Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Kittens!

Second only to the soccer game was acquiring some new kittens this weekend!

As you know, we've been ready for awhile and have been waiting for the right opportunity. I've been saying that we have a hole in our house in the shape of a cat for awhile. (Jiro was like, "where??")

On Saturday, a woman who lives a few blocks over sent an email to the neighborhood letting us know that she had three kittens that needed adopting. A neighborhood cat had brought them to her, and she already had plenty cats of her own. In the email she mentioned that they were all black or black and white.

I told the kids and they wanted to head over immediately. However, it took a few hours for us to exchange emails and decide on a time to come visit. I made plans for Sunday morning which means I had to endure about eighteen hours of questioning from the monkeys and Warren. i.e. "How old are they? What do they look like? Can we have two?"

That last question somehow stopped being a question and started being a fact around hour twelve when we started talking about kittens instead of just a kitten. We have two dogs from the same litter and I think it has been good for them to always have a playmate. So why wouldn't it be the same for cats? My only concern of course was double the poop in the litter box.

But I also made sure to tell the kids that we were just looking, and there was no guarantee. I wanted to make sure that they were healthy, I said. Then Jiro, my precious Jiro, said, "Well we should take the least healthy one so we can make it healthy!" Man, I love that kid!

When we finally went to see the kittens they were all three crazy cute. I really didn't know how we were going to decide. Then all but one got away from us! So we brought home the all black one, named him Darkrai, and chalked it up to fate.



The dogs were very curious about our newest arrival.



Warren wasted no time preparing a safe haven for him. We pulled out the bed that Olive never liked, and the boys filled it with stuffed animal friends. Then we set about showering him with love. I was really excited for the boys to have a pet that they could watch grow up. But I was extra excited when Warren said, "I've never had a kitten either!"




Once Darkrai was all safe and secure, we had to leave for a little bit. We went to the Kosher BBQ contest (more about that later), but instead of BBQ, we had kittens on our minds. Warren kept talking about the one with white whiskers. By the time we left, we had agreed to call and see if he came back. Then on the way to the pet store for supplies, I called my sisters to see if either one of them wanted a kitten. Turns out my niece has been pining for a kitten too, so my sister Tracey said she'd happily take one.

Just imagine how thrilled our neighbor was when I called back and said we wanted the other two! She said she'd call me when she caught them, and then about an hour later we went and picked them up!



It was really funny to see how comfy Darkrai got in just a few hours. When we brought the other kittens home, he was lounging in his bed. When we reunited them, he casually tapped them with his paw and greeted them. There was a lot of back and forth, but we finally decided which kitten to give my niece. We decided to give her the one with the white whiskers and keep the smallest, most skittish one, just like Jiro had suggested in the first place.

My niece was thrilled.



She showered Spike with love for the entirety of our family dinner together. At one point she even had him sleeping in a baby carriage.



The cutest part about giving one to my niece, was seeing how the monkeys advised her on the care and maintenance of him. They had become experts in a very short period!

Back at home, we started Operation Snuggle with Darkrai and Pocky. They both really like to snuggle. Thankfully only Darkrai likes to lick.



They are both doing great and easily adjusting to life with Team Oster. They are sleeping in a kennel so that they have a dog free zone, and both have proven themselves to be 100% on board with the litterbox.

We love watching them play and chase each other. "Kitten TV" is our new favorite activity. It's amazing how playful and affectionate they have become in just two days! But I can already tell that once they become fully comfortable with us and the dogs they are going to be wild boys! But hey, what's new?

2 comments:

Colville Clan said...

Kittens are so much fun! Growing up we never had less than two, usually more, as well as various dogs & farm animals. Your boys are going to have such a good time. I'm a little jealous. Congratulations!

Judy said...

Love your new four legged babies! The pictures are great and I am thrilled that all 3 kitties were placed. Always a joy to catch up with your blog and the Oster family.

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