shut my eyes after mesmerizing neons, flourescent lights, gazillions of products in different colors and pretty packaging, and crisp clear images on TV. Anyway, I have to continue on cat rescue stories and beyond tomorrow.
on january 8, 2009 @ 11:02 pm [link]