Tag: Trixie

Our kitten has a name.

Tuesday night and throughout the day Wednesday, I made a list of every name I could think of for the newest member of our family, but none of the names felt right to both my wife and I. Thursday morning she sent me an email containing just one word: Trixie. It quickly became my frontrunner and within a couple of hours we both felt we had found her name.

She was thinking of girl detective Trixie Belden, but my first thought was of my favorite TV show from my childhood: Speed Racer. The adventures of young Speed, his girlfriend Trixie, his car the Mach 5, and the mysterious Racer X captured my imagination like nothing else until Star Wars (my wife nixed Leia early in the naming process). The revelation that Racer X, who was always looking out for Speed even at his own expense, was actually his older brother Rex was only eclipsed in my young life when the secret identity of Darth Vader was revealed.

I haven’t seen the show since those early days but from my memory not only was Trixie strong and independent, but the show to its credit didn’t diminish her as a woman for not being afraid to show that strength. I don’t know if I’m remembering her portrayal correctly but it’s why the name struck a chord with me. Our little Trixie was incredibly shy in her first day and mostly just wanted to hide under the dresser, but then rapidly started to conquer her fear and her playful, snuggly side emerged.

Trixie the young detective had blonde hair, while my hero Trixie was a brunette, so that too seems fitting given that our tortoiseshell kitten is a beautiful mix of both.

Welcome to our home, young Trixie, may you have a wonderful life.

We haven’t settled on a name yet but I took a quick photo of our newest family member yesterday afternoon. I was helping out with some training for work not far from home, and had a break in the middle of the day, so I came home and kept her company. She’s still very nervous so I didn’t want to stress her with too many pictures, this is shortly before she cuddled up beside me and settled into a long nap.

We don’t know much about her history, she’s about four or five months old and was rescued in southeastern Oregon by Harney County Save a Stray before being transferred all the way to Portland. I don’t know if she was a stray or if she had a home but someone could no longer care for her. Her first medical record is from New Year’s Day, so if she was on the streets I’m very thankful someone took her in, there was a cold snap and that day Burns, Oregon had a high of 18° and a low of -6°.

We’re keeping her in isolation in the guest bedroom for at least a week, but we’ll give her as much time as she needs. Now, little one, we just need to settle on your name.

Sam has been doing well for several days now so we decided to take a chance and adopt this shy little kitten from the Oregon Humane Society. She’ll be in isolation in the guest bedroom for at least a week. My wife will spend the night with her while I stay with Sam, Boo, and Ellie. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Sam especially to make sure he doesn’t regress.

We haven’t decided on a name for her just yet but I can’t wait to get to know her. My wife met her first when she got off work and she curled up in her lap so I left work a little early to make sure I could meet her before they closed. She cuddled up in my arms and put her head across my arm like she was about to fall asleep.

She’s hiding under the bed at the moment, we’ll give her the time she needs to adjust. She’s home now, she’ll understand that soon enough.