Finding Ruby

This is the story of Rubidoux (nickname Ruby) and how we found her and what she is discovering in our new life with her.  First, you need to see what she looks like:

The story starts on Friday, November 22, 2019, around noon.  We had arrived in Riverside, California the day before, and this day was a day of errands.  We got up early to have the windshield on our Jeep replaced after a crack it had suffered earlier this year on the Top of the World Highway between the Yukon and Alaska.  That successfully completed, we moved on to an appointment at Passport Health in nearby San Bernardino for a booster shot against Japanese Encephalitis in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Myanmar to visit our son, daughter-in-law and grandson.  That also went well.

We were walking back to the Jeep after our vaccination appointment, when we heard a little mewl coming from a small grove of bamboo outside the medical center we were visiting.  We knew this sound well.  It had been the sound that led us to Baxter long ago in 2006 when, as a tiny kitten, he had bravely navigated our neighborhood street to come up our driveway and ask if he could adopt us.  Our daughter Katie knows the story well, as she gave Baxter his name.

Back to our search in the bamboo, we had trouble locating the kittenish sound, but it was clearly sounding hungry and searching for its mother.  Something must be done!

We were cheered on by several other passers-by who, just as in the story of the Little Red Hen, nevertheless offered no help of their own.  David crawled into the bamboo on his hands and knees while Kathy waited at the opening to cut off a kittenish escape.  David almost reached the kitten, but it slipped away and out toward Kathy, who gently cupped it in her hands as it cowered against a small mound of dirt under the bamboo.  Got it!

Now that we had the kitten, we had to decide what to do with it.  Well, the most immediate problem was hunger, so we drove to a nearby pet store and Kathy ran in to pick up some kitten chow while David snuggled the little one.  When Kathy brought the food back out, we opened it and offered it to the wee thing, which began gobbling like a monster:

Since we have two other cats, Baxter and Flip, we knew we had to have a means of keeping the kitten separate from them until we could decide what to do with it; so we bought a little crate.  Cat, crate and paraphernalia came home with us to the RV, where the kitten perched nervously on Kathy's shoulder wondering what sorts of giants had captured it:

We are visiting Kathy's friend Darla, who lives in Riverside, and who has several cats of her own.  Darla referred us to a local veterinarian that was able to give us an appointment later in the day.  The checkup completed, we learned that the little one was a female, was healthy, with no signs of ear mites, worms, fleas or other ailment.  The doctor gave her her first vaccinations and we headed back to the RV to meet Darla.  On the way, we decided we would name the kitten after Mount Rubidoux, which rises above Rancho Jurupa Park, in Jurupa Valley, where we are camped.  It's a beautiful municipal campground in a park with a fishing lake and recreational paths, and -- most importantly -- it's a short, 5-minute drive from Darla's place.

Darla arrived soon after we did and introduced herself to Rubidoux.  Darla filled us in on the proper pronunciation of "Rubidoux," filling us in on a little related local history, and all of us agreed that "Ruby" would be a fitting nickname for the kitten.

Poor little Ruby only wanted her recently lost mother and snuggled whenever she was held.  Whenever we tried to put her in the crate, she would cry mournfully.  David couldn't stand that little sad sound, so he volunteered to be the momma cat for the night and sleep in the living room recliner with a snuggly spot for Ruby on his lap.  Amazingly, all of us -- Ruby, David, Kathy, Baxter and Flip -- slept pretty soundly, except for three feedings and litter box visits for the kitten in the middle of the night.

We put Ruby in our bedroom with her crate, food and litter pan, and closed the bedroom door so that Ruby and our two older cats could get to know each other slowly while we were out for the day.  When we returned after a long day at Disneyland and The Bruery (that will be a blog entry for another day), we let Ruby out of prison and made formal introductions with Baxter and Flip.  Below, Ruby and Baxter are sniffing and eyeing each other, with only mild hisses and g-r-r-r-r's from Baxter.  Those mortal threats didn't seem to bother Ruby much, however, and she proceeded to prance, jump, climb and skip around the RV.  Baxter and Flip watched her suspiciously the whole time, but there was nary a bad experience.

It's bedtime now on Night #2.  Kathy, who is exhausted from our Disney Day, is cuddling Ruby, who is exhausted from exploring her new home; Baxter is exhausted from monitoring the new upstart's suspicious activities, and Flip is exhausted from keeping track of everyone else.  David is exhausted from completing this blog.

Being exhausted, we will all go to bed and hope that World War III doesn't break out in the bedroom.  G'Nite.