Days 13 and 14 Shifting Sandboxes

Days 13 and 14 Shifting Sandboxes

The girls are officially the stars of the household. Earlier today when Jan was not allowing Chi to eat what Jan was eating, Chi pulled up her little "hurt" paw again. It was too cute. Then later in the day, Tai, who was never even been hurt, did the same thing when she was trying to get her way about something. That was downright funny since she'd never done that before and never been injured. She's learned that behavior from her sister. We called them on it. So far they haven't tried it again. It's so cute when they do it, so we may have to give in occasionally because it's too adorable. The girls like to cuddle so Jan's got her hands full when she's home and I will get the cuddling when their mom's gone. In between cuddles, the girls play with each other and sometimes with Yeti assisting and observing. Bootsy doesn't participate, but he does enjoying watching, and so do Anjolie and Li'l sometimes.  

Today was mostly a sleeping day for the whole household, except for altercations between Yeti and Pixie and then Yeti and Beebee. Even before the kittens arrived, Yeti had been acting aggressive with Pixie, which she didn't appreciate. However, she's not at all a fighter, so she comes inside and just growls at him until I get Yeti to back off. Today he went after Beebee the way he's chased after Pixie, and Beebee stood her ground and took a well-placed swipe at his nose and bloodied it a little bit. Jan decided to let Yeti go outside to see if it helps. It definitely helped Pixie, but I don't know how things will be if the neighborhood tomcat comes around. Yeti is bigger than that cat, but other than Beebee, Yeti's never fought any cat who has truly fought over turf. He's only play fought, so I guess we'll see what happens.  I hope his presence outside keeps the bully away, but I don't know if that will happen without at least one encounter. Maybe Beebee will be safer out there at least if little brother goes out too.  Our families are changing. I don't know quite what to think about it, but I'll enjoy the kittens while I can. They are just too cute for words. 

Day Eleven and Twelve--Gratitude on Thanksgivings Day

Day Eleven and Twelve--Gratitude on Thanksgivings Day

Most of the household slept a good portion of the day yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving. A cold front was moving in, and apparently we were all experiencing an overdose of tryptophan in advance. I'm vegetarian, so I don't even eat turkey, but still I couldn't keep my eyes open for a lot of the day yesterday and today too. I fell asleep again last night at 21111111111111pl ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ====oooooooooooooo;;;p (compliments of Chi) 444 (postscripted by Tai),shortly after 8 pm. I woke up at 2.30 am, however, and stayed up then until after 6 am before dropping off again for a couple of hours. I've been doing little things today--like watching and videoing kittens, which is time consuming. The kittens are quite cuddly too, so I've had my hands and torso full with all that activity. Now that I've had my lunch, I'm just about ready for another nap. I swear we're like an army of narcoleptics trying to keep watch to no avail. Good thing we aren't under siege by legion of garden gnomes or driving anywhere today. We'd all be pretty worthless at the moment at staying wake. About 3 am, I woke up thoroughly while the kittens were playing with Yeti and each other on and around the cat tree in the hallway. That was entertaining. I managed to snag the video camera and record some of that, although they were already winding down. Later I got little bit of sleepy video before the kittens dropped off to sleep on my chest. It's no wonder I can't stay awake with all the sleepy kitten energy around me. I'm pretty sure that over the years, I've simply turned into a cat. While my eating habits haven't changed any, thank goodness, my sleeping habits definitely have. You never know when I'll fall asl--zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving to all. I'm grateful for a life filled with feline friends. 

PS Chi remembered only once to lift up her hurt paw today and that was when she was trying to score some of my pasta dinner. It didn't work, but it was adorable. Get got lots of cute points for that act, but alas, no pasta. I know where that leads. I'm already having to break Bootsy and Anjolie of getting too nosy during my mealtimes. 

Days Nine and Ten--Settling In

Day Nine and Ten--Settling In

The kittens are already becoming part of the warp and woof of the household. They continue to entertain each other and everyone else, but their assimilation has been mostly low key. Although they have their moments, they haven't completely rocked the household the way Bootsy and Anjolie rocked my much smaller household five years ago. There's more space in this house for one thing, and for another, there are more kitties already established here. So the kittens, because they aren't "in your face," are simply slipping into the groove of the existing household. They are cute and entertaining to the older kids, but they aren't turning the household upside down. Li'l is feeling better, so he's out and visible more, and, shock of shocks, Beebee is coming in during the daytime and sleeping in her regular corner tower. They have been a handful, but only part of the time. They sleep a lot and play by themselves a lot, so as long as the older katz give them space, they are pretty self entertaining. My legs are recovering from the initial onslaught of kitten scratches, which is a relief. All in all, it has been more of a non-event. They have adapted to using the litter boxes and sleeping at night easily. 

Chi's paw might still hurt a little bit, but it can't be too bad. Otherwise she couldn't play as hard as she does with her sister. Her limping now seems to be limited to when she remembers it and wants a little sympathy and TLC. She's so adorable. She certainly doesn't need to play the "hurt" card in order to get attention. She works the cute angle naturally already. If she were a human child, she'd wear pinafore dresses and black patent leather Mary Jane shoes and little white ankle socks with ruffles and pink trim around the top. She'd run from room to room on her tippy toes smiling a sweet smile that exudes innocence and little person charm. Chi Chi fits her just fine as a name. Tai, on the other hand, is every bit the Tai-grr. She's a little tomboy kitten, who is completely fearless and already sports a grown-up face. She and Anjolie would have been quite the pair as kittens. They are very similar. Leap first and calculate the distance later. Very much the way I was as a kid. If she were a human child, she, Anjolie, and I would be a trio of tomboys, playing hard and making sure that life was always an interesting, full-body contact sport. She'd be dressed in cutoff shorts, a torn t-shirt, and sneakers with a few holes in them and at least one sole starting to come unglued from running through rain puddles. We'd run through the forest, leaping over streams, climbing trees, and playing army. Never mind that Anjolie grew up to be a princess. She grew up to be a spunky princess, always a little mussed and smudged. Never perfectly coiffed and spotless, the way Chi would be, no doubt. The three of us would play with Chi, but we'd always have to keep an eye on her so she didn't get hurt or too dirty. She'd be our very protected and coddled little sister. Tai, on the other hand, would be swinging from vines, playing hide-n-seek in ditches and way up high in trees. This pair could just as easily have been named Yin and Yang, but Chi Chi and Tai-grr work quite well, I think. I love them both and enjoy interacting and cuddling with them. Chi is going to be another big cuddler, the way Anjolie is. Anjolie seems to have an innate understanding of da girlz, and she comes up to see me, sniffing them if they're up near me. Yes, I think Tai and Chi are already finding their place in this cat house, and it didn't take long at all..

Day Eight--Budding Young Star

Day Eight--Budding Young Star

Chi is showing signs of great promise in two different fields. The first is grooming and/or nursing. Every day she bathes my chin thoroughly, even to the point of nibbling a little bit on my nose. I have never had such a clean face. The second area is acting. While I'm sure that her paw is still sore after yesterday's accident, it is apparently less sore when she wants to play with sister and more sore when she feels in need of sympathy or feels she must compete for attention with the older, more established cats. If it weren't so adorable and transparent, it might be worrisome, but she really does go full tilt unless she wants to showcase her adorable self, hurt paw held suspended in the air. 

The older cats continue to work closer towards becoming a family unit.Eventually we'll have to split up the children, but for now the two camps are working towards cohesion. The little girls are too small and innocent to create much chaos, and the older cats are not that old and still friendly and playful. Yeti got up on top of a box that I cut holes me in to make a fun playhouse. The girls have a lot of fun in it, but Yeti is enjoying it with them. That is too cute to watch. It was indeed a mostly uneventful day. If Chi is still limping tomorrow, we'll take her in to be checked out, but I don't think that will be necessary, given how much playing she managed to get in today. . 

Day Seven--Week One Ending

 Day Seven--Week One Ending

My morning started with Tai jumping up on the bed and bounding up my chest to greet me and wake me. She thought it was time to get up. Never mind it wasn't even 5 am yet. Her mother had awakened early and had already fed them, so Tai must have thought it was time for fun and games. Apparently I was her playmate of choice today. After a few minutes of adorable cuddles, I finally acquiesced and got out of bed.

All the kitties are getting along just fine. Beebee spends more of her time outside. That helps the household get along better. The kittens continue to be cuddly and charming. Even Li'l came out more today. The swelling has gone done, so he's feeling better. I suspect he'll start interacting more with the adorable twins. 

There was an accident in the afternoon that shook everyone up for a little while. Chi got wounded today when she accidentally got her paw shut in the door trying to escape to the outside world. I sat on the couch with her for an hour, sending her healing light. After a nap and some healing time, she was limping a little less. As the day went on, she did more with less limping. If she's still limping in the morning, she'll have to go to the vet to be checked. I'm glad though that she was clearly doing better in the evening. 

