Our New Kittens

Our New Kittens and Their Family

On Tuesday, Sept 16, 2008, we adopted two kittens from Paw Prints on Your Heart, the rescue group run by Sherri, pictured with us above. Our vet, Desert Tails Animal Clinic, had allowed Sherri to house the kittens in a front examining room that had a window to the outside, letting potential adopters see them. I’d seen the litter when we went to vote in the primary. After our 18 year old cat, Muffin died, I'd been thinking about adopting an older cat, since they're usually harder to place. But the kitties at the vet called out to me. When I went back to the office to buy some food, the two black kittens were all that was left in the litter that Sherri had placed there. I decided to get them both and Smoot agreed. We were told we were getting special treatment being allowed to adopt two black cats at this time of year. Most rescue groups refuse to adopt out black cats near Halloween because of the crazies who might misuse them. One group had over 30 black kittens hidden away. Sadly, by the time it's safe, they'll be beyond the cutest kitten stage and harder to adopt, but the groups still feel it's best for the cats to not make them available.

Our new kittens are brothers which is nice because they're used to each other and play together. They were already litter box trained and Sherri even paid for them to have their initial vaccination and to be microchiped so that if they're lost, they can be scanned and returned to their owner. Sherri was so pleased that we'd be willing to take both of them that she offered us a two-for-one deal but we went on and paid the full amount for each to help support her rescue efforts.

The kittens had been given temporary names of Cash (as in Johnny who always dressed in black) and Bagheera (the black panther in Jungle Book) but I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep those names. When we got to know them better, I thought maybe we could come up with other ones but so far Cash and Gheer have stuck. (I decided shortening Bagheera to Gheer sounded better than Baggy!) Dr. Remen, our vet has said he thinks they were probably born around June 1st so were around 3 1/2 months old when we got them. That would mean they were born around the same time as our most recent batch of baby turtles!

We put the kittens in our guest bath. Sherri and the vet both recommended they be in a small space at first. Annie and Pico didn’t sniff the door or show any interest in what might be behind it.

We were concerned about introducing the kittens to the rest of the house and especially to our other two old, female cats. We feared that would be hard to do. The day after we brought them home, Cash tore out of the small room when the door opened. We grabbed him and put him back. The next morning they both made a run for it, making a beeline to Pico who promptly bopped Gheer on the nose! We’d been hoping since they're kittens and male that Annie and Pico would eventually either treat them as their own kittens or at least ignore them. When we introduced A & P to Muffin, it was a looong time before there was even detente. It looked like we would be facing the same problem again. After a few days I tried a trick Sherri recommended, putting a screen door over the opening to the kitties room so Annie can see them and smell them but not attack them. It seemed to help.

We decided the kittens were probably stir crazy from being in the small room at the vet's and now in our bathroom so we closed Annie and Pico in our bedroom, with Pico's food, water and litterbox, and let the kittens rampage around the house, going full tilt. Clearly they need a chance to stretch their little legs.

It was so cute, Smoot has a small travel mouse with his laptop. It was hanging down with its light showing. Gheer went right for it, but then, he's a cat and it's a mouse!

The kittens decided Smoot's table was just the right size to sit on.

I’ve ordered a cat tree for the kittens to climb on. It will give them something else to maraude on besides us! We've already had to move my plastic geese and several plants to keep the kitties from digging and eating them! The only plant left on the hearth is the re-potted dish garden Catherine gave us way back in 2000 as a house warming present. Luckily its plants aren't dangerous for the kittens and it's heavy and tall enough to hold up the gate we've had to put across the fireplace. It’s like we’re having to child proof the house for toddlers, but I guess that’s what kittens are. It’s been 18 years since we’ve had a kitten so we’d forgotten just how energetic they can be. They've also noticed our Cockatiel, Cici, something our old cats didn't do. One of the kittens even jumped up and hung onto Cici's cage, checking things out! I wish I'd had the camera handy when that happened.

Well, energetic until they poop themselves out and want to rest.

They’ve decided our cloth chair is also a fun place to hang out.

On Sunday, Sept 21, I decided to introduce the kittens to Lady Turtle, my female Red-eared slider. She’d come to the back door and seemed to want to come in so I let her meet our new family members. They were so cute. They stalked her across the living room.

They were obviously very curious as to what this moving toy was!

Then they split up and encircled her, occasionally having the courage to gently bop her shell. Lady Turtle didn't let the kittens bother her but just kept on truckin’ across the carpet. We finally picked her up and put her back outside so she could go for a swim in the swimming pool which she loves. And the kittens got back to marauding.

