Fashnik

Nicknames: Nik, Nikken, It's a Kitten, and many more
Birthdate: April 23, 2002
Type of cat: Short-Haired Indoor Feet Nibbler
Favourite Activities: Sleeping, Eating, Running around the apartment
Favourite Hiding Spots: Under Lizz's Bed, On Michael's Floor

Nik runs more like an elephant than a cat, I swear the people below us must get annoyed but they've never complained. He's not really a cuddly cat, in fact he hasn't sat on my lap in probably at least a couple of months. He's fine if you go and pick him up and cuddle him, as long as it doesn't last too long (length depending on his mood).

He does sleep with me (when it strikes his fancy and the weather allows) curling up on the bed usually beside my feet (most likely in case they escape out of the covers in the night so he can bite them and wake me up). Nik is a wonderful alarm cat. More than once I've forgotten to set my alarm and he's jumped on me to wake me up, only a few minutes later than my alarm was supposed to.

As for knitting when I was knitting last fall Nik liked to attack the yarn and attempt to chew on the needles as I was knitting. Since I started knitting again this summer he's pretty much left my needles alone and had only attacked the yarn a couple of times (usually by sitting on top of the ball and grabbed the yarn as I'm struggling to pull it out from under him).

For the first while I was so impressed by him almost everytime I saw him I would exclaim "It's a kitten!" I think he thought that was his name, he didn't seem to answer to Nik at all but would always look when I called him "It's a kitten". Now he seems to respond (or sometimes ignore) whatever we call him.

The Story of Nik

I've always wanted a cat, but my dad isn't so fond of cats and my mom is allergic so while living at home that idea wasn't allowed to happen. So when I moved out I was excited and couldn't wait to get a cat, however I was broke and living in an apartment that didn't allow pets (even though half the people in the building had them anyways). So after 8 months of cat-free living Michael and I moved to another, more expensive apartment just so I could get a cat. Just in case you ever do the same thing be forewarned, people look at you a little strangely when you tell them you're moving for the express purpose of getting a cat, even people who already know you're a little strange.

After we moved and had settled in for a couple of weeks I decided that on my birthday I would go to the SPCA and come back with a kitten. I found out that it's not that easy to get a kitten from the SPCA, there's forms and stuff. But I did go and find my kitten and got all the paperwork done.

My kitten was a lovely little girl who we decided to call Romi (short for Andromeda). She was a tiny short haired black cat with tiny single white hairs on her back and paws. She was living at one of the local vets offices. I was upset that she couldn't come home with me right away but extremely excited.

The next day the SPCA called and told me that my landlord had said I wasn't allowed to have a cat in my apartment because they had just put in new carpets. He and his wife obviously hadn't spoken before she left for Spain about the cat-status of my apartment. So we called him and told him that we were allowed and that he was going to have to call the SPCA back after he had checked out our rental application which specifically said that we were moving because we wanted a cat! I was furious to say the least. Thankfully he sorted everything out and the SPCA called me back a few days later to tell me that the kitten was mine.

However there was a few other complications in the process. For one thing even though Romi was almost two months old she was still pretty tiny and I wasn't allowed to take her home until she had been spayed. So we went to visit her and her sisters regularily. Luckily the vet was open late on Wednesday and on Saturdays or I wouldn't have been able to visit her.

In between visits I collected all the kitten stuff I could need, litter box, litter, collar, leash, treats, food, lots of toys, carrying case, etc. etc. etc. Every time I went to Wal-mart (or near Wal-mart) I came home with more stuff. Then on July 3rd they called to tell me that Romi was going to be spayed and I could bring her home the day after. I was bouncing off the walls with happiness.

The next day I came home from work and Michael told me that the vet had called. Romi's operation had gone fine, but there was one surprising bit of info. It seems that Romi was actually a boy, not a girl. Now for a second I was a little freaked out. I had specifically wanted a girl cat but I loved my kitten who as it turned out was not. It only took a second for me to get over the freak out and come to grips that I owned a boy cat.

The next morning we went out and brought Romi home, all the while toying with new names for him (I think that Andromeda is a little too girly for a boy cat). We finally settled on Fashnik, Nik or Niky for short (the name is from a something but I'm not going to say where, you can let me know if you know where I got it from). He settled in really well, it was only a few days before he decided that he owned the place.