New Housemates

When my husband and I moved into our house in September, we had three dogs and that was it. We haven't owned any cats in something like ten years or more. It's not that we have anything against cats, we just wanted dogs. Two months after moving in, my stepson moved in with us. He told us that he had a cat and her kittens at his old apartment that he hadn't been to in a few weeks and his ex wasn't taking care of them. She hadn't been to the apartment for a couple of weeks to take care of them. We knew we couldn't leave those poor animals there, so my mother in law took my stepson to get them and bring them home.

Our home instantly went from a three pet home to an eight pet home. But the kittens were in rough shape and I was worried. They were all malnourished, including Artemis, and I knew it would take some work to revive them all. Tons of wet cat food, lots of water and a bunch of love later and we got all of the cats except one to begin gaining weight and getting healthy.

Fluffykins was a sweetheart of a kitten. She was so named because, out of all of the kittens, she was the fluffiest. She was a pure grey, fluff ball full of love! She was not shy, though she was very quiet and dainty. However, she was sick. When she came to our home, she had a bad case of worms. After being dewormed, we thought she was good to go. She began gaining weight, but then she declined rapidly. She stopped eating, would only drink a little water and her body began to stiffen up. My husband had seen this before, as he had worked at a vet office. She had feline leukemia, and there was nothing we could do for her. We made sure she was as comfortable as possible and never alone. She passed being comforted by my son. It broke my heart when we lost her, but I knew she was no longer suffering.

Grumpy kitty is just that. She is pure grey, like Artemis and Fluffy, but she is short haired. She has two double paws due to her Maine Coon cat heritage. When you look at her face, she always looks like she is in a bad mood. When they first moved in, and for a few weeks after, Grumpy would avoid all human contact. If you walked up to her, she would run away and hide. For the last three weeks, however, she has really made herself at home, running around, getting into things and sleeping wherever she pleases. She no longer runs away from us but she is still cautious when we approach her. I hope that this goes away with time.

Midnight is a pure black, short-haired Wiccan's dream! When I found out that there was a pure black kitten, my first thought was, 'mine!' However, she had other ideas. Like Grumpy, Midnight is shy. And like Grumpy, Midnight is overcoming her shyness. While she still doesn't jump into my lap like her brothers, she does allow me to pick her up and love on her now. However, I know that unless an animal picks you, they are not truly yours.

Frisk is a handful! When he and his siblings moved in with us, Frisk and his brother were nameless. My 14-year-old was given the opportunity to name one of the boys and she chose to name Frisk. However, he was originally called Skid because she believed him to be skittish. We adults got the boys mixed up, though, and he became Frisk, and Frisk became Skid. He is a short haired tiger patterned, double pawed, hyper little boy, that adores being loved on! His purr is loud and he definitely outgrew being skittish!!

And that leads us to the kitten that claimed me as his human. Skid, the other male kitten, tiger-striped and short-haired just like his brother. The only way to tell the boys apart is by their paws. Skid does not have double paws. When I say he claimed me, I say it because he follows me around everywhere I go. If I go to the bathroom, he is right there at my feet. If I am at the stove cooking, he's right there. He literally became my shadow! When he hears my voice, he comes running to get cuddles and love! And he sleeps by my head most nights...unless my son cat-naps him for the night. He has a loud purr, like his brother, that I absolutely love! This little boy has stolen my heart!

The original plan was to re-home the kittens, but somehow, I don't think that is going to happen. At least, not for a while. The boys will always have a home here with us. My daughter would hate me if we got rid of Frisk. And I would be sad to see the girls go. So our home is now an eight pet home, and I am okay with that!