Christmas Kittens!
One of many things which has been keeping me busy of late has been that we added two cats to our menagerie the week before Christmas!
I had always wanted to have a cat, and since I seem to have gotten past the worst of my childhood allergies to both dogs and cats, I decided to visit the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a no-kill shelter which has lots of cats and dogs in need of good homes.
I picked out a very cute, affectionate cat I liked, and as it happened, my daughter who had accompanied me fell in love with a completely different cat. They were having a 2-for-1 special, so...
The black and white cat I chose is now named Dinah, after the heroine of my favorite Elswyth Thane book, EVER AFTER, as well as Alice's cat in Disney's ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951).
The calico cat was called Lilac at the shelter; my daughter liked the sound of it and modified the name slightly to Lila.
Both kittens are "teenagers," about seven months old.
Our dogs Chance and Luke are getting along with the new additions very well. Here's Chance taking a rest with his new friends:
Both cats had been abandoned and are fortunate to be alive. Lila was very sick as a younger kitten and was nursed back to health by the shelter staff and volunteers. Dinah was the runt of a litter of nine kittens and needed extra care in order to thrive.
We were very impressed with the dedication of all the employees and volunteers at the Seal Beach Animal Care Center. (It was amazing how they were able to keep track of each kitten's name and history!) I highly recommend the shelter to anyone in the North Orange County or Greater Long Beach area who is interested in providing a home to an animal in need.
posted by Laura @ 11:40 AM
10 Comments:
Awww! I love the pics and the names! And they look like they not only get along with each other but with the dogs. That's so cool.
Thanks!
The shelter told us they would be a good pair to adopt together because they'd spent a lot of time in the same room and liked each other. It's fun to watch them playing together, just like our dogs do. :)
Best wishes,
Laura
I don't like dogs but can't imagine living without cats. They are soft, smooshy and cuddly and they kill rats!
Here is my #1 putty tat:
http://panavia999.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-cat.html
Aw, very cute, Panavia!!
Cats have been a bit of a surprise as I've previously only been a dog person -- I'm having to readjust my thinking to handling animals that can go "up" (grin) and like to get into small dark places. Nor do they respond to commands! But they are awfully cute and cuddly. :) And it's hilarious watching them play. A ball of yarn kept Lila occupied for over an hour the other evening.
Best wishes,
Laura
Welcome to the world of cats. Your life will never be the same. Back in the early 90's we had several cats all born to the same Mother. After the last one passed away 5 years ago we said, that's it. Ha! 3 years ago another litter was born in our back yard. We now have 4 - 3 boys and 1 girl. The girl is also black and white like yours and named Jade. They rule our house.
What a great story, Irene! I remember when you posted kitten photos on your blog some time back. I don't think I realized you kept them all! Thanks much --
Best wishes,
Laura
It wasn't quite our choice to keep all of them, but no one wanted a kitten(s)and I even work at a school! Can't imagine life without them now :) They do keep us on our toes!
How cute! I'd love to have a cat, but am very allergic. However, cats love me and always snuggle up to me when I'm in a house with them. Somebody always has to come and take the cats away. lol.
Your black and white cat looks a lot like one of my cats. At first look, I thought that was Patches. She is a bi color cat with white feet. What is funny is on one of her feet, there is a small dot of black, like someone was painting the black on her, and a drop fell there. She has a daughter and two sons. Her daughter is a bi color like her, with white feet. Whereas Patches has a black chin, the white patch on the throat in Booties is higher, so she has a white chin, it looks like a goatie. Patches sons are Blackie, who is all black everything. He is the only cat I have with black whiskers. Her other son, Tiger is a grey/black tabby with white underside and white feet. I did not get my cats thru a shelter, I was feeding Patches for a long time and earned her trust. She had her kids behind my shed and after she brought them out, I took the whole lot of them in. Tiger was always pretty friendly, but, Blackie and especially Booties weren't so in the beginning...but they came around. The hardest thing with Blackie was getting him to come on my lap, Tiger always did. The girls aren't really into sitting on laps. He didn't hiss, but he preferred to hide from me (I don't know why he was still so skiddish). However, I would pick him up and set him on my lap and after doing that for a long time, now, he jumps up on his own. I know when Tiger and Blackie are going to come up. Patches and Booties have done it once or twice...but they aren't really into that. My cats are still feral, and you can tell when someone they have never seen before comes in the house...they all run and hide away.
Missy, I think there is a cat for you. There is a breed(?) that doesn't have fur. You might want to see if you can visit one and see if your allergies can handle it.
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