Kittens!
So, my parents got kittens this weekend. (My father said this was done "somewhat spontaneously", but I am not sure I would call "talking about it for at least several *months* (I remember discussing cat names in early May), then staring in horror at the application forms we would have to fill out to adopt from the closest humane society (They had *essay questions*! And they required *three references*, from people who cannot be related to us!) for several more weeks, until I finally got sick of waiting and called the MSPCA chapter that a friend of ours recommended, and found out that you didn't have to fill out any essay questions there and could get the kittens on the same day" "somewhat spontaneous". I guess your mileage might vary, though. *g* )
We went back and forth about their names for a while, and finally decided on Rusty and Mist. (Although their Russian nicknames sound more like Rustic and Mystic.) And yesterday, I went over to take some pictures of them, so I thought I would share them with you all.
This is Rusty. The paperwork from the shelter said that he was 15 weeks old, but even with our limited knowledge about such things, it's clear that he was much younger than that. The paperwork for the other kitten, Mist, said that he was 12 weeks old, and he is much bigger than Rusty! When my dad took them to the vet yesterday, the vet said that Rusty couldn't be more than about 8 weeks at most, and probably closer to 6, since all his teeth haven't even grown out yet.
He seems to have infinite energy -- he never stands still, and he isn't afraid of *anything*. Seriously, at one point when we took him in the little room at the shelter to get to know him before we could adopt him, he saw a full-sized, adult greyhound pass by the glass door of the room, and I swear, his eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and he ran up to the door eagerly, all "Oooh! Look! A big toy! Can I go play with it now, please?"
We tried matching him with some kittens closer to his age, but we realized as we were watching him *bounce* around the room, jumping on everything in his way, that if we wanted to get another kitten, we would need to get one bigger than him, because otherwise, the other kitten just wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
So, we got Mist:
As I said, he's about 12 weeks old, and about two times bigger than Rusty, but don't think a silly thing like *size* would keep Rusty from tussling with him if he felt like it. Mist is a bit quieter and more affectionate than Rusty -- he's more likely to let you pick him up, and he actually *purrs* when you pet him. (Rusty is too busy jumping in about a hundred different directions at once to pay attention to a silly thing like someone *petting* him.)
But he gets just as excited as Rusty when he sees toys around!
I don't understand how the shelter was able to keep these two in those tiny cages! It's only been 3 days, and they already act like the house is not big enough for them, and Rusty is clearly already planning out ways to sneak outside. My parents are trying to keep them indoors, since our last cat Rosie got hit by a car, and we've seen some raccoons and bigger animals around, but I don't know how long they'll be able to hold out against these two. *g*
If you want to see more of their pictures, the whole album is here. *tries to pet Rusty through the computer screen* They are so cute!
We went back and forth about their names for a while, and finally decided on Rusty and Mist. (Although their Russian nicknames sound more like Rustic and Mystic.) And yesterday, I went over to take some pictures of them, so I thought I would share them with you all.
This is Rusty. The paperwork from the shelter said that he was 15 weeks old, but even with our limited knowledge about such things, it's clear that he was much younger than that. The paperwork for the other kitten, Mist, said that he was 12 weeks old, and he is much bigger than Rusty! When my dad took them to the vet yesterday, the vet said that Rusty couldn't be more than about 8 weeks at most, and probably closer to 6, since all his teeth haven't even grown out yet.
He seems to have infinite energy -- he never stands still, and he isn't afraid of *anything*. Seriously, at one point when we took him in the little room at the shelter to get to know him before we could adopt him, he saw a full-sized, adult greyhound pass by the glass door of the room, and I swear, his eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and he ran up to the door eagerly, all "Oooh! Look! A big toy! Can I go play with it now, please?"
We tried matching him with some kittens closer to his age, but we realized as we were watching him *bounce* around the room, jumping on everything in his way, that if we wanted to get another kitten, we would need to get one bigger than him, because otherwise, the other kitten just wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
So, we got Mist:
As I said, he's about 12 weeks old, and about two times bigger than Rusty, but don't think a silly thing like *size* would keep Rusty from tussling with him if he felt like it. Mist is a bit quieter and more affectionate than Rusty -- he's more likely to let you pick him up, and he actually *purrs* when you pet him. (Rusty is too busy jumping in about a hundred different directions at once to pay attention to a silly thing like someone *petting* him.)
But he gets just as excited as Rusty when he sees toys around!
I don't understand how the shelter was able to keep these two in those tiny cages! It's only been 3 days, and they already act like the house is not big enough for them, and Rusty is clearly already planning out ways to sneak outside. My parents are trying to keep them indoors, since our last cat Rosie got hit by a car, and we've seen some raccoons and bigger animals around, but I don't know how long they'll be able to hold out against these two. *g*
If you want to see more of their pictures, the whole album is here. *tries to pet Rusty through the computer screen* They are so cute!