The Continuing Adventures of Clio and Thespe, Part the First.
Subtitled: Clio and Thespe (and _counterculture and pusifoot)'s Wild Ride
For those of you who weren't there for the Prologue: Peter and I attended Craft Night at simplykimberly's last night for the purposes of socializing, eating amazing food, and picking up kittens. All of these were accomplished, some to a greater degree than I might have expected. (I met several people last night that I have been wanting to meet for some time and it ended up giving me more spoons than I thought I had to begin with.) I will leave the description of the actual happenings in another post (but I *must* remember to document the Great Blow Job Experiment of 2006 - the idea. It has not happened yet, but the idea was bandied about.) This post is about Kittens.
Those of you who have been following their life story in simplykimberly's LJ know them as Snickers and Doodlebug. Peter and I elected not to keep these names and the babies shall be henceforth known as Clio (Doodlebug) and Thespe (Snickers). Given that Peter is a history teacher and I was/am a theater geek, these names are not entirely inappropriate for kittens coming into our household :)
Once my spoons started running low, we decided to collect the kittens and be on our way. Their First Family, to whom I will be forever grateful for giving them such an amazing start in life, said goodbyes, gave kisses and pets, took pictures, and perhaps shed a tear or two.
I expected that the little ones would be terrified, what with their entire world being turned upside down, smelling funny, and with strange humans. I was not wrong. Clio curled up in the middle of the carrier and alternated between napping and looking around her wide-eyed. Thespe, on the other hand, was... upset. Moving constantly, mewing constantly (and LOUDLY! THat kitten has a thespian's lungs and ability to project all right!), and attempting desperately to find solace, a way out, ANYTHING to make this stop!!!
The kitty carrier was sitting on my lap, the door facing my chest, the end braced on my knees. I tried giving Thespe fingers through the door but it wasn't working. So I opened the door. She clambered out onto my chest, but decided she wanted to wander the car. Visions of small kittens under gas pedals caused me to grab the kitten and prevent her from going anywhere, however the sweet ball of fluff was so scared she couldn't stop moving. In fear for her, and in hopes that her sleepy sister would calm her down, I put her back in the carrier and closed the door. Eventually, she stopped moving, but the crying did not cease.
I couldn't stand it. The kitty-mama-instinct hit overdrive and I had to do SOMETHING. So I opened the door again, maneuvering it in such a way that the door braced against my shoulder and made a barrier to prevent kitten wandering. Thespe came out and (mostly) settled on my chest, purring her tiny heart out. I petted her gently, talking softly to her the rest of the way home. Occasionally I would reach a hand in to pet Clio, but she was dozing and doing just fine.
I got the babies home, put together a bowl of food for them and a bowl of water, then Peter and I carted kittens, water, and food into the spare bedroom for the night.
They ate a little, drank a little and then hid under the bed.
Thus concludes The Continuing Adventures of Clio and Thespe, Part the First.
For those of you who weren't there for the Prologue: Peter and I attended Craft Night at simplykimberly's last night for the purposes of socializing, eating amazing food, and picking up kittens. All of these were accomplished, some to a greater degree than I might have expected. (I met several people last night that I have been wanting to meet for some time and it ended up giving me more spoons than I thought I had to begin with.) I will leave the description of the actual happenings in another post (but I *must* remember to document the Great Blow Job Experiment of 2006 - the idea. It has not happened yet, but the idea was bandied about.) This post is about Kittens.
Those of you who have been following their life story in simplykimberly's LJ know them as Snickers and Doodlebug. Peter and I elected not to keep these names and the babies shall be henceforth known as Clio (Doodlebug) and Thespe (Snickers). Given that Peter is a history teacher and I was/am a theater geek, these names are not entirely inappropriate for kittens coming into our household :)
Once my spoons started running low, we decided to collect the kittens and be on our way. Their First Family, to whom I will be forever grateful for giving them such an amazing start in life, said goodbyes, gave kisses and pets, took pictures, and perhaps shed a tear or two.
I expected that the little ones would be terrified, what with their entire world being turned upside down, smelling funny, and with strange humans. I was not wrong. Clio curled up in the middle of the carrier and alternated between napping and looking around her wide-eyed. Thespe, on the other hand, was... upset. Moving constantly, mewing constantly (and LOUDLY! THat kitten has a thespian's lungs and ability to project all right!), and attempting desperately to find solace, a way out, ANYTHING to make this stop!!!
The kitty carrier was sitting on my lap, the door facing my chest, the end braced on my knees. I tried giving Thespe fingers through the door but it wasn't working. So I opened the door. She clambered out onto my chest, but decided she wanted to wander the car. Visions of small kittens under gas pedals caused me to grab the kitten and prevent her from going anywhere, however the sweet ball of fluff was so scared she couldn't stop moving. In fear for her, and in hopes that her sleepy sister would calm her down, I put her back in the carrier and closed the door. Eventually, she stopped moving, but the crying did not cease.
I couldn't stand it. The kitty-mama-instinct hit overdrive and I had to do SOMETHING. So I opened the door again, maneuvering it in such a way that the door braced against my shoulder and made a barrier to prevent kitten wandering. Thespe came out and (mostly) settled on my chest, purring her tiny heart out. I petted her gently, talking softly to her the rest of the way home. Occasionally I would reach a hand in to pet Clio, but she was dozing and doing just fine.
I got the babies home, put together a bowl of food for them and a bowl of water, then Peter and I carted kittens, water, and food into the spare bedroom for the night.
They ate a little, drank a little and then hid under the bed.
Thus concludes The Continuing Adventures of Clio and Thespe, Part the First.