On Sept 23, Gheer jumped up on the back of the couch, which is one of Annie's domains. We expected a disaster, but Annie just looked at the nosey kitten and moved further down on the couch. We thought that was a major turning point in the relationship between feisty, formerly feral Annie and the curious kittens.

What has been even more amazing, late at night when she thinks no one is looking and the kittens are safely in their room, Annie has been playing with their toys! We couldn't believe it. She's 11 years old and has not shown much interest in toys for the four years we've had her. Maybe the kittens are bringing out the kitten in her! In the photo above she'd been playing with the ball and the previous night it was the mouse.

Gheer might be the smaller of the two kittens, but he seems to be the most adventurous. None of our older cats have ever shown any interest in Cici, but Gheer leaped up to check out the Cockatiel up close and personal!

On Sept 24, Gheer also went nose-to-nose with Pico. Luckily nothing terrible happened, another sign the older cats are getting used to the wild youngsters.

Annie unwisely let her tail twitch outside her hidey hole behind the curtain and on of the kittens decided it was a toy.

He reached out for it, but we stopped him before he made contact!

Both kittens seem to like to bug Annie. Here Cash is taking his life in his hands. I got different colored collars for them to help us tell them apart. Cash got the blue one, since he's usually more laid back. Gheer got the fiery red one. Smoot said I should have gotten Gheer a white one so we could call them Blue Collar and White Collar!

We got the kittens a fancy tree to climb on.

They very quickly figured out all the neat things to do on it.

They can take a nap on it.

Or use it for a launching platform to jump on the shutters!

Smoot watching the marauders do their thing!

The kittens like to sleep on the treadmill. Smoot threatens to turn the machine on, but he better not!

They also like to sit on the window ledge and watch the birds in the feeder. Here Cash keeps a wary eye on his outdoor prey.

He also likes to check out our indoor bird, Cici!

We introduced them to Roomba, our vacuum cleaner. At first it scared them, then they decided it was something fun to watch.

Annie can't be bothered and snoozes in her bed at the base of the cat tree.

On Oct 18, 2008, the kittens, now growing into cats, snoozed on our bed.

A close-up of Cash with his tummy and other parts showing! As of the end of Oct, he weighed 6 pounds.

Pico will occasionally ignore the kittens and come out and snooze in her bed that matches her fur colors.

The kittens had stayed away from Pico's bed but on Nov 7th, Gheer decided it look too comfy to pass up!

Cash has almost outgrown his favorite platform on the cat tree.

But he's figured out that when he's on the 'house,' he has more room to play.

To get ready for the choir potluck with Rev Susan on Nov 21st, we've been doing tasks around the house. To prepare to clean the oven, I got a bucket of warm water ready. The kittens had to investigate it. Cash has the blue collar and Gheer the red.

We'd been having problems with our toilets so Smoot got a new one for the guest bath. Before he could put it in, the kittens had to check it out. Cash is just lucky there wasn't any water in it! Both he and Gheer have grown so much. I credit that to the high quality food they were fed by the rescue service and that we've continued to give them. At five and a half months old, Cash is already closing in on eight pounds. We don't know if he's going to end up being a big cat or just a fat one!

The kittens have been fascinated by the treadmill. On Nov 25th we decided to let them know what it did and turned it on, very slowly. I wish I'd had my videocamera to catch Cash being moved along the belt and falling off the end! He was so cute. He got right back on and Gheer came over to check it out too. They both rode it several times but then we were afraid they might get a paw or tail caught so turned it off.

From the very beginning, Cash has had a tendency to fall over when someone comes up to him. He gets tummy rubs that way. He also likes to put his paw under any closed door, especially if someone is behind it like Smoot was in the photo above taken on Nov 26. It's interesting that you can see his eyes better in the mirror. The camera deals with red-eye, but still gives him what looks like devil eyes from the flash.

On Nov 30, Gheer was fascinated by my exercise program. He also likes to chase the cursor on my computer!

On Dec 1, Cash showed his fascination with the turtles. One of these days he's going to fall in. Gheer did and was NOT a happy cat!

On Dec 2, the two were in their usual spot. When someone is on the other side of the door, they either want in or want to play!

On Dec 8, 2008, I took photos of the kittens to use in our holiday letter. I thought this showed the difference in their size and personality. You can see Cash, on the left is chunkier than Bagheera. He's also more laid back. Bagheera, with his wide open eyes and sleeker body is the feistier of the two.

