Ella

This is my Maine Coon cat, Ella! Spayed female. Her nicknames are: peanut, baby girl, Ellabelle, Miss Ella, sweet pea, sweetie kitty, and sometimes cuckoo pants. After Leonardo's death, I didn't think I'd ever want to get another cat again. After a couple months, I started to realize I couldn't live without one. I guess it's part of who I am! So I went to one of our local animal shelters to adopt a cat, and made sure I saw Ella since I'd seen her picture on the web site & she caught my eye. I felt something very special when we locked eyes, as though she was saying to me, "I'm the one you came here to get. Don't even bother looking at the other cats!" I scanned over them, but went right back to her cage then told the volunteer I wanted to see her. She went to Ella's cage to get her out for me. Ella stood up & stretched, then casually walked over to her water dish for a quick drink. *LOL* I found out right away that she doesn't tolerate other cats -- she was hissing at them, and they were every which way I turned! She seemed like a sweet kitty despite that, so I decided I wanted her & filled out my adoption application. It was approved the next day -- but since she'd been brought in a few days earlier & the vet only goes in on Wednesdays, I had to wait until he went in to vaccinate her & spay her. I brought her home on June 30, 2002 -- exactly 2 months after Leonardo's death. I decided to keep the name they'd given her at the shelter, since I thought it was a pretty name. She hid the first 4 days in her new home. She'd always be where we could reach her, so I'd often pet her & speak softly to her, trying to make her feel more secure. She finally came out of hiding around 11:00 p.m. that 4th night, and didn't go back into hiding anymore and soon settled in. The vet estimated her age at about 6 months old. I've given her a "race horse" birthday of January 1st. (That's the traditional day all race horses turn a year old, regardless of when they were born. Or so I've heard.) Ella is quite a character, typical of her breed! Her favorite games are "surprise" (she'll crouch at the foot of the bed, I'll stand on an adjacent side & call her, then she'll jump on the bed and surprise me), and "mouse hockey" (she bats a toy mouse across the kitchen floor then under cabinets -- and bats it back under as soon as you get it out for her). She sleeps on my bed almost every night -- she's gotta be with her mama! I can't imagine how such a sweet, loving & playful cat ended up at the shelter -- but I guess that just means we were meant to be together! I call her my little baby girl. At 1½ years, she weighed in at only 6 pounds. Just a peanut of a thing! Maine Coons are supposed to be large cats, but my sister said that sometimes they can take up to 3 years to reach their full size. (She has one, too.) We'll see! Ella's fur is as soft as silk. (Fur of silk & tongue of sandpaper! *LOL*)

OK, so why is "I'm a Little Teapot" playing? I often sing that to her, but with these words:

(By the way, you've probably noticed that the melody on this page doesn't start over after playing once through. I thought it might get annoying since it was such a short tune! If you'd like to listen to it again, just push the play button on the player box at the top of the page.)

Since I have several good photos of Ella to share, I set up a few thumbnail galleries.

Click one of the images below to visit Ella's Gallery.

Spay/neuter graphic courtesy of The Dog Hause -- click on the image at right to visit their site.