29 January 2009

A Tale of Two Kitties

We now have two kittens. The Ginger one is called "Coffee" and the patchy one is called "Tea".
We had resisted any animals for a long time, but have finally succumbed.
Before Christmas a dog - some type of Jack Russell cross - adopted us. His real owners had moved out of town and left him behind. They supposedly wanted the dog, but weeks went by with one failed attempt (the dog went walkabout the day they visited) and vague promises.
Meanwhile we were visiting friends whose cat had just had kittens. One of the reasons we had avoided pets was because we had to worry about them whenever we went on a holiday. Our planned US trip has been cancelled because of the global economic challenges and changes to foreign exchange rates. And we have bought the shop, so our travelling will be reduced.
James has wanted a pet for some time so I relented and we agreed to pick up the kitten in a few week's time when it was older.
On a Monday evening I popped past our friends' home and picked up the kitten. The kitten got lost somewhere in the car on the way home but we found him in the back somewhere and all were excited at the new addition. The dog was VERY excited. So excited that on the Thursday Martin left the door slightly ajar, the dog rushed in and killed the kitten in seconds. Trauma, distress and sadness all round.
The dog was promptly given to his owner's relatives who lived in the town. We then asked if there were other kittens around.
Next day we received the two female kittens.
The hardest part about the kittens? Training Martin to handle them with care. But I think this photo is showing how he is improving. At least he has them cleanly around their waists.  Or that is where he began holding them but they have squirmed out of position.

4 comments:

Neuropoet said...

Oh - we Looooooooove cats and kittens around here!! If I would let them the boys would have a new kitten every time one grew up. :) Our cats are long past the kitten stage - though one of them doesn't know it - he's a maine coon, and they tend to stay rather "kitten-like" well into adulthood. :) He's huge, and still gets into everything! :) But you won't find more well loved cats anywhere...

~Jenny

Anonymous said...

I absolutely adore cats and kittens, especially since I couldn't have one when I was little because of allergies.

Since moving out here though, we have three cats, and my cat is 9.5 kilograms, but he's not fat, just BIG.

Cats give so much affection, and they give it unconditionally.

Anonymous said...

I love the picture of Martin. Christa Joy carried her cat around all the time with her arm under it's front legs. Makes for a nicely tolerant cat when they start out young like that. Then comes dressing them up in the doll's clothes.........

jodi said...

I love this photo. I have a picture of my grandfather and his brother when they were little trying to feed a kitten a bottle. Makes me smile every time that I look at it.