He's been part of our family for ten years and there was no way he was getting left behind.
When we purchased our home we were surprised to find out that it was already inhabited. Priscilla, Bug and Funnyface introduced themselves promptly and asked that dinner be provided daily. Sadly, Funnyface is the only one of the trio that is still with us today.
Five years on he has completely won over our hearts. Going from feral barn cat to cuddly lap cat.
Two cats would be plenty for most people but I always feel sorry for the vast number of cats that head into shelters or are euthanized. We have plenty of space and lots of love so an addition has been considered. Recently a co-worker told me she found a litter of feral kittens in her barn. Of course I volunteered to take two. (why take one when you can have two?)
What can I say, I have a special fondness for barn kitties. Meet Teddy (Theodore) and Archie.
These brothers have kept us entertained for the last month and I'm sure will continue to do so for many years to come. There was a small situation with ear mites at first but they are healthy and happy otherwise.
Kittens are good for smiles and laughter
They excel at kitten olympics
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| I can climb ladders!! |
Kittens however are bad at cleaning seeds
That should have been obvious but clearly I didn't think this through. Turns out dried bean pods are the perfect kitten toy. Crunchy and they make excellent rattle noises.
They meant well. Although it made me consider what I'll do about a Christmas tree this year. It could be tricky keeping them away from shiny glass ornaments. Perhaps we'll save the tree for next year.
Very, very cute!
ReplyDeletethey are pretty adorable aren't they :)
DeleteAwww, kittens! You guys are great kitty parents! LOL with the seed pods! Love their names, too.
ReplyDeletewell I'm not sure we're 'great' parents. I've been locking them in the dining room when I need a break from their antics. But we do love them dearly.
DeleteLovely ...just lovely. Lucky you. Adorable.
ReplyDeletewe are lucky. our home is a better place with more cats in it.
DeleteWhat sweet little treasures, so like the ones Jane is babysitting for her daughter..We keep thinking of getting a kitten or a puppy but then I start wondering you will look after them when we visit Ontario for a couple of weeks. It's a big decision esp. since our house isn't finished. Hard not to have a pet for company. Time will tell..They are sure adorable.
ReplyDeletethanks Lannie. I'm sure once you're a bit more settled a pet would make sure sense. We use a local teenager to cat sit for us when we're out of town. She loves animals and they're less work than babysitting children!
DeleteDelightful - so sweet - it must be such fun to have them around being helpful and not getting in the way at all!
ReplyDeleteLOL, exactly. not even remotely in the way or getting their paws into everything single thing I'm trying to do
DeleteSo adorable these kittens, and so nice of them to help you with getting seeds outof the seedpots, haha. Your Christmas tree will be great fun for them. In the past I had 5 cats at one time, can you guess what they did with the tree? More ball rolling on the floor than in the tree, and once when we came down in the morning the tree had capsized, what a mess, but fun for the kittens.
ReplyDeletethat's what I was afraid of. The tree just becomes one giant cat toy, irresistable!
DeleteSo cute! They don't look feral in those pictures. LOL
ReplyDeleteOver 16 years ago a very friendly cat showed up with four kittens that looked to be about a month old. We were able to tame 2 of the kittens but the other 2 (who looked alike and to have a different father than the tame ones) were absolutely wild! I dreaded taking them to the vet's for shots, neutering, etc. We gave them to a colleague of DH's who wanted barn cats. We still have the tame kittens; one of them is snuggled next to me as I type this.
Fortunately these kitties got very tame very quickly. Took about 2 days for them to come around to us. They won't leave us alone now! always looking to get cuddled.
DeleteSweet post. And I am very excited to hear more about the shenanigans they play. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love kittens.
shenanigans indeed. in the last month they have learned about climbing curtains, jumping on counters, scratching on couches, biting the tails of big cats and knocking over plants. I have learned that yelling and spraying water has no effect whatsoever on them.
