Tails from the Kat House: 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.