Since we seem to have a new pet story every day I thought it would be fun to keep a journal of them. The kittens are growing so fast and we are really enjoying them. I hope you will enjoy reading about their antics. 

Allow me to introduce

Destiny

Keno

Baby aka "the boy"

 



August 2001

 

* Newest entries at top of page

 

Back to Basics

Today for some unknown reason we had no electricity at home. That meant no water, no computer, no tv, no microwave or stove. Now what was I supposed to do, me, at home with three cats? I decided to do a puzzle. This entailed finally opening up the portable puzzle board carrier first. I dragged the box downstairs and took off the packaging. This created some great cat tents to play in. The cats and I had so much fun playing with the boxes, each other and me taking pictures all afternoon. Who needs electricity when you've got some cardboard and a little imagination?

When John came home and saw the living room transformed into a cat campsite, he couldn't believe it! He thought it was hysterical! I packed up our tents to play another day. (*See pics in Gallery)   

 

 

One step forward, Two steps back

The kittens are so interested in going outside and Keno shoots out the door like lightening. I got a little harness for them and a long leash so that they can go outside for a while. I managed to put the harness loosely on Keno and she walks backwards really fast to try to get away from it and then gives up and keels over on her side and lays there like she is in a trap. John hates seeing her upset about it and says to take her outside so she knows she gets to go out when she has that on. I don't think it matters she still walks backwards or walks real low to the ground a few steps and keels over again. I think it's funny. At least it slows her down long enough that we can cook our dinner on the grill in peace without chasing cats in and out. 

 

 

Knock Knock, Who's There?

Tonight when John got home, I was making dinner. He came in the front door and of course the kittens came to greet him. I finished cooking and we sat down to eat. We heard this strange sound like, bump, scrape, thud. Then again, bump, scrape, thud. The third time I couldn't take it any more and got up to look around and see what they were getting into now. When I heard it again I realized it was coming from outside. I looked out the front door and saw Keno leaping up to the window of the door and sliding back down! I opened the door and she came running in. We couldn't believe it. Apparently she slipped out the door as John was coming in and we didn't notice. 

It had become second nature to constantly do a head count of kittens.  Usually one will "tell" you where the other one is, since they keep a constant eye on each other. They don't want to miss out on anything the other might be doing. What made Keno try to come back in instead of going exploring and disappearing, we will never know, but will be forever thankful.      

 

 

Got Milk?

The kittens seem to be going crazy over milk! John has to stand up and walk around the house to eat his cereal in the morning or the cats will dive right into his bowl. They race him to the sink with his bowl when he is finished and devour any traces of milk, flakes or raisins. The vet said not to give them milk yet because their stomachs can't tolerate it. They don't seem to have any trouble with the tiny amount they steal each morning. Do other cats eat raisins?

Keno stole a perogie right off John's plate the other night. These cats are like vultures! John reminds me that they are just babies and they are still learning. Oh, Brother!  

 

 

Vitamins in a Tube?

I have no trouble getting the kitten to eat the vitamins. They love it! Why they like the sticky brown substance is beyond me but they can't get enough of it. As soon as they see the tube they go crazy circling around me and meowing. I put it on my finger and they lick it off. Keno licks and licks and then nips with her tiny kitty teeth. Destiny is more dainty and more polite. Baby had to investigate what all the excitement was and took a sniff. He backed away and winced as if he was insulted by the smell. 

 

It was a very rough adjustment period

John was very upset with me and we barely spoke for about a week. My cat, Baby, didn't seem to like them either. I think he got used to being the only cat in the house rather quickly. I spent most of my time cleaning up after them and keeping them out of John's way. It was very stressful. Just when I could no longer stand it, he finally told me that he was having a hard time with the black kitten because she reminded him of that last night with Cassie and how sickly and skinny she was. He just couldn't seem to get that memory out of his head, but he would try. He said that they were good kitties and that he was glad that they would have a good home.

That night we went to town and I really pushed my luck by saying I wanted to stop by the pet store. At first I thought John wasn't going to come in. He hesitated before getting out of the car but did come in. We wandered around the cat department and John poked at a strange scratching toy. I didn't see what was so great about it so I put it back on the shelf and moved on. As I grabbed the other things we needed, John picked up that toy again and we checked out. As soon as we got home John ripped open the scratching toy, filled it up with cat nip, set it on floor and started playing with the kittens. Even they seemed to look at him in disbelief, but at that moment I knew everything in our little world would be alright again.    

It was about that same time that Baby seemed to change his attitude towards them also. He just suddenly started playing with the kittens and chasing them around like the giant kitten he is. 

 

 

Our First Trip to the Vet ~ Keno doesn't travel well
 
The curious kittens walked right into their carriers. I couldn't believe it! Whenever I would try to take the boy to the vet he would practically shred me with his nails and I would be a shaking, crying mess by the time I would finally get him into the carrier. He is known as "the cat in the garbage can" at the vet's office, because that's where he fled too on his first Dr. visit. 

Keno pooped before I even got to the main road. The horrendous smell forced me to pull over and remove the soiled towel from her carrier. Thankfully she didn't walk in it. We continued on our way airing out the car with the windows open. When we got there I noticed Keno was covered in a white slimy foam. Eeeeeewww! Poor Kitty! As soon as we got inside I cleaned her up. I sat on the floor in the waiting room and held her while we waited for our turn to go in to see the Dr. 

John called my cell phone and asked how we were making out. I told him about Keno and he sounded worried about her. He said to ask for some kind of sedative or something for her ride home.    

I couldn't wait for Dr. Panick to see the kittens. He had been so wonderful with us during Cassie's illness. You can tell that he truly cares about the animals. We spoke briefly about Cassie and I was struck by the way he remembered and said her name, as if it were a person's name instead of a cat, is the only way I could describe the feeling. As if the time he spent with her and taking care of her meant something to him and that he would not forget her right away either. 