DeleteSuch sweet faces - I am such a sucker for kittens, as you know :) I bought a 2' tall tree to use for Christmas this year, I'm putting it up on top of a tall secretary type desk that so far they haven't been able to access. So far...
ReplyDeleteJane, I'm with you. I bought a one foot tall pre-lit tinsel tree. and put it far far back on a table I'm desperately trying to teach them to stay off of.
DeleteTeddy and Archie are adorable. This brought memories of living with a pair of Siamese litter-mates when I was in grad school. The kittens quickly learned that they could get my attention and disrupt my studying by hooking a paw through the loop at the end of the pull chain for the light over my desk (if sitting in the middle of the book I was reading was not sufficient). I do remember a number of Christmas tree adventures the first year we had them, including a number of glass ball ornaments that met their demise at the T-shaped intersection of two hallways. One evening we came home from a Christmas party to find that the kittens had gotten hold of one end of the tinsel garland on the tree and had pulled it tight, closing up the tree like an umbrella! -Jean
ReplyDeleteLovely memories Jean. Baby animals have a way of warming the heart don't they? I couldn't bear the thought of breaking any vintage ornaments this year so went for a small table top tree instead. These little guys have a lot to learn and right now everything goes straight in the mouth or gets chased around the floor. I think a tree would have proven too hard to resist.
DeleteI think I would have to put up the tree just for all the excitement. Such sweet faces...all.
ReplyDeleteLisa, it was tempting. I do love my Christmas trees but my sanity won out. I'm letting them play in the wrapping paper instead.
DeleteYou are such good parents to these adorable 'children.' P. x
ReplyDeletethanks Pam. I'm glad I could provide a home to them. My poor co-worker was feeling overrun with cats and was panicking about what to do with them all.
DeleteI love all these pictures!! I am a firm believer that cats enrich our lives :)
ReplyDeleteOh my, Teddy and Archie are adorable! My daughter keeps posting photos of shelter kittens on my Facebook page, trying to get me to add to our cat family, but I've told her 5 is enough:) I remember the year I had to re-decorate the Christmas tree at least three times after one of our cats decided it was the perfect climbing toy--good luck:)
ReplyDeleteLOL, I'm a sucker for kitties too but 5 really is a small herd :) You're a better woman than I. I decided against a tree this year, just couldn't bear the thought of decorating and re-decorating. nothing in the house is safe at this point.
DeleteAaaw, so sweet :-) Your Gino looks like he could be a brother of my 13 year old cat, so like him! Kittens are adorable and so much fun, although a lot of work at some stage. I also remember a Christmas when my tree had to be redecorated a good few times. Enjoy this special time, just like children they grow up too quickly!
ReplyDeleteYou've hit it on the nose Helene, so cute but they really do require some work. Even in the last month though I can see how much they've grown. Much taller and longer now and their little faces aren't so blunt anymore. Amazing to think they'll be full size in just a few more months.
DeleteHooray for rescued kitties! I'm so glad you took them. Pets are best in multiples. :o)
ReplyDeleteme too Tammy. as Jody said to me - they need someone to grow up with :) I love watching them play together.
Deletelove the smile on your husband's face!
ReplyDeleteme too :) hard not to smile when you're surrounded by baby kittens
DeleteI just got around to seeing your new boys now ! They are too sweet !!
ReplyDeleteI love their names ... now will they be indoor cats or outdoor cats and will they be neutered ? .. hope they are over the ear mites ... ugh !! poor little guys .. kittens I mean , not the mites ! LOL
Merry Christmas to you and your gang and a VERY Happy New Year!!
Joy
PS ... I am a push over for kittens too !
Hi joy! I'm just getting around to reading comments now!! This last month has been crazy busy. indoor/outdoor much like our other cats I think. But they won't go outside until spring at least. They're too small right now and they need to be fixed. Merry Christmas to you too and I wish you all the best in the new year.
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