Eagle's Wings: Pets: Zinnia

As I mentioned last week, the summer of 2009 was very busy after we adopted two kittens from our local humane society. Zinnia was officially my kitten since I had saved up my money and paid the initial adoption fee.

I was so thrilled to finally have my own kitten! She was very tiny at only 1.6 lbs when we first adopted her.

From the beginning we could tell that she had a spunky personality. She has always loved to climb, explore, and find new hiding places.

For the first few weeks that we had the kittens, we kept them in a bedroom in our basement to acclimate. We were down there playing with them one afternoon when Zinnia found our stand-up trashcan with a flip-lid. I’m sure you can imagine what happened next! J She stepped on the lid and landed at the bottom of the trash can! It’s a good thing we were down there to fish her out.

Zinnia closely inspecting my camera.

Zack and Zinnia were very thrilled to finally be given the run of the house. One of their favorite spots was next to our newspaper basket. Lots of sunlight pours through the south facing window, making this spot an ideal napping place. I love her cute little face in this photo!

Shortly after we adopted the cats, they developed upper respiratory infections. They had probably caught it at the humane society. Their condition worsened and the infection settled into their eyes. They both developed ulcers on their eyes. While we were on vacation, Zinnia’s cornea ruptured. We were very thankful for our neighbor who is a vet technician who took them to the vet hospital while we were gone and got them on a stronger medication.

Lots of tears were shed on my part, but the situation didn’t turn out as bad as it seemed. You can see her right eye looks kind of purple in this photo. Once the infection cleared up, her eye scarred down quite a bit. Now she has a small scar over her pupil, but she regained partial vision in the bad eye. It was a trying chapter in our lives as pet owners, but we learned a lot through it!

Once she was over her illness, we could really start to see her true personality develop. You never know where you will find Zinnia sleeping. If it’s warm, small, and unusual, she’ll be there! J

Zinnia also suffers from seasonal allergies. Every spring her poor lip puffs up and gives her quite the pouty look. It somehow suits her personality!

Zinnia is well loved by our whole family, but she knows which one is her “Mama!” She sometimes exasperates other family members because of her mood swings. One minute she will be purring and rolling around as you pet her, the next minute she will attack your hand with a vengeance. She’s not a huge lap kitty either. She loves to be petted and sit next to you, but not on your lap.

She blends in quite well with Josiah’s stuffed animals, doesn’t she?

Almost every morning finds Zinia curled up on one of the twin’s beds. She also has a knack for finding the pile of clean sheets.

Though some thought she wasn’t the prettiest kitten, she has turned into a pretty cat if I do say so myself. She has bright green eyes, and a beautiful muted calico coat. She is my “forever kitten,” weighing in at only 6 or 7 pounds at 3 years of age. We think she must have been the runt of her litter to have been so small and sickly.