Brainball's First Five Days

Brainball reporting for duty. Looks like it's my turn to do the First Five Days in My Forever Home meme.



I'm not only Alpha Cat around here but I'm also the First Cat, and I was an Only Kitty for over three years, until late-2004 when Dorydoo (then a baby) came. If you've only been reading this blog for a short while, you might not know why we are called Ballicai. Well, here's the story: my real name is Calamity Jane, or C.J., but I was soon nicknamed Brainball because I'm a fuzzball with eyes. When Dorydoo came, she was nicknamed Blackball, and together, we became the Ballicai. When Marilyn came, she was Dualliball (her nickname is Duallipot), and when Mao came, Mom and Dad called him a Maoball, in keeping with the Ballicus theme. Singularly, each of us is a Ballicus, and collectively, we're Ballicai. I'm the Founder of the Ballicus Dynasty, and my title is Ballicus the First (or Ballicus I).

I'm the only Ballicus who has lived in another place with Mom and Dad. They moved where they currently live after I had been with them for two years. Before they lived in this house in the country, they lived in town, in a condo. And I started out as their neighbors' cat. Those neighbors had me and a loud, mouthy little dog. I don't have a high opinion of those former people of mine because they moved away, and though they took their dog, they abandoned me. Fortunately Mom and Dad were there for me -- they had always admired me and thought I was a beautiful and sweet cat, and when those people abandoned me, Mom and Dad took me in. The vet told them she thought I was around three years old at the time, going by the wear on my teeth.

Mom and Dad love all of us Ballicai, but I've been with them quite a while, six years now, and they've been married for ten. I was the first kitty they had as a couple. They say quite frankly that they simply cannot imagine life without me and that, indeed, it's as though I have been with them forever. I really love my Mom and Dad. And I love my brother and sisters, too. MaoMao shows promise to someday become my successor, Ballicus II, but he's still so young and undisciplined and needs my experience and guidance. Dorydoo needs encouragement and support for her Black Kitty Projects, and my tough, rugged nature is a good influence as well on Marilyn, who is so sensitive and feminine. I take very seriously my Alpha Cat responsibilities of love and protection to all of them. Is it any wonder that one of Mom's nicknames for me is Warrior Queen Boudica.

Okay, enough mushy stuff. On with the meme!

Day One: I was already comfortable with Mom and Dad, and it turned out the condo was familiar to me, too, at least the layout. I'd lived with those neighbors of theirs for a time, and the condos were all made similarly. When I first came, I didn't want to jump on the couch, on the bed, or on any of the chairs. Mom and Dad encouraged me and said it was okay, but still, I stayed on the floor or on the carpet that first day. I was really happy to have such a new, good home, and I wanted to do everything right.

Day Two: Hmm, those first five days were a long time ago, so specific memories are a bit fuzzy (ummm... pun intended *kitty wink*). But I remember Mom and Dad kept encouraging me to jump up on the bed or on the couch or the chairs. The prospect was looking more and more tempting. And if Mom and Dad said it was okay, it must be okay.

Day Three: I decided what the heck and I started jumping up on the chairs and the couch. What fun, and how cozy for naps. And I started sleeping with Mom and Dad in their bed. This was the life! And oh, Mom and Dad talked to me all the time. They still do. I wag my tail when they talk to me. I love being talked to. And I think this might have been the day when Mom and Dad first called me Brainball.

Day Four: I began knocking things off Mom's nightstand to wake her up in the morning. I also officially took up my duties as Alpha Cat and began patrolling my territory: doing a check of the family perimeter regularly in the mornings and in the evenings and yowling when I saw a cat through a window or through the sliding glass door. I've kept up my diligent, daily patrol, and I'm currently training MaoMao in effective patrol procedures. He's a quick study and will be a fine Alpha Cat someday, when he matures.

Day Five: I discovered the menace of Evil Coffee Stirrers and began my battle against them, the importance of which I passed on to the Ballicai who have followed me. Mom and I also began playing a delightful game of peek-a-boo where she'd peer around doorways and get me to chase her. I was a very active, feisty cat at three years old, and at nine, I still have quite a bit of energy. I have to, in order to keep up with my younger brother and sister!

Chairman Mao will be back tomorrow. Purrs to all you fine blogging cats. Brainball signing off *salutes*.