Dr. Panick loved Keno and said she was healthy and happy. He said that it would take John some time but that getting the new kittens was the best thing to do. 

When I took Destiny out of her carrier, he watched her for a while and then asked, "What's her story?" I was amazed that he could tell she had a story. I told him that she had been abandoned and that a landlord brought her to the shelter. He said he could tell that she had been abused. He said that she is very sensitive in general and to touch, which means that she wasn't taken care of correctly or fed right. He suggested vitamins and a good dry kitten chow only. 

He said that Destiny had pulled all of her stitches out but one from her spaying surgery. I gasped but he said that usually happens and that she was healing fine. 

He wants to see them in a month and that both of them better be at least twice their weight and size. Yikes, how fast do kittens grow?       

 

 

The Name Game
 
I spent a lot of time thinking of the perfect name for the black kitten. I wanted it to be something fun and meaningful. Something that we would enjoy saying over and over. A word that would remind us of a good memory instead of her resemblance to Cassie. Most of our best memories are of our trips to Las Vegas so I made a mental list of words: Mirage, Mandalay, Jackpot, Blackjack, Luxor, which led to Lexus, Lexi, Mercedes, Maggie, etc.. 

Then suddenly, it hit me. KENO! The one word that followed us home from Vegas. One night on our wedding trip, we were at dinner with Chris and Jen at The Blue Iguana enjoying a Mexican dinner, when a girl walked by saying, "Keno. Keno." Chris didn't know that it was yet another gambling game and as she walked away he said "Keno" back to her. She turned to come back because she thought he wanted to play the game. We cracked up at the look on Chris's face when she turned and started coming towards him. From that day on the word just stuck with the family. We even started answering the phone with "Keno!" instead of Hello, because we knew it would be a family member calling. Then we even started doing it at home when we expected each other to be calling. 

That night I told John her new name. As upset as he still was with me about the kittens he couldn't help but smile and try to keep from laughing, because he knew how perfect it was for her. Keno is a nutty kitten. She is lovable, friendly, happy and playful. She runs everywhere she goes with this bouncy trot to her step. She half-meows right in your face, so she knows you are paying attention and is relentless if she wants to be petted. She loves to be held, well, when she wants to be held, and goes to sleep curled up on me, purring away.             

 

 

Week One ~ What was I thinking?
  
Being a full time kitten mom is very time consuming. Filling food bowls, cleaning up litter, putting toys away, making vet appointments and trying to keep them out of trouble. They get into everything. Everything you do, there they are there, right in the middle of it. One sleeps on my head and one sleeps on John's head, he just ignores it. I have a special pillow from my chiropractor that has a spot in the center with no stuffing. It has become Destiny's bed that she allows me to use a tiny corner of. 

I'm exhausted, I feel like I haven't slept in days. Either I'm so afraid of rolling over on a kitten or they are romping around at all hours. I wake up more tired than when I went to bed. 

 

Day One ~ was an adventure in itself.

I scheduled to pick up both kittens the same day from two different shelters. All I had to do was leave work early and pick up one and then go pick up the second one and get home and get them "settled in" before John got home.

I loaded my two pet carriers in the car that morning and I was so nervous and excited you would think I was bringing home two kids instead of kittens. 

When I arrived at the first shelter, I learned that kitten #39446, who's name became Destiny that day, was just waking up from her spaying surgery. I was told that she was going to have the surgery two days earlier and would have had the whole weekend to recover there. Now I had a groggy, stitched up and sore kitty that was not only going to have to cope with adjusting to her new home but also getting to know her new sister. Great!

We finally got out of there and went to pick up the second kitten. By then I was tired of waiting and goofing around, I had a post-op kitty to get home and take care of. No one was at the front desk when I arrived so I went right in with my carrier and found "a child" who seemed to be working there to put the black kitten in my carrier. I went out to the front desk where we waited to be micro-chipped and released. I was so worried about Destiny that I went out and brought her inside to wait with us in the air conditioning. Eventually we were able to leave.

On the way home I heard lots of half meows, the kind where their mouth stays open much longer than the sound comes out. How cute!

When we got home the kittens came out of their carriers and investigated every inch of the house. They were more interested in smelling things than they were in each other. Destiny was doing  so well for just having surgery. I kept my eye on her and made sure she didn't try to do too much.

The dreaded moment of truth came when John got home. When he first came in and walked up the stairs he spotted Destiny under the dining room table. He smiled and said "What's a kitty doing here?" Then the black kitty came running into the room and his look changed. "He said, "Why are there kitties everywhere?" He went upstairs alone for a few minutes and came back down and slumped into the chair in the living room. He said that I shouldn't have done it. I told him that I would never do anything to hurt his feelings and that I couldn't stand him being so sad. That I just wanted to bring some life and fun back into the house. I told him that I tried to avoid the black kitten because I knew it would remind him of Cassie but I just couldn't resist her. Then I began telling him the whole story from the beginning and with that, the black kitten ran into the room, ran right up his outstretched legs, up his stomach and chest, paused for a moment to look right in his face and then climbed to his shoulder and sat there. Both of us just froze. And I said, "See what I mean?" 

We both kind of giggled and then he started to get upset and went outside. It was just too overwhelming for him and I began to wonder if I had done the right thing or not. I felt so guilty for hurting him when that was not my intention at all. There was no way I would take them back. Everyone would just have to adjust. I felt so good about rescuing them and giving them a good home. I was determined to love them and enjoy them no matter what.

When it was time for bed, the black kitten even went under the covers between us. I saw John freeze for a moment. Is there anything this cat doesn't do like Cassie?  

 

 

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