Cats, cats, and more cats

On Saturday we went out on errands, shopping, of course, and Frank surprised me at Petsmart [where we go for the kitty litter we get] and told me I could pick out a kitten if I saw one I liked. 🙂

There were some young kittens, and several older kittens, as well as a few adult cats. It was adoption time, of course, as Petsmart doesn’t “Sell cats or dogs”. Pet Adoption agencies come in on various days with animals from shelters and rescue services, etc.

In the past, we got Strider, Dixie, and Scarlet in this manner. When we got Strider and Dixie we were there to look for a kitten. We ended up with the dynamic-duo instead. I saw them, and didn’t look further at them since they were older kittens. I was looking for a little black kitten then, I think. Frank pointed the 7-month old kittens out to me and asked if I wanted them. Both? Well, let me see then … and the rest is history. They were the best pair of cats, sigh. Still are.

We got Scarlet next, looking for a kitten again, and the people there didn’t let us take a young onethough they had several then. [actually, we had gone to Petsmart and didn’t see much of anything, so then we tried PetCo which was just a few blocks away –holding adoptions, it was at PetCo we found Scarlet.] We ‘weren’t trusted’ for some reason. Usual pet adoption people fall in love with us for adopting any of their cats. We got Cinnamon in 1998, when I was pregnant with our second baby [Victoria]. It was a great experience. We got Strider and Dixie a few years after that. Super Great Experience. So Scarlet then, was a not-so-great-experience in that we lucked out in getting her at all. We stood around waiting for more cats to arrive then, and she showed up finally, and was just old enough for them to reluctantly so OK to us about. She’s a nice little cat, very petite. She was 3 months old when we got her. Strider and Dixie really took to her and loved her in her growing up phase. They still all like each other a lot, just that the “young” phase was greater.

We got a kitten from a family we know next, Foster. He’s over a year old now, and outside, as he just wouldn’t fit in with our family. Really a royal pain, much nicer as an outside cat, though that’s not my usual medium of caring for cats. He’s needing neutering still as well, but that means $ in the case of what needs done to allow them to do him [shots …] and then the scolding that would follow about him being an outside cat, blah, blah, blah. Frank says we’ll give him a trial inside deal. I’m not sure we will though, as he’s just a big, strong, opinionated cat.

So with all that has happened in the past year-plus, we have four inside cats and one outside cat, until this weekend.

Ah well, before that, we put Vivaldi, the stray I’d taken in in hopes of reforming, out on Friday night. He’d been allowed free access in the house the previous day and that Friday, and in the dining room [where we have some boxes of books stacked up] Vivaldi walked up and sprayed the box nearest him. “Put that cat out NOW!”

Saturday morning I was up early, before the Sun, and in the family room with the door open for some ventilation. I saw an orange and cream face in the screen door, and I went over to check him out, and VAVOOOM! Dog comes bounding out of the dark yard in massive barking mode. Haven’t seen Vivaldi around outside the house since then. Dog wasn’t in his kennel, which he should have been. Oh well.

So four indoor cats, one outdoor cat. At Petsmart on Saturday then, the cats there were nice, but not THAT nice. One female was black with huge jewel-like eyes, a young thing looked at least 6 months old, but they had info on the card for her that said 4 months old. In any case, we were looking for one much smaller in stature. That cat was called “Tiffany” and it was so fitting. I drug myself away from her knowing I was seeking something else, younger, and different looking. Knowing I’d be sure when I saw it.

We found another aisle then with a few animals in it, and a couple of ladies came in right then with cages of cats to put in that aisle. There were two other older kittens already in that section, and they were so playful, energetic, wonderful to watch, one was all black. Again, something I was drawn to, but couldn’t commit to saying it was right.

