Saturday, September 02, 2006

Car Trek: The Quest for Kittens

Scene: airport, baggage claim area, very crowded.
Mom is met by Dad, DS1, DD, and DS2. The children all hug Mom, who leans over to get a kiss from Dad.

MOM: Oh, it's so good to see you!
DS1: Mom, are we going to get kittens now?
(end scene)

*~*~*

That was Wednesday afternoon. Thursday I researched and found out that Saturday mornings are prime time, in some cases the only time, for pet adoptions.

We wanted two kittens so they could keep each other company during the day when we're out and about, not to mention when we're traveling back East over the summer. One person I spoke to at an adoption center said we should get two kittens from the same litter, otherwise we'd have to keep the kittens separated for two weeks to prevent possible disease transmission from one to the other.

We visited the closest adoption center and they only had older cats. There was one a lot closer that had kittens, but no siblings, so we ended up driving all the way up to Tatum & Bell Rds, on the strength of extremely bad directions from the pet store's website, to where the Citizens for Scottsdale Strays were having their adoptions. The drive was long and made longer by the fact that we didn't really know where we were going; the map was too low resolution to be helpful, and the directions were just wrong. We persevered and found the place, finally, but the kids were edging towards grumpy when we arrived.

They had many, many kittens, and some were from the same litter -- but the adoption director quickly dismissed the issue with having to keep the kittens separated; they were all in the same cage anyway, so they'd all been exposed to everything. We were first charmed by a gray-and-white brother and sister, but they were a little older than we wanted, more than 6 months. Still adorable, and very nice, but we wanted younger. We next auditioned totally adorable 2-month-old gray tabby boys, but they were long-haired, and we really didn't want two boys. Then I spotted a little tortoise-shell sweetie in the big cage, and she came out to cuddle on me, purring immediately. We all loved her, but who would be her companion?

The little orange tabby, same age, just a little bit bigger, sweet as can be and a little more frisky than the tortoise.

After paperwork, a quick run to the bank by DH (we forgot to bring the checkbook), a quick shopping trip for necessities, we were the proud owners of then-named Tortie and George. We had great fun all the way home thinking up new names for them, since Tortie just wouldn't do for such a sweet, delicate little girl, and George, while nice, was "too common" for DH's taste.
Cooper

Alice

Alice and Cooper spent their first 2 or 3 hours at home running around at high speed, investigating everything, including each other. Hockey is definitely Cooper's favorite sport, but he's a champion leaper as well. Alice is a bit more shy but she gets around, and she seems to always outwit Cooper just when he's ready to pounce on her.

Like all siblings, they have their moments:



They do seem to get along very well, so far. Both are very loving and cuddly; DS2 has adopted Cooper as his favorite fashion accessory:
A boy and his cat


Alice was vaccinated today, and the shots have just wiped her out. She has spent most of the evening sleeping. She should be feeling much better tomorrow.
Knocked out


It's extraordinarily difficult to photograph kittens; they are both small and quick! I have several shots of each kitten's tail, snapped as they left the frame. Well, now that I have two at home, I hope to improve. Alice is very hard to shoot since her coloration is very dark with lighter spots; she ends up looking a bit more freaky than she is in real life. Cooper, of course, is just gorgeous, but he's such a dear he doesn't know it yet. He's a bit of a baby, too, and he'll meow piteously when he wants some cuddling.

I wonder how this first night will go. Will Cooper cry all night? Will he nibble our toes? Will Alice, now up from her 3-hour nap, be bouncing off the walls? Will they chew through our cable wires overnight? (Unlikely, they're still in their protective sheaths from when we had Rosie.)

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Today brought kittens, and that's splendid.

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