Kitteh Update

A little more than a month has passed since Samwise and Starbuck joined the family. They've settled in well. They haven't calmed down a bit. Kittehs, what are you going to do with them?

Several people told me boy cats are mellower than girls and these two are proving that out. Samwise is perfectly content to curl up on my shoulder and nap. Starbuck also wants to curl up on my shoulder and on my chest and on my leg and on Samwise when he's on my shoulder or my chest or my leg. However, she stays still for only milliseconds before rearranging herself which involves stepping all over both Samwise and me. All the while, she purrs super loud. Hard to resist that.

Rare moment where they're both settled.

They discovered the basket of toys within two days and quickly scattered them throughout the house. Makes a great excuse for me not to sweep or vacuum - too much work picking up mice and balls.

Starbuck actually stands in the basket and picks toys out of it.

In doglike fashion, Starbuck has become a fetch expert. I recently restarted reading in bed at night before going to sleep. I have one hand on my Kindle and the other waits for her to drop a crackle ball or a mouse down next to me so I can fling it across the room. Lather, rinse, repeat. George used to do that when she was young, I hope Starbuck doesn't outgrow the game. Samwise, meanwhile, might make a stab at the toy but she takes it away every time. He usually just gives up and lies down somewhere.

Catch the red dot is fun, too!

Anything left on the arm of the chair that I'm sitting in gets dumped to the floor due to Starbuck's incessant jump up, jump down moves. She also tends to bounce directly to and from various pieces of furniture. Perhaps she's playing her own version of hot lava.

The remote is about to bite it.

Blankets, pillows and the bathroom rug and towels are all irresistible. More mornings than not, the towels are on the floor. This morning, Samwise rolled himself into the bathroom rug and managed to get stepped on. Neither of us were happy about that.

80 degrees in the house but being wrapped in a blankie is important.

At least I get a corner of the pillow.

Every morning is the same. Some time before sunrise, they decide to literally sit on my head. Not near my head, on my head. Complete with paws pushing my nose shut and bodies over my mouth. I suspect they're trying to smother me and haven't figured out the food train would end with my corpse. As soon as my alarm goes off, they settle down on the bed and go back to sleep leaving me exhausted. Nice.

I paid them back for all of their shenanigans by taking them to their first Vet visit. Per usual, Starbuck was all over the examining room while Samwise was more content to just sit it out on the table. The tech started with Samwise and did a quick exam and weigh in. 

I had prepared by wearing jeans because Starbuck tends to use my leg as a ladder. Sure enough, she used me to make it up to the exam table. She also climbed on the tech twice, ending up on her back at one point. When the tech took Starbuck back to take her blood, she said "We'll trim their nails for you at no charge." That wasn't her being nice, it was her trying to save herself.

Samwise and I waited while Starbuck was apparently violated and broken. I say that based on the amount of crying she did that was loud enough to hear through the door. When the tech brought her back in she told me Starbuck had peed on herself so they had used some waterless shampoo which was still on her leg. 

OMG, the drama! Spitfire Starbuck was no more. I was left with a panting, pathetic creature whose back legs no longer worked. Seriously, she lay on the table and moved her front paws but dragged her rear end. I took pity on her and put her back in the carrier. Miraculously, her legs started working again!

Samwise took it all in stride, no crying from him, and the vet came in for a final examination. Right after Starbuck had calmed down, too. She tolerated the additional handling but was clearly not happy.

Before the exams when it was all still interesting and not terrifying.

The good news is that they both are in great health, tested negatively on their virus test and survived their first round of vaccinations. The vet was quite impressed with what great shape they were in for coming from a feral litter. That's a direct testament to how well my friend Rhonda raised them.

It's been quite the change going from one older, fat cat to two young, skinny kittens. They are literally all over the place to the point where I have to look at my feet with every step for fear of crushing them. They eat way more than George did at her heaviest and think they're starving even when there's food in the dish and aren't happy until I add a few more crumbs.

I couldn't be happier with the little terrors. (I was going to call them little terrorists because of their destructive tendencies but I'm afraid the NSA web crawlers would flag me and I'd lose my Global Entry approval.)

I would just like one full night's sleep.