Destructo-Babies

I have become the cliche of an aging spinster: I am now a Cat Lady. I am not yet a Crazy Cat Lady until I get at least 2 more, possibly 3. My apartment is littered with cat toys and various scratching devices which are of minimal interest to Daisy and Bunny. Nothing will ever be as satisfying to scratch as the sofa and armchair. Fortunately both are holding up fairly well.

I still can't tell them immediately apart in appearance; Bunny has a silkier coat and Daisy has a rounder face, but I can STILL get them wrong until I see their collars! Bunny is immediate, Daisy is leisurely. When Bunny would like some cuddle time with me, Daisy would prefer to pick a fight. Daisy prefers to nap around my neck, while Bunny will curl up on a footstool by herself sometimes.

They make me very, very happy. When I wake up in the morning, I would much prefer playing with them than going back to bed. I take much pride in the fact that they are healthy and putting on weight rapidly (as if I had anything to do with it beyond putting food out at consistent intervals!) The real giveaway is the fact that now I can't do needlework anymore; at least not until they become less destructive and more sedentary. And I don't seem to mind in the least!

As a result of the sudden cessation of needlework, TV has become rather boring. I could sit for hours in the evening watching tv while I made things, but now without something creative to work on with my hands, it's really not enough to keep my full interest! Although I still sit and watch because the kittens insist on a certain quota of lap time.

Bunny is fascinated by the bathroom. The shower is just plain interesting (but she's too wobbly still to hop up without losing balance) and the toilet... well, she has fallen in at least once that I know of. Yes, it was HILARIOUS. It didn't hurt her in the slightest. They chirp and squeak sometimes; Bunny is an alto and Daisy a soprano.

Bit by bit they tear down a little of my Structure daily. A phone cord chewed into segments. A water bowl tipped over in the kitchen. Litter kicked around on the linoleum. Scratch marks all over my shins from attempting to climb into my lap. Anything within reach is theirs for the taking. It's just a matter of time until they can reach the counters. And they have a secret hidey-hole in the Tupperware cabinet. They found a 3-inch hole the allows them to squeeze in and out. I have to wash anything from that cabinet if I want to use it!

I remember what it was like when I could put something down and it would stay there until I moved it. Now it's all about putting things away, and hoping I haven't forgotten something they can reach. They are my little 5% sample of what it is to be a parent. The vet bills, the cat food, the worrying that they will get hurt, the toys, the time they need... I know, probably not even 5% of the equivalent of a baby. But it may be the closest I get.

THANK GOODNESS. I'm exhausted!

Babies

I have concluded that it should be a tradition to give Pet Showers for single people who decide to get pets. I have spent a small fortune on the nursery supplies for my impending babies!

I decided years ago to get myself a pair of cats when I got my own place. When I moved in to my first real home at the end of April, I resolved to give myself a month to settle in before finding some kittens. A friend's neighbor started looking

for a home for a pair of inseparable tabby twin sisters, I saw the pictures and since I love me some tabbies, I went to go see them.

They're all kittens should be - small, sweet, purry and meowy. Blue-eyed and so identical that I really do expect that they are real twins. I discovered that they were born on the day I moved into my new place - that's about as good a sign as it can get!

In the weeks since then (while I waited for them to be big enough to come home with me) I pondered names. The names I had picked out 7 years ago suddenly seemed as though they belonged to a previous season, and no longer applied to who I was now. So I pondered amusing and intellectual names like "Schadenfreude" and "Gemütlichkeit", but then realized that these were entirely too difficult for people to pronounce (including myself) and Schadenfreude was a rather mean-spirited name to saddle a poor kitten with!

I want them to be sweet, affectionate kittens, and so they need sweet names. So I went with "Daisy Delphinium" and "Bunny Rose", Daisy and Bunny for short. And so much stuff they need! Food and litterbox and collars and tags and toys and scratching posts and sprays and surgeries and shots and beds and gates and who knows what else I've forgotten. It's like I'm stocking a nursery for my impending babies, but because they are only pets I'm not entitled to gifts. ;)

And I am worrying a lot more than I should... so much I want to train into them, like not clawing furniture, and letting me sleep at night, and stuff like that... I probably won't have children now, and so these may well be my child substitutes! I went and picked out collars today, and got nametags in case they run away; I almost worry that I'm not allowed to get these sort of things until I actually pick them up, as though I might jinx the process.

Why Kittens are Therapeutic

I actually recorded this on my cell phone whilst visiting a litter of foster kittens. All available for adoption in Williamson County, Tennessee; contact me if you're interested.