I took pictures of our other critters too. Annie and Pico, left and right above, aged 11 and 17, usually ignore the kittens. Cash now outweighs Pico, but not grouchy Annie who could probably take him in a fight. We hope it doesn't come to that!

The kittens love to hang on Cici's cage and check him out. The kittens also love to watch the outside birds. Recently we had enough rain to flood our pool cover. The water was at just the right depth to create a nice birdbath which one of our Grackles took advantage of.

The kittens, now six months old, were fixed on Dec 11. We were told they shouldn't be allowed to run and jump for 10 days. Puhleeze! There is no chance of that. But luckily they haven't shown any problems after the operation.

Cash seems to have a fascination for water places, including the sink

and sticking his nose into the fish tank!

For Christmas we didn't set up a regular tree for fear the kittens would knock it over or try to break and eat the decorations. I thought since they were used to the ficus plant they wouldn't bother it. No such luck. Having lights on it and gifts under it made it worth investigating to Cash.

The kittens are getting so big it's hard to hold them both!

They're a handful for Smoot too!

Bagheera wasn't happy about wearing the Santa hat nor was Cash to wear the reindeer antlers. The indignities we put our pets through! But it WAS their first Christmas.

Pico seemed more calm about the whole ordeal. Annie was no where to be found!

As 2008 came to a close, the kittens could be wild or sleepy, but even when they're bad, like chewing the cord off a pair of headphones, they're sooo cute. We’re delighted to have them as part of our family.

2009 started with a viist from Ralph and Anne Mitchell on Jan 3. Cash was his usual friendly self.

A stack of baby turtles!

Cash can't resist any cubbyhole so when I was putting up our Christmas linens later in Jan 2009, he decided to 'help' me by jumping in the cabinet!

January 2009 ended sadly. Pico's health had been declining rapidly and on the 29th we had her put to sleep. It was a very sad day.

Cash continued to cheer us up and above, helped Smoot with his paperwork by sitting on it!

He also liked to watch the baby turtles unless his attention was distracted by something outside.

Cash stalking a Hummingbird.

After all his hard work, he likes to sit on top of tables, even if there aren't any papers on them.

Cash and Gheer 'boxing' on the cat tree on Feb 24th.

In Feb 2009, Gheer decided to 'help' by sitting on the Wii board. He's gotten so big, he just about fills it.

Helping Papa read the paper.

The kittens cleaning up and then snoozing on the cat tree in March.

Cash is just too cute to get in trouble for sitting on Papa's paper.

With Pico gone, Annie had lost her life-long companion. The kittens try to be friendly but she's not always responsive, even with Cash in his submissive posture.

On Mar 11, 2009, the choir surprised me with a St. Charlotte's Day party. Two of the gifts were cat toys. The kittens lost no time in finding them and playing with them.

Later in March, Cash found a comfy place to stretch out and sleep - on the throw-covered chair.

Annie opted for the kitty condo.

On April 1, 2009, Cash checked out the baby turtles in their tub.

On April 6, 2009, we had Kate, Kat, Kelly and Ron over for supper, to see my collections and of course, to play with the kittens.

On April 14, Cash decided to play with the faucet, for some unknown reason!

On April 16, Gheer played with Cash who had crawled inside a box on the treadmill. I use the box at night to cover up my computer so the kittens don't stomp on the keyboard, wake up the system and shine light into the bedroom!

The next day, the kittens watched a bunny in the back yard.

At the same time, Lady Turtle was sunning herself after a dip in the pool.

Mr. Turtle chose to sun himself on the edge of his pond.

I moved the baby turtles into the bath tub to give them more room. On April 18, Gheer took advantage of the handy shelf to sit on and watch them, seemingly unaware that his tail was floating in the water!

On April 24, Lady Turtle knocked on the door and came in for a visit. Cash and Gheer hadn't seen her since they were much smaller but seemed as fascinated. She, as usual, didn't seem to notice them.

Gheer looking nonchalant and Cash watching Lady Turtle from a safe vantage point.

On April 30, Annie was in a different spot, inside the kitty condo. At the same time one of the kittens was snoozing on the tree.

On May 17, Suzanne came to visit. Cash, of course, was the center of attention.

Suzanne got to meet Cici too.

After Suzanne left on May 20, the kittens checked out the bird feeder outside the guest room window. She said they reminded her of two Bombays, the big, amazing, black cat she had for so many years and who died in August of 2008. He is shown above right in a photo taken in 1996.