Petunia

PETUNIA IN
BLOOM

WATCH ME GROW!
Date	Weight
8/7/07	4lb, 6oz
8/28/07	5lb, 3oz
9/17/07	5lb, 11.5oz

Petunia, or 'Toonie' as we call her, is Bianca's litter mate. When observed outside, I thought she may be a little boy kitty, since she was much more independent of her mother than Bianca was. I called her 'Pedro' until I was able to confirm her sex as female. We chose Petunia because I had watched her playing with the younger kittens, rolling over petunias planted in a box on the deck. When trapping Bianca, I tried to get both litter mates at the same time, but my skill had not yet developed, and Petunia managed to escape, leaving Bianca behind to be taken inside. For about a week, Petunia disappeared, and I was so concerned that she had either been scared off by the attempted capture, or worse, been injured in the attempt. But I finally spotted her with the younger kittens. Apparently, after her mother had pushed her away, she joined her 'cousins' for company. Petunia was the fourth capture we made.
Petunia is a little smaller than her sister. Where Bianca is long and lean, Toonie is more compact. It is obvious she is larger than the little ones, but in the dark on the deck, I started wondering if Brownie had five kittens. But when we brought her inside, and I saw her next to Bianca, I could tell she was the missing 'Pedro'.
As more kittens were rescued, my time to work with each became less, so Petunia did not come around quite a quickly as her sister. While in the cage, she would draw back and hiss at me when I tried to pet her. After about a week of freedom to play, first in our stairway, then in more open areas, and finally the house, she has come to accept and even initiate attention sessions. She loves to have her head scratched, and purrs with her eyes closed in ecstasy. She is not quite as demonstrative as Bianca yet, but I think she will become a very loving addition to the family. In this August picture, Petunia was becoming very comfortable being in the same room with me.
Another picture from around the same time in August, Petunia is sitting on a small table next to my computer desk. Doesn't she have beautiful green eyes? Like her sister, Bianca, she appears to be a muted (or diluted) tortoise shell. She does not have as many large tan spots as Bianca, but they are quite visible through the gray stripes.
It's not unusual to find Petunia in strange places. Here she decided to sleep in the laundry basket. She and the other kittens had probably been playing through the holes, and when play stopped, she just fell asleep where she was.
Petunia seems to really like the new climbing tree. Below, she is posing in the ring. Sometimes one of the other kittens perches on the top to play, but it is most often used to snooze in. To the right Petunia is sitting on one of the perches.

Of all the "girls" in the litter, Petunia is the only one who has truly become a cuddle bug. She loves to be petted, and will roll and stretch while receiving such attentions. She also likes to lay in front of the keyboard so that I have to pet her. In this picture, taken in September 2007, she is sitting on my lap, getting a cuddle after work.