Li'l actually hung out all evening in the kitchen, playing on the floor, so I know he's getting more comfortable and must be feeling better in general. The kittens are doing well sleeping through the night for the most part. I really hope tomorrow is uneventful. I like those days better. I want the babies to be safe. I'd rather report only when something funny happens.

Days Five and Six--Technical Difficulties

Day Five and Six

Another fun day at the cat house. Beebee doesn't seem to mind watching the kitten entertainment during the day, but she's not interested in staying inside at night though. I suspect that might just be a convenient excuse though for carousing all night. She'll change her tune on the that count once it starts getting cold at night. In the meantime, I have as much fun watching Beebee watching the kittens as she has watching the kittens. She makes sure to growl every time of the kittens gets anyway close to her. Yeti has taken to playing with them as much as he dares and as much as they'll let him. He's cute being so timid and careful with them. Anjolie played chase with them a little bit, and Bootsy continues to be amused from a safe distance. Li'l, still not feeling up to snuff, remains somewhat aloof. He's doing much better though, and has started to show himself for minutes at a time. I noticed a lump on his hind quarters that bears watching. I don't know if he had an abscess starting already or it the painful shots actually missed enough to have caused the swelling. It explains why he hasn't wanted to be with the others, particularly with active kittens. 

Jan has taken to calling Chi, "Chi Chi," and I've started calling Tai, "Tai-grr." They're rather enthusiastic little people. They are still easier to deal with Anjolie and Bootsy. I don't know if it's because there is more space in the  

The kittens have been eating us out of house and home. They eat the same portions as the big kids. They are busy stuffing all four legs and their ears and tails. In the week they've been here, they've already grown noticeably. I noticed today that a piece of furniture they'd been able to run under without so much as ducking their heads, required quite a bit of ducking. They've gotten an inch taller and longer and can out eat their much bigger siblings and cousins. 

I couldn't get online one day, so I had to combine two days. All cats except Beebee are getting used to the little sisters. Beebee continues to be totally perturbed with her mother for adopting two more kittens, but this is the nature of Beebee. She got used to Pixie and Yeti, and actually enjoys them now, or did before two more reasons to hate the world came into the house. 

 

Day Four-- Cartoon Character Kittens

Day Four

While the older cats haven't exactly taken over the job of kitten sitting, they are interacting more and watching them more. They take turns between being out in the living room, keeping an eye on them, and hiding somewhere in the back, where they hope they will remain unnoticed. 

The kittens have been sleeping pretty well during the night, and so have I until last night when I awoke in the middle of the night and stirred enough to get Tai's attention. Chi was already keeping her Mommy company, so Tai decided to come back to my room to make sure that I was being properly supervised and sufficiently cuddled. Her conclusion must have been negative because she came back there and not only gave me a cat scan, she also thoroughly examined my neck, as well as my nostrils. Apparently there has been some upheaval in the world of human nostrils, since mine have been carefully observed multiple times (mostly from an interior position) and well tended. Tai also must have thought my neck was too cool again because she made the supreme sacrifice of using her tiny body to warm it up. Apparently the blanket was too heavy to drag across my inert body so a kitten cuddle pack was promptly applied. I'm not quite sure when I've been "treated" to such careful feline ministration. 

I've deduced that Tai is a kinesthetic genius, while Chi has an astounding intellect, like the brainy kid in the cartoon, and they very much learn from each other, which is both a marvel and a worry. These girls are achieving heights it took much longer for Li'l, Pixie, and Yeti to accomplish. For instance, the top tier of the tallest kitty tree has been a sort of rite of passage for each of the kittens who have come into this house. Li'l reached it after being here for a couple of weeks. He was smaller than either of these two and still sick when he came to live here. Yeti was a little bigger, but still it must have taken about a week to reach that level. Pixie was about the same size as Yeti only she was older and a little more developed. She also mastered it in about a week. She was pretty small but definitely a week or two older than these kittens. But these two figured it out the first day.

