In full play mode here. In true cat fashion, Yaz kept us up all night long by jumping on our heads, feet, and every other piece of furniture or detritus that could (and could not as the case may be) support his full weight. To top it all off, he peed in Jon's laundry basket too. Welcome, Yaz!

Yaz. The shelter named him Jazz and it was a nice enough name until Jon thought of the Utah Jazz and Karl Malone and then it was all over. So, Yaz came about as an alternative. A much more preferable sports-related association and it was just like the name he had been living with for the last month. Genius!

Yaz attempts to greet Jack. Looks pretty calm, eh? Intense and focused, sure, but kinda relaxed too. Of course, what you can't see is the whining, quivering, tail-thumping bowl of nerves (aka Jack) outside the frame. We're pretty sure Jack is far more afraid of Yaz than he is of Jack.

So much for the "no-cats for a while" policy...we're pleased to introduce, Yaz, the newest member of the family. Yaz comes to us from the Humane Society of Silicon Valley (possibly the swankiest animal shelter on the face of the planet).

Yaz was brought in as a stray on December 31. He's approximately a year and a half old and he weighs ten pounds. He's a domestic short hair technically, but as you can see from his photo we think he's also got a dose of Russian Blue in him. He's really a striking cat.

He has done really well. He's ventured out of our bedroom a couple of times and he's started to form solid bonds with all of us. Well, except for Jack of course. Jack's been "corrected" once or twice and now the two of them can almost touch noses as they sniff each other before Yaz arches his back and starts growling. They even slept on the bed together for a spell last night!

Dylan is very happy to have a kitty again and has enjoyed playing with Yaz. Yaz, it seems, has enjoyed playing with Dylan too. There will be more of Yaz to come in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.