Live and Learn-Toss and Turn: Nov 9, 2023

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Kris's Kittens

Kris, a regular friend here, recently got two kittens, and I asked her if she'd like to do a post to tell us about them. Because as you all know, I'm a cat person and love to hear stories about them. If you've ever had cats, or pets for that matter, you will be able to relate to many of Kris's experiences. So many things she said made me think of stories of my own, but I will save them for another time.

Pippa and Stuart

How old are your kittens, and how long have you had them?

Pippa is 7 months old, and Stuart is 6 months old. We got them in mid-September. It was a 2 week wait to get them, but in the meantime, the shelter had Stuart neutered, so we were glad that detail was done before we brought them both home. We had considered bringing Pippa home first and then getting Stuart after his procedure, but I think it was best to bring them home at the same time. All of you cat lovers know that cats can be territorial, and bringing two home at once minimizes the territorial issues.

Where did you get your kittens, and how did you decide that these were "the ones"?

There are multiple cat shelters in our area. The challenge was choosing which shelter to go through! The one closest to our house proved to be the best option. At the time, they had 15 kittens all in one room, which gave us plenty to choose from. My daughter and I went for the first visit to scope out the situation. Pippa immediately deposited herself in my daughter's lap, so that was a done deal. :) We went back a few days later with my husband in tow. We wanted to make sure that Pippa was a good fit for us. While we were there, my husband kept rubbing the tummy of another sweet kitten--you guessed it, that kitten was Stuart. At that point, we had a dilemma.

Pippa

Before we ever made a visit to the shelter, we had discussed getting two kittens. I had always thought that if we were to have multiple cats, it would be easiest to do it at the kitten stage rather than introducing cats to our home at different times. After thinking about adopting two, I got cold feet and said that we'd get one, not two. And then .... along came Stuart. I went to the front desk at the shelter and asked if they could ID who he was and told them that we were having a hard time choosing between cats. "Just get them both!" said the worker. I told her that she was a problem and I was going to report her. Good thing she had a good sense of humor. Her words ended up being prophetic, and we decided to take the plunge and get both of them.

Stuart (with Gollum and Ragnar, the Viking Gnome)

We had talked about traits we wanted to see in our pet(s)--friendly and affectionate were high on the list. I also didn't want any that were aggressive to other cats (or humans) or who were too acrobatic, leaping on things all the time. During our first visit, a fly was in the room. The fly ended up being an excellent test to weed out some of the ones we were considering--one sweet girl was able to make astounding leaps trying to attack the fly, so she moved from my "maybe" list to my "no" list.

Did you use the names they came with or choose new ones?

My kittens are named Pippa and Stuart. Pippa's original name was Coco, but my daughter didn't care for that name, so she and I decided on Pippa. Stuart came from a different litter of kittens, and they were named after the minions from Despicable Me. We liked the name Stuart and kept it.

Have you had cats before, and do you have any other pets?

We had to put down our amazing cat, Max, in June. We had him for almost 15 years, and he was a perfect fit for our family. That was a hard day (as I'm sure many of you know!). We had a busy summer, so I didn't want to consider getting another cat until after summer was over. Our house was feeling empty, though, so by September, we were ready to take the plunge.

Max with the Grinch

What did you do ahead of time to prepare for them? Are your preparations helping? Are the kittens doing things you hadn't planned for?

Well, Pippa just knocked over a fake tree that I have in my living room! Max had knocked it over before, too, so that wasn't unexpected. I think that we expected some wild behavior from them, but I hadn't realized quite how long they could spend wrestling with each other or how vicious their play-fighting would appear to be.

We had a lot of the basics for a cat already, but I stocked up on cat food, litter, toys, and bought another bed. I also bought the double-sided tape sheets that you can adhere to your furniture to prevent them from clawing it. Pippa was trying to chew it off from the sofa, so we decided it was causing more harm than good and removed it. I bought lots of scratching boards and a post, as well. We never had a cat tree for Max, so I was on the fence about getting one for Pippa and Stuart, but after having them home, I decided they needed one. I did a lot of internet searching to find one that was fairly tall but took up a small footprint in our house, and that wasn't covered in carpet (I don't love the shards of carpet that you find everywhere from where cats shred it off). I was finally successful locating one that I liked, and it's proven to be a success. In answer to your question, yes, I do think that our preparations helped a lot. Flexibility is also helpful, as they each have their own personality, and you can never quite predict what each of them will do.

I have no idea what Pippa was up to on the cat tree.

Have the kittens taken to any one person in particular?

The kittens are leery of other people coming to our home. Pippa is more likely to check them out, but Stuart is our scaredy-cat. We were surprised by that because she is more hesitant to enter new situations, and Stuart will barge right into a room and not appear to be frightened. They are bonding well with the three of us; I'm not sure they have favorites. It will be interesting to see how they react when my son comes home from college for Thanksgiving.

Are you seeing distinct personalities between them?

Definitely, and right from the get-go. Pippa is more high-strung and, as I mentioned before, gets nervous about entering new areas. We started them out in my son's room for a couple of weeks and gradually started opening up the rest of the house to them. Stuart was very curious, but Pippa needed extra time to get used to the idea before she would go explore. She likes to be a mother hen to Stuart, and I think she feels that she has to keep track of us humans, as well. She's very friendly and likes to rub against your ankles (and get underfoot when you are walking). She makes the funniest chirping sounds, which we get a kick out of. Stuart, on the other hand, is more laid back. He lets out a very hoarse, funny-sounding bleat and rolls over on his back to have you rub his tummy. He has super soft fur, so that's a pleasure. He purrs really loudly and will let you pick him up, unlike Pippa.

Where do they sleep at night?

We started them out in my son's room because it's a smaller space. That's what was recommended to us to do. After a couple of weeks, we transitioned them to sleeping in the basement, which has gone well.