Tai is somewhat of a Spidergirl cartoon character. She flings herself at the couch and simply sticks there like a string of al dente spaghetti. Then she climbs the rest of the way up to the top. The first couple of days, she jumped up there like that and her tail flipped back and forth nonstop. She resembled that retro black cat wall clock, whose tail acts as a pendulum.  Chi's extreme intelligence shows when she sits there looking at an object or a situation and figures things out for herself. She'll put two unrelated objects together and create a new toy and a new game. A plastic frozen yogurt spoon, for instance, moved in the direction of an empty bandage box creates a cool noise. I'm not sure what exactly it is to them, other than a fun noise, but it was intriguing enough to entertain them for at least thirty minutes. Once one of them figures anything out, the other one figures it out too, usually right away, or at least the same day. 

This shared intelligence is pretty interesting but it's also accelerating the rate at which they learn how to do things, which as I'm sure you can imagine, can be a good thing or a not so good thing. With all the other kittens, I knew I had a week or two of grace time when I could use the top tier of the cat tree as a kind of tower prison. It looked fun to be up there, but once you were up there, getting down was not so easy. Not with these two. They conquered it the very first day they were here, and I haven't yet figured out a good replacement spot. The bathtub is my last bastion of hope for a few minutes of peace. It didn't take Li'l long to figure that one out, but Pixie and Yeti were slower with this obstacle. 

We survived the fourth day and night. Beebee is still vocalizing her displeasure, and Li'l is still hiding pretty much all the time. He comes out to eat and that's it. He's moved his protest headquarters to the top of my closet, which will require both time to grow and a keen intellect to allow the kittens access to his fortress up there. I give him about two weeks respite up there, but I sure hope he will rejoin the family long before that. Given how social he is, I have to think that this has more to do with the skin allergy than the new kittens. One or the other is enough to deal with, but both together is too much. I see his point and am being appropriately sympathetic. 

Day Three-- Parrot Perches and Team Work

Day Three

I have decided that Chi is part parrot. She loves to curl up on my right shoulder and stay there. Like nearly forever. It's really cute and not at all troublesome while I'm sitting down working. It gets slightly more problematic if I need to get up and go somewhere. I've decided just to put her on the seat of the walker and take her with me. Once I'm walker free again, she can just ride on my shoulder if she's still doing that by then. She reminds me very much of my past kitty, Zuki, who has been on my mind a lot recently. Which made me start to wonder. So I asked her today if she was in fact Zuki returned for another life. She said yes, which didn't surprise me particularly, but which could be an issue later. I told her that she would need to bond with Jan too and be her kitty this time. I asked her if she realized that and was okay with that. I got another affirmative. The plot thickens. She really does have to stay here, because if I take a 4th cat with me when I leave, it's going to be Pixie. So unless they all do a lot of negotiating and shuffling, she's got to be Jan's baby this time so all of this shoulder cuddling needs to transfer to her mom in this lifetime. Of course Tai has rather attached herself to Jan, so Chi going to have to do some serious maneuvering to get herself sorted properly. In the meantime, Tai is nowhere in sight and Chi is lying rather adorably upside downwards on my right shoulder. No doubt the better for me to see how cute she is lying there all comfy and settled. This new revelation puts Li'l Grey's response to the kittens in a new light that makes perfect sense. 

Li'l spent most of the day yesterday in the tub again. He only got out when I kicked him out so I could get a shower. The good news is that this time he didn't get back into the tub after it dried. I don't know where he is exactly, but at least he's out of the tub. He'll come out when he's good and ready. In the time meantime, I'm reassuring him that he's still top cat and he always will be. He yielded to Zuki's senior status when she came to live with us after Bingo's death, before I got Bootsy (formerly Bingo) and Anjolie. He was so devastated after he lost his best friend of eleven plus years, that he didn't really care about anything any more. It wasn't until after her passing, that the light went back on in Dustin's life that he was top cat again. This status he has maintained even as a kitten when he returned. Neither of the twins every took over Dustin's roll after his passing. I think he's questioning his status. Nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned because the kittens belong to Jan, not me, and that is how it will remain. So now I just have to convince Li'l that all is well in our household. Where is Pixie when I need her? I'll have to see if I can get her to come in every hour or so, go to Li'l Grey, and announce in that adorable voice of hers, "All's well, Li'l. You're still top cat." That might help. I'll have to work on that today now that I have figured out how to work with the on/off kitten switches. I'm getting more work done today, yay!

