Kittens!

In a rare, still, together photo. Posy,
with color on her front paws, is in
front. She usually is.

We're a kitten house!

I actually never thought this would happen. I believed that all of our caged pets had crowded out any chance of owning cats again, and I was resigned to that probability.

But if I didn't think this would happen, Elise REALLY didn't think it would, especially once she first laid eyes on the kittens who were destined to become "ours." If you ask her, full centuries turned over between Sunday evening, when she first found out about the kitten possibility, and Wednesday afternoon, when we brought them home. [Which is ironic, because when we asked her how long we should wait before bringing home a kitten, she thought 2 weeks sounded about right.]

We cleared out a cabinet in the
bathroom for the kittens to call their
own. We removed a door and put a
beach towel in the bottom, and it's
one of their favorite places to sleep.

It's not that Kalina and Naomi were less excited; they were simply less laser-focused, with emotions not super-glued to the idea of receiving these little furballs into our home. There are benefits to both types of personalities, for when we need varying levels of enthusiasm in our world. Which we do.

Thanks to COVID-19 regulations, it's difficult to visit adoptable pets right now. To do so, you should:

1. Always remember to choose a pet based on its personality, not its looks.
2. Peruse a database of adoptable cats/kittens and their photos. Or possibly only their names.
3. Fill out a detailed application form. Submit it.
4. Line up a meet-and-greet with the foster family (in the case of kittens) and the shelter.
5. Drive 20-25 minutes, preferably without kids to minimize contact and, well, what poor Elise went through.
6. Meet the one or two kittens you arranged to see.
7. Repeat for each additional kitten/littermate pair.
8. Choose based on personality, if the one you decide you want is actually still available. Or, just take the one you're currently holding to save yourself a lot of trouble.

After "unboxing," the kittens
explore their new room. Their
horizons wouldn't be much
expanded until the following
day.

Matt and I did manage to skirt a lot of this by visiting the SPCA shelter, which actually had adoptable kittens in-stock. It's like the Target of kittens, whereas the other places are more the fine furniture store. We didn't visit the other places--we tried to, but learned the above rules the hard way, by showing up for our appointment with 0 kittens to meet and not even a cat, as the only one present didn't like people. I realize people are very busy at these shelters, right? And that's why they didn't call me to let me in on all this after I scheduled the appointment, right?

Fortunately, the SPCA had plenty of kittens, including several sets of littermates. All of these had been fostered until a few days previous, so that they'd grow up social. And pretty much all would be adopted within days, so none would be spending more than about a week in the shelter. Because kittens.

Sister picture!

We were initially interested in Poppy and Posy because they are sister kittens, but we were introduced to others as well, including their sweet brother, Bud. (Get it? Get it? Poppy, Posy and Bud?) We liked them immediately due to everything from their cute/unique markings (true!), as well as to their reputation as being "not quite as crazy as these other kittens," who, apparently, cause complete chaos in their cages overnight. Plus, Poppy cuddled up so sweetly with me, and both seemed okay with lap-sitting (we weren't allowed to let them roam the floor). We interacted with other kittens as well, but were quickly sold on the orange-and-white sweeties we'd held first. All three of them, because you can't leave one alone, right? And Matt's more of a softie than people give him credit for.

Look, Mom, I'm holding
one, I'm holding one!

After we arrived home and had dinner, we revealed what we'd been up to. The girls, who'd lately been petitioning for guinea pigs because they get along with bunnies and had written off kittens as being an impossible dream, could hardly believe their ears, but actually did seem to sleep at night--something we wouldn't have predicted. In the morning, I showed them the pictures of the actual kittens we were considering, and from that point forward, all conversations led to kittens.

Somehow, Bud got adopted between Sunday late afternoon and Monday late morning, which honestly was probably fine. But Wednesday afternoon, after an agonizing wait ("I honestly don't think I'll survive." -a totally serious Elise), the last part of which, in the car outside the SPCA because they weren't allowed to enter, was possibly the longest hour of the girls' lives, the kittens came home with us, meowing all the way.

Each girl was dressed in a cat-themed outfit, something that had caused us not a little stress that morning as the only short-sleeved cat gear belonged to Kalina (with a whopping 4 shirts!) and none fit Naomi in a way she deemed acceptable. Fortunately, another girl in the neighborhood, whose family owns three cats, was willing to pass down a Hello Kitty dress to Naomi, which she accepted out of sheer desperation (the girls no longer like Hello Kitty, although they really should because the cartoon kitty single-handedly got Kalina through her long "everything I wear must have cats on it" phase. Which apparently hasn't quite wound down).

