Charlotte meets the collar and the laser

Yesterday we went to town.  While we were down there, we went to a pet store to get a few things for Charlotte.  One of them is a carrier - we have a loaner from the animal shelter, but that goes back when we finalize her adoption.  We wanted a soft one so it will fold and take up less space in the motorhome when not in use (well, other places too, but we'll spend weeks in the RV again next summer).  We also wanted to get one big enough for when she grows up so we don't buy a series of them. 

That was the important item, but we also got her a kitten sized collar (the one from the grocery store was beyond too big).  I did have to shorten more than once to get it down to her size, and we'll have to keep a close eye on it and adjust frequently as she grows.  She went a bit nutso at first, as expected.  It was her first experience of having something around her neck for more than a minute or so.  She tried to run away from it.  She tried to fight it.  It still needed a bit of adjustment (still too big) and we didn't want her to get her jaw stuck in it, so we took it off for the night.  This morning I tightened it up just a bit more and put it back on her.  She only fought it for a couple of minutes, then settled.  I think  we're OK now.  We'll wait a few days before introducing her to the harness.

And ... the laser pointer!  Her interest waned after a while, but we really had her going with the new laser pointer toy.  If she doesn't decide to ignore it, we'll try it to wear her out before bedtime.  Last night we (actually, Tom never got a chance to play with it) played with it too soon.  She chased it like crazy, then took a long nap.  Big mistake.  When we went to bed she'd gotten a second wind and was ready to attack toes, climb the curtain over our heads, hang from the edge of the mattress near our heads, and so on.  I even had to go back into the bathroom and flip the shower curtain over the rod to keep her from tearing it to shreds (and keeping us awake).  Eventually, she did settle, but it took a while, and she was so wound up that moving her off the curtain/mattress/quilt resulted in some scratches and bites, one of which was sort of deep.  So, tonight, whether it's the pointer or the thing-on-a-string-on-a-stick, we'll try to exercise her closer to our bed time.

Now, of course, she's on the table between the seats on our double recliner, napping to be ready for the next wild spell.