On day three, the pair found the vertical blinds in the front windows. They also discovered the window sill. That alone will provide hours of entertainment at this stage of life. Now I need to figure out a way to coordinate their naps with my writing, so I don't have to wind up locking them up for an hour or two at a time. Granted the "lock-up" place is like a kitty heaven, but I'd rather they be able to run free in the house and just be respectful of my writing time because when it comes time to work on the poetry anthology concerted, I'll need a kitten free zone around my laptop. Some of the older cats, including Yeti, already went another step in the process of accepting our new little sisters. Both he and Yeti spent a little time chasing them. If I can get Bootsy, Anjolie, and Li'l involved, then I'll have built-in babysitters who can wear the kittens out for me. Jan and I can play with them some too every day. Then I'll take over letting them sleep on my while I type. Seems like a reasonable plan. These cats are smart and helped out this way when Yeti was a kitten.

I just presented my plan to them, so we'll see how fast the word gets around, since Yeti and Pixie are on the catio at the moment. Hopefully we'll be like a well-oiled machine tomorrow, the way we were with Yeti. We raised Yeti collectively, so we can raise these two easily too, if we all work together. I realize there are two of them, but that should only make it easier since they can wear each other out some of the time too. Yesterday ended up successful use of the litter box and loads of praise heaped on each of them for these successes. 

Day Two

Tai and Chi swing between Yin and Yang and often in opposition to each other. Tai usually starts out being the more active one, and then when she's tuckered out, she flops down somewhere to take a snooze while her now alert. /;gy.dgdee eeeee uuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudwwwwwwwwwwww-f sister, Chi, becomes more animated as though someone somewhere is turning switches on and off. My task today is to find those switches! As you see above, Chi is determined to have her say in this blog too. I told you they were literate. Chi was trying to use the telephone a little while ago. Now she is tuckered out and is sitting beside me reading what we've written so far. Proofing, no doubt, and for good reason, as many of you know. While they are both clearly smart little kittens, Chi seems to be more determined to figure out how the world of technology works. This morning the phone was the center of attention. She's already figured out how to work the laptop. Running over the keyboard at full speed seems to activate a lot of things, like changing it over to airplane mode, which is something I may need to know next time I fly. I hope I have a kitten with me for the next flight, so I'll know how to do. 

The other cats in the house are learning how entertaining the mini sisters can be. First Bootsy and then Anjolie sat for a while in the living room, safely out of danger, and watched the morning kitten show. This morning their active time started immediately after breakfast, which Chi ate in bed. She thought that was pretty cool. Tai showed up in the kitchen to eat with da big katz, while Chi was trying to slip in forty more winks. I didn't let her get away with that though, because meal time is a project with this many cats, vuyweyoe33333333333333333 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 3ee33333gt5iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioo5o5, and if someone lags behind too much, they miss out altogether. Anjolie and Bootsy were such slow eaters as kittens that I had to put them up high to eat so their much older sister, Zuki, who wasn't very tall, couldn't muscle them out of meals. She was a Munchkin kitty, so the kittens were the only beings in her world that were actually smaller than she was. Yes, she tried to take full advantage of the situation, and I don't blame her really. She spent most of her 17 years being the smallest one in the house, no doubt. Although Bootsy is the largest boy, he's still a little timid at feeding time, but since he's big, he usually goes around and cleans up leftovers because of his appetite. I still feed Anjolie separate from the crowd because she is the world's daintiest eater, which is part of the reason she has the title of "Princess." She is hale and hearty, but I've spent over five years trying to make sure she's gotten a chance to eat before her brothers are allowed to move in to clean the bowls, which one of them at least makes a point of doing. 

Chi is nose down now on the arm of the sofa, which is the only reason I'm able to write this morning. Typing fingers are such a temptation. They look like toys waiting to be pounced on and chewed. I have decided to allow da girlz' addenda to stand as is, so you'll just have to figure out what I was writing before I was so cutely interrupted. Da girlz have slept a good portion of the morning so I have gotten some work done. I have, however, spent as least two solid hours doing not much of anything besides being a cat bed, which is an art, I've decided. In fact, I see a future book or at least a chapter or blog entitled, "Zen and the Art of Kitten Watching." There truly is an art to it, and I think that Bootsy and Anjolie will get to assist me in writing that bit because they are really good at it. They know how to do it surreptitiously. Yeti and Pixie haven't yet learned the fine art of kitten watching. Yesterday, their first full day at home, Yeti kept poking his nose through the kitty door to see if they were still here. As soon as he saw them, he'd sort of storm back out to the catio, slamming the door behind him as best as he could manage with a flexible rubber door. While he couldn't make the preferred noise, he did manage to exude all the teenage angst he was experiencing, having recently been upstaged as the "baby" of the family by these two admittedly adorable little girl kittens. All 6'5" of his teen self (comparable in kitty speak anyway) showing the disgust and anxiety appropriate for the circumstances. 