Possibly the happiest girl in the world.
Because that's where enthusiasm
sometimes lands you.

We unboxed the cats in the girls' bathroom--their new "safe room," where it was recommended they spend the next few hours or days, until they're comfortable exploring further. As a side benefit, this whole concept got the girls to uncomplainingly deep-clean the room anticipating the arrival of its new occupants.

The bathroom made a great safe room while we got to know the kittens--but a rather cramped "Let's all hang out together in here in the summertime" room. Especially when we added a large litter box, a scratching post, food, water, a couple toys and some hyper, overstimulated kitties/kiddies. It wasn't exactly my worst nightmare, since my best dreams actually do include kittens, but I admit I questioned a lot of things in some of the most intense moments.

Does it get any better than this?!?
Poppy actually began her sleep
journey on the other side of Kalina,
and migrated across in her sleep.
Kalina missed part of lunch to
soak up the fact that a real, live
kitten was napping on her lap while
she read.

The kitties immediately spotted the one secretive place in the room--a cabinet we'd cleaned out for them--and made a beeline inside. From there, they were fairly quickly tempted out by the toys we'd picked out at Wal-Mart the night before. Play therapy worked, and soon our kittens were allowing themselves to be petted and occasionally hoisted up a little off the ground by an inexperienced pair of hands (but more often by mine, because I'm actually a little selfish when it comes to kittens).

Possibly more stressful than introducing two freaked-out kittens to a crowded bathroom was introducing three finally-my-dreams-are-coming-true-in-this-very-moment children to the two young cats. I do believe we waited more than 10 minutes before a plaintive "I haven't gotten to pick one up yet!" was whined, but it couldn't have been much longer. Nevertheless, despite emotions upon emotions, dreams slowly did come true, as everyone felt as though that had at least one bonding moment with the kittens. Eventually, I was able to convince my girls to give their pets a little rest in their safe room. And then we could all finally breathe again, because we stepped out into the rest of the house, and left at least a few emotions in with the kitties.

Poppy went from playful to
zonked. This is one comfy
kitten!

The kittens, who'd been used to a cage, were delighted to have the run of a room. We could hear them chasing homemade and store-bought toys all over the place. We visited them often. Fortunately, the first night went perfectly, as have all the rest--so I think we're out of the woods.

The next day, the kittens ventured out a little, carefully supervised. They haven't seen much of Andy bunny, but the unofficial visit left both animals scared (Andy and whichever kitty crept in to his room). Eventually, we allowed them downstairs. Posy showed more confidence than Poppy, who returned to her "safe room," or simply meowed for help if she didn't know how to find it. But soon, both were tearing around as though they owned the place. Don't tell them, but they kinda do.

Kitten watches bunny. It was
only later that everyone
started freaking out about
each other.

We decided to keep their names, Poppy and Posy, at least at the writing of this blog. Although I still want to change them to Charlotte and Fern (of Charlotte's Web fame), and I reserved the right at the outset of this grand escapade to name the kitties. The girls are in negotiations for moving that right to middle-name rights, due to unfairness claims, but the jury's still out.

Their personalities have begun to shine. Poppy, who was so cuddly in the shelter, acted a little more shy and skittish with us at first. Posy, however, was the perfect mix of friendly and curious, virtually from the get-go. (I can speak this way because they're not my actual children.) Poppy eventually warmed up, and is intensely playful, but often in need of reassuring cuddles. She's also now the most likely to cuddle up next to us on a couch, even traveling across a lap as she sleeps (just ask Kalina!).

Matt built a giant cat tower that allows them to climb, and will hopefully preserve our couch. I'm sewing a cat bed and, eventually, a cat tent and hammock. And the girls keep making cat toys out of pipe cleaners, feathers, and yarn, especially Naomi who is delighted to have someone to craft for.

Matt's cat tower, with two
kittens set to conquer it!
They only made it to the
top today!

For at least this week or so, "kittens!" are an excuse to stop whatever we're doing and come look at the cute thing they're doing. Having a kitty on your lap is a well-accepted reason to be late to a meal. 

The girls LOVE the kittens. No really, they LOVE them. Sometimes overly much. The kitties can barely walk through a room for being scooped up, sometimes just for the sheer novelty of being able to scoop up a kitten. They are learning to deal with it patiently, because they also get played with, and petted and, of course, fed. And despite the fact that they occasionally kick each others' heads while holding them in strangle-holds, they kittens seem to love each other, too.