We Got Our Kitties!

Shawn said that as soon as he read that headline, he knew it was a done deal. ;) He was right. We took the (overly expectant) kids to the shelter on Saturday, and after an extensive tour, meeting every kitty in the place (it's a really lovely, impressive place with nice volunteers), we settled on the ones we wanted. Each kid had found a cat that made them happy.

After that, we made a trip to PetSmart and gave them a whole bunch of our money in exchange for 2 crates, a scratching post/tree, food, food bowls, litter boxes and litter, and some toys. We could have easily spent more than the $250-ish we spent! And we were trying to be conservative! So fun.

So, Ash and Apple came home yesterday and they're just as sweet as can be. Apple hid out under the guest room bed most of the afternoon. They had warned us she would be skittish and scared at first, and she was. (She'd been adopted once before, but sent back to the shelter 6 months later for not using the litter box, a fact that made Shawn very skeptical. Me too, if I'm honest. They told us she had no medical reason for that misbehavior, though, and always used the box while she was AT the shelter. I hate that someone brought her back! I'm sure she was upset and nervous when she saw our crate.) BUT by 9:00 pm, and with a little wet food and a treat to tempt her, we got her to come out and eat something. She was actually really friendly, purring and rubbing and wanting to know us. And this morning she'd used the box! No problems so far!

Ash is a kitten, around 6 months old, and has had his share of issues. An eye infection, but thank goodness he'd just finished his round of eye drops for that! He was also having a kitty cold, sneezing and drippy nose, this past week. They sent us home with a bottle of liquid antibiotic. HA! We haven't owned cats EVER and we're taking medicine on already (liquid, 2x a day)?! I told the adoption counselor I felt sure that if I could get medicine into my 2 kids, I could get it into a cat. She was impressed that we were willing. And it's been fine, using a towel to hold him, aside from a little scratch on Shawn. Only 7 doses left. He's totally friendly and curious and wants OUT to explore.

We had to put them in separate rooms, so Ash is in Alex's bathroom and Apple's in the guest room we had set up as a "cat" room. I really hated locking them in there this morning, knowing we'd be gone all day, but I'm going to go home at lunch and play with them. Tonight maybe we'll try to introduce them to each other, or else open up their doors and see what happens.

It's all so new! And so fun -- when a little creature comes to you and wants you to love it... gosh, is there anything sweeter?