The people got the new arrivals out and into the cages. A couple of grown cats, and three small kittens. I was looking at all the other cats and didn’t pay any mind to the new arrivals at that point. Then I saw them, Frank was looking. One was orange/cream-tabby-tuxedo, and the other two were solid gray. My mind was really looking for something that “looked” like one of the breeds I’d been researching a bit with an eye towards what Strider and Dixie are most like: the type that looks like a Havana Brown or a Burmese. Well these two were gray, not just gray, but really the rare solid blue that DSH’s sometimes produce. Three in a litter, and two were blue. One boy, one girl. Green-ish eyes [still changing color, I think].

If one knows my history of cats a bit, one knows it wasn’t too long before my eyes had nothing in them but these kittens. Frank said I could get both of them if I wanted. Wanted?

So they are about 12 weeks old, and so cute. They have some kind of Upper Respritory thing going on, we had them at the vet this morning to be sure it was Viral and such. I have worming to give them too. Bringing them home they were “fine” but not truly. The female has a rumbling wheeze occassionally, that then gives into a couple of low coughs, but isn’t always there. The adoption people said that was her purr, that it was wierd, but that was her. Well, I wasn’t sure, but worth it to take her and nurse her to health. She does purr, a normal lovely purr. The wheezing is wheezing of a Viral nature the vet said. I did hear one sneeze this morning, but nothing more. The boy, he woke up Sunday morning with a gooky eye. Just one eye. There are many things it can be, but the vet felt sure it was probably a cat herpes thing, not like the people kind, and so I have eye ointment to put on it, and watch it. If it turns out to get worse, then there are further things to do.

So we are happy to have them. They need some loving. They are feral kittens, caught in October, born in August. They are warming up to us, being with us Saturday night, and yesterday and today, not much time, as we were at church yesterday a lot. So they are doing great, is what I mean. The vet says they are really healthy, just these two viral like things. Their temps are normal. I’ve noticed that their noses are usually nice and cold and wet.

The orange/cream tuxedo kitten in the cage with them at the store was their litter-mate. I felt bad leaving it alone.

One of the kittens we got had actually been adopted out previously, but brought back, as it wasn’t playing or something. Not what they wanted. Boon for us!

Separate that pair on purpose? They are two peas in a pod, with differences in their head shape mostly, but oh what a pair. Strider and Dixie taught us we love brother and sister pairs. Maybe another pairing would work, but we’ll see how well this goes. I love the idea of having the duo’s that look similar too. It’s just as cool as a cat.

These little precious balls of fur look like my Bleu Sebatian looked. He’s my historical cat. I got him via picking up a stray/kicked-out cat [knew someone who knew the owner, they’d kicked it out recently due to being too noisy, didn’t want it] I brought that black and white tuxedo female home, and she had kittens 9 weeks later. First born was Bleu. Big and blue and exactly what I wanted. I was amazed.

Why? Some years before another cat we had, which was mine, had kittens and one was a solid blue, I called her Sen-Sen. I loved her, loved her so much, but “had” to give her away. Wasn’t happy to give up that fluff of blue cutey at 8 weeks of age.

So Bleu was “sent from God” to me, I figured. Bleu lived with us for years, but dissappeared a few years ago, early 2000 I am recalling. [Victoria was young and Asa wasn’t yet born, but she was talking “Bubba, cum hooome!” calling out on the deck for weeks.] He was my big sweety, but had gotten a bit crochety mean the last few years. He was 11 years old when he got out by mistake [back door left ajar when we were out — costco means long away time].

So imagine that when time after time we have looked at the animals in the adoption cages at more than one stores over the years, and never once saw my favorite type of kitty, the Solid Blue anomoly with Green Eyes, or any color eyes for that matter.

Imagine that when we did see something like that, we were looking for something to take home, and it wasn’t just one, but two, and it wasn’t a big cat, but the perfect age of 12 weeks old ….

Imagine! 🙂 I don’t have to anymore. It’s a realized dream. 🙂

In these pictures the first few were taken Saturday night, and the next ones Sunday afternoon. One closeup of the boy on Sunday you can see his gooky eye a bit.