Rocky & Tomo (and Animals Inside Out)

I'd like to introduce the latest boy in my life -- a handsome devil named Rocky.

"Who me?"

Because there clearly aren't enough cat pictures on the internet already.

"I'm on the internet??"

"I guess I am now..."

I adopted Rocky the Mega Pet Adoption event in Toronto.  What started off as a quick look to check out some cute pets turned into a life-changing decision.

He's usually a pretty big goofball but he has his adorable moments as well.
The majority of Rocky's photos are on my phone because it's easier to take photos with one hand as I need the other hand to play with him, as evidenced in these photos below.

naturally derpy face

random moment of cuteness

time for a cat nap :3

so cuddly

There's so much to pet ownership that I knew of but couldn't truly understand until I went through it myself.  A friend jokingly said, "you went from 'should I buy these shoes' to 'do I have the right vacuum?'"  And it's absolutely true.  I surprised myself with how much of the unpleasantness (such as scooping poop and enduring smelly farts and being headbutted awake at 5am) that I so readily accepted as part of my life now.  Rocky was a special case as he needed dental surgery, so it was a foster-to-adopt scenario where I would take him but the official paperwork wasn't completed until a week ago, after he had his surgery.  Still, from my point of view, the moment I took him home, he was mine, and I loved him with all my heart.

But I always worried about how Rocky felt about me.  Did he love me back?  The biggest fear I had for him going into the surgery was that he wouldn't remember me afterwards.  But when I went to pick him up with John, he recognized me and sat purringly on my lap the whole way home.

I had heard of the Mega Pet Adoption event from my friend Jason, who recently adopted a Shiba Inu puppy, and suddenly knew everything about pets :P

John and I went over the first day Jason brought Tomo home and I snapped up a couple of photos in between the squealing and the hugging.

"let me out!"

Tomo greeting John

already sleepy

"No I'm not! I'm awaaaake"

"Doesn't hurt to lie down for just a bit..."

Happy new owner :)

Tomo was a hyper little eight-week old, going from super happy to super tired and then back to bouncing around, all within the span of 10 minutes.  He was particularly hard to photograph in the dim lighting of Jason's basement, and also because he literally ran around in circles, which is why my only clear photos are of him lying down.  He's growing up so fast and I'll definitely need more photos as he gets bigger.  Hopefully he'll be less hyper and I can get more clear shots of his pretty self.

I had better luck back in May, with some of the non-moving animals at Nature Nocturne.
I had visited the Nature Museum previously but this was an after-hours party-type event that happens once a month from September to May.  There are drinks and multiple dancefloors as well as access to all the exhibits.  The special exhibit that timed up perfectly for this Nature Nocturne was called Animals Inside Out and was some kind of amazing cross between awesome and creepy.

There were multiple displays of animals without their skin...

...skeleton structures...

baby chicks

ostrich

...and cross-sections of the animals.

horse head

camel

It was a little eerie to know that once upon a time these were all living animals, but I kind of got over it after holding a real human heart (not pictured but it was really cool!).
It was an amazing night that was also educational.  Will definitely go again!

intestines

If anyone else is interested in Nature Nocturne, word of advice: tickets sell out extremely quickly so be sure to buy them ahead of time!

Hope you enjoyed these photos :) definitely expect to see more of Rocky and Tomo in the future!