Pixie, on the other hand, is handling things much better. She's so easy going that I knew she'd be okay with our new charges. I think she was put out for a few minutes until I pointed out how badly these little girlz were going to need a big sister to show her the ropes. Pixie is all about being helpful. She volunteered for the job of kitty guard since we got back from Washington at the end of last year. No one asked her to come in every hour or so from the catio and do an inside perimeter patrol with posts at the most significant windows in the house. Being the little earth angel she is, she knew instinctively that there was a need, so she volunteered to do the job. She goes to the windows and looks out and lets us know that "all's well," if it indeed is. If not, she gives a different call to indicate that something might be just the teeniest bit amiss out there. Usually it's just that Beebee is out there in what she presumes must be clear and present danger. Even the neighborhood marmalade cat is out there, she gets agitated until I reassure her that Beebee is in or I go to the door and call her in so she won't get her butt whooped by said cat. Once she's reported to me and has been appropriately acknowledged, she jumps down and proceeds with her day. If I don't acknowledge her diligence, she will carry on at the window a while longer and finally leave in a huff if no one mentions how hard she is at working on behalf of the whole household. All she asks is to be heard, seen, and acknowledged. She's the easiest cat I've ever met. Completely guileless. She is like my twins. She loves every one and accepts everyone. Those three are already making inroads with the kittens, looking out for them, sniffing noses and tails. They are all bonding already. There will be no head bopping unless they need to set boundaries if they're too rambunctious. 

Yeti, on the other hand, likes to bop the kittens on the head. He's not rough with them. He just doesn't know quite what to do with people so much smaller than him. While he's moved past the teen angst of yesterday, he's still not quite sure about the tiny pair. When he came in today from the catio, he was more curious about this little sisters. He even got to sniff their tales a few times. He's adapting very fast to having new cats in the house. It's really hard to stay upset with beings that are that small and cute. Even Beebee, who usually not very sociable, is less than aggressive towards them, and that's saying a lot really, given Beebee's background. She's gotten increasingly more reasonable with each new arrival. She's managed to get a few non-aggressive sniffs of the girls' tails. All in all, that's good news for da little girlz. That's downright good for Beebee, given her past interactions with other cats. She's really come a long way since she was a kitten.She'll probably be the last one to get warm and fuzzy with them, but she's doing better each time. I don't see them snuggling up together any time soon, but I'd be happy with peaceful co-existence.  

Li'l is the only other one who hasn't interacted much with the kittens. He will at least eat breakfast right next to them. Li'l hasn't been feeling well, so he's spent a lot of time in the bathtub away from kitten capers. I'm not sure if he's purposefully avoiding them because he doesn't feel good, or if it's because he's worried he's being replaced, which we all know is impossible. He's my forever feline soul mate. We've spent 26 years total together. These are Jan's kittens. Do I love them? Certainly. Just as I've loved each of her babies, but they're her babies. Not mine. I help care for them, but they are not my feline soul mates. I have to assume Li'l is feeling insecure. Last night, I shut the two of us in my bedroom for several hours so we could have some cuddle time. I think it helped some. I'm going to do it again tonight for as long as it takes for him to come back and join the family for me than mealtimes. He's my forever boy and I've got to make him see that nothing has changed between us because Aunty Jan adopted two baby kitties.

Their second day ends with them having won over most of the house already. I'm sure by the end of the week they'll be an indispensable part of the family.  By the end of the year, we won't remember what life was like before they arrived. 

Day One: Rescue Kittens Get a Forever Home and New Names

Day One

My housemate adopted two kittens yesterday from our local vet's office. I blame this recent outbreak of kitteness on my youngest boy, Little Grey. We had to take him to the vet Friday to get him treated for skin itchiness. We are not sure what was causing it, but I hope 2 new kittens is enough to cure him. I think it has probably done the trick. 2 kittens, 2 shots, and a pill crammed down his throat should cure him forever of even thinking about another bout of itchiness. After meeting these 2 kittens at the vet while we were there, my housemate called to adopt them the following morning. I confess to massive enabling in this matter. To her credit, she tried to drag her feet for about thirty seconds, but my powers of persuasion being what they are brought her to her knees with minimal argument.

A litter of three had been found in the woods and brought to the vet for rescuing and adoption. The tortie in the litter had already been adopted, but these 2 had been there a week and were apparently awaiting 2 women with the word "SUCKER" tattooed on their foreheads. We showed up dutifully with required forehead tattoos, as well as hearts wide open and an empty pet carrier. We brought them home and put them in my bedroom, since my room is the only room in the house that is fully equipped for kitty incarceration. There are places to lie, places to hide, and places to play, including a kitty tree. There are also bowls of kitty food, a litter box, and plenty of toys. As I said, the only room in the house that is fully equipped for situations like this, so we let them loose in there to begin their journey of being assimilated into this already full cat house. I have at least 3 children already. 4 if Pixie decides to go with me and my 3 again when we finally move on from this place of temporary refuge. My housemate had 2 or 3, depending on which side of the equation Pixie lands. Now she has 4 or 5, depending on what Pixie decides. She is of course welcome in either family and much loved no matter what she decides. 

Since we already had plans to go see my family in Orlando, we loaded up the kittens to go with us for the visit. Leaving them behind with all the cats so soon was not advisable and leaving them home to sleep in my bedroom was simply a missed opportunity for fun. I knew my mother, sister, and niece would be up for the adventure, so after a couple hours of advanced warning, we packed up and headed to Orlando. The girls chirped like little birds for a while, then settled down to sleep for the hour-long ride. At the other end, we closed off some of the house, so we would have a chance of finding them when it was time to leave. Then we sat back to watch the fun of their explorations of Nanny's house. After loads of photos and videos and hours of kitten entertainment, we packed the girls up and headed back home. They chirped and cheeped for a few minutes until we stopped for gas. When their mommy went in to pay, the girls fell silent and didn't make another sound until we were home again and ready to unload. They had successfully navigated their first day of adventure. 

While we had been gone, the residents of the cat house had gone into my bedroom and investigated the evidence of kitten infestation that had been left behind while we were traveling. They were all scowling disapprovingly upon our return with the cause of the infestation. Dinner was served up in the kitchen for those who weren't about to miss supper just because there were suddenly 2 more tiny mouths to feed. The Princess Anjolie, however, was noticeable by her absence. Normally she eats in my room by herself or with Li'l Grey when he chooses. Instead, the kittens ate in my room, and Anjolie was nowhere to be seen. She ate breakfast with the rest of the cats in the kitchen this morning, while the kittens ate up in the cat tree, away from the hustle and bustle of feeding time with 6 grown cats. 

Night was interesting and cuddly. The pair played quite a bit, but didn't hold a candle to the circus cats of 2008--my twins, Anjolie and Bootsy. These two were busy playing and exploring but they were not nearly as rambunctious as my two had been in their early days, which translated into the fact that I actually got to sleep a little bit. While we didn't have any older kitties crawling into the sink to avoid being pounced on by a pair of kittens, Li'l Grey did spend the night in the bathtub, while Pixie, and sometimes Bootsy, slept on the floor in the bathroom, knowing that they would at least see their mom a few times in the night, since they couldn't get into the room where I was sleeping. I'm pretty sure Chi spent most of the night in my closet, while Tai spent most of the night sleeping on the bed pillow above my head when I refused to stay still enough for her to sleep wrapped around my neck, her first choice of sleeping places. I must have made one too many trips to the bathroom in the night, but it's hard to sleep all night with a kitten with tiny sharp claws wrapped around your neck. Once I awaken, a trip to the loo is not far behind. I was actually able to sleep in later than normal though, since the culprits of the early morning risings were unable to reach me with the bedroom door closed. When I did finally awaken, Tai was still fast asleep up above my left ear on the pillow behind mine.

 Note: The kittens are showing telltale signs of being literate. They spent a lot of time clambering among my mother's bookshelves and sleeping on stacks of books. They also enjoy walking on the laptop. One of them has already sent their first Facebook message. To someone in England even, so literary kitties with a flair for international communications. I suspect my feline nieces will go far in this world. 

Tai (left) and Chi (right)

Tai catching up on her reading

Reading puts me to sleep too, Tai.

"Hey, I heard there was food over here."

Tai meets Nanny

Tai ready to launch.

Tai showing her colors

Chi showing her colors

Chi ready to type

Chi trying to get the camera out of her face

Chi exasperated by the "Mamarazzi"

Chi bathing

Still bathing

Chi exhausted from bathing falls asleep