WHOA LOOK WHAT I FOUND
OH HAI GAIZ. GUESS WHUT? (Forgive the poor quality media on some of this.. the only thing I had at the ready for some candid stuff was my phone. Huge thank you to leesers for the ones that aren't. <3)
Haha. For those of you who have not met them yet, I brought a surprise home a couple weeks ago as additions to our swingin' crazy cat lady bachelorette pad. ...KITTENS.
Click to viewLet's start at the beginning. All three of us have come from households with cats and/or dogs. While we have some tank/cage/terrarium creatures around, we missed having some furry friends who are capable of walking around freely. I've sorely been wanting to get the pug I've wanted my whole life, but am well aware that I am not capable of being around enough to take care of a dog. So I convinced myself that pet-ownership just shouldn't happen right now. But more and more I've really been missing having a pet of my own. So.. then that Friday morning hit. Step one was thinking of how I often try to avoid impulsiveness, but sometimes acting on it seems to result in the happiest decisions I've made. Step two was a co-worker telling me a story about her dog, which in turn prompted a Whisper story. Which made me especially miss having a cat. Step three was thinking about all the spiritual things felines mean to me (namely, a focus on my body and independence, both of which I've been sorely lacking yet needing more of lately..) so much so that I even switched my desktop from a wolf to a leopard. Then.. THEN.. one of my co-workers upstairs comes down at lunchtime and with this gorgeous bengal kitten, and says there are five more upstairs looking for a home. ;^; I went up to meet the little critters, and realized what a special bunch they were. I was used to kittens all huddling around themselves and totally darting when someone approaches them - especially so young. But these guys were wandering around themselves, and while hesitant towards a stranger, I was able to pick them up without much issue, and they were all so beautiful too. After exchanging some texts with qotastic , I was pretty much sold.
There were six altogether, Four with markings and two solid black. I spent my lunch hour with them and got to know them. What's really sad is that the guy who brought them in wasn't even sure of the genders. After that hour I could tell all of them apart. The genders were split even, two marked boys, two marked girls, one black girl, one black boy.
I, like Heather, prefer male cats, and I wanted one with the markings. I came across this little guy first:
I was slightly hesitant, because while I could hold him, he didn't like it much, and kept running away. But I really felt drawn to him, and especially his gorgeous silver-green eyes. The other marked male was the most dominant (as I found out when they started to eat), and had more gruff-looking fur with golden eyes. Especially when I caught him chewing on computer wires, I wasn't too fond, and spent some more time with the first. When I told Heather I was going to bring him home for the weekend to see if we all got along and everything worked alright, her response was.. "Just one? Why not two? :D" I told her I didn't really like the other marked male, and I'd bring home the black one for her. I was glad, because I was biased toward the markings, but knew that the black ones probably had the sweetest personalities. Both of them were just chilling out in the crate and watching things go by, letting me pet them. And so I grabbed qotastic her young man:
I'll skip the huge drama part over the weekend where our third roomie, RB, wasn't as accepting as I thought and we almost did have to take them back. Everything turned out okay, though, they're still here and they have brought so much joy into our humble little house. It really feels like a home now. I think this video captures the best of both their personalities. X3
We spent the weekend bonding with them, and choosing names. Mine still insisted on running away from me, no matter how nice he was when I finally caught him. He also really, really loves to play with his toys and tackle his brother all over the house (as you saw). I once had a fan-character cat named Chase. While he was a black cat with white spots.. it seemed too perfect to pass up. He loves to chase his toys, chase his brother, and makes you chase him before giving in. And so that became his name. Even if Heather prefers to call him crapbucket most of the time.(Though goodness knows he really can be such a brat.. I-I.. I kind of find the difficulty drawing me in even more, though. I love my rambunctious strong-willed boys. What can I say?)
Boy does he live up to the namesake:
And as far as the chasing him goes.. I quickly figured out that it had nothing to do with being shy, or not liking me. I just had to figure out that play time is playtime and cuddle time is cuddletime...
Especially now that we don't have to keep them in the mudroom at night he's gotten so loving when we sleep. I can actually truly cuddle him, which is something Whisper never let me do. He'll come under the covers and sleep in/hooked over my arms and against my body. He also likes to lick/kiss when the timing's right, and purrs SO LOUD. I really hope he doesn't grow out of any of it. I'd love to use him as a Teddy. XD If he doesn't feel like doing that, though, he curls up next to my pillow and loves when I put my hand on him anyway.
It seems that his eyes are actually going to stay silver-green, rather than changing to gold like I thought they would. While I wouldn't have minded that at all, I am really glad! The original color really suits him better, and makes him a little more distinct <3
He also does this thing I affectionately refer to as the "Dead Fish." It's like he flops around with no backbone when you pick him up..
Anyway. I'm in love. Now for the other little man!! I'm sure qotastic will want to gush too, so I'll just hit the basics.
Just like I predicted, he really is a love. I was glad, because I know Heather likes to roughhouse and be silly with her kitties, so when he was just so chill with me picking him up, and sliding him around, and snuggling and tossing and everything in between, I was certain it would be a good match. He's so very social, and will come right up to you most of the time. I just found out that he barely leaves Heather alone at night. Hehe. His energy and agility earned him the title of Jett, which is short for Jett Black RocketKitten.
Sadly, you cannot see it in the photos, but he has the ever so slightest hint of the bengal striping on his belly. He's so adorable with his little gremlin eyes (which he has since grown into a bit more). And then he's got ones of a real hunter too, owl-like and all.
And the best part is that they get along sososososooo well together. I'm sure that it was a weekend of bonding with each other alone, but I also think we lucked out on getting two whose personalities went well. I took them back to Bob the following Thursday since all six already had an appointment to get their shots together. They hardly even recognized their siblings in the common room. It was easy to tell them apart now because of how much more socialized they were just in that small amount of time. They decided to band together up on the windowsill away from everyone like little champs..
Seriously. They're so in love. BROMANCE, YO. They don't even care who tops. Haha.
Yees. <3
For anyone that was curious, here's the breakdown of the rest of the litter:
- The gruff male did not have a taker as of their shot day, but hopefully has found one since.
- The runt of the litter was a marked female who was tentatively going home with my boss. I'm not sure if she convinced her husband or not.
- The other marked female would actually have been my pick if I was a little less gender biased. She was the one who was brought down at lunch. She had the most gorgeous, smooth markings, and really looked like a little leopard. She was a total sweetie too. She ended up spending the weekend with the said lady who brought her down, and when I saw her again she had a pink collar with a pink little bell and had been deemed "Miss Tiggy St. Claire." When brought back for the shots, she couldn't even be in the same room as her siblings any longer. She spent the day relaxing in her Mommy's work chair like the princess she apparently is. Hehe.
- The black female went to a trucker friend of Bob's who calls her "Diesel." (I love it!)
SO THATS THEM. Thanks for humoring me as I gushed about our adorable little babies, and I hope you can still contain yourselves after all the cute. 8D <3
As usual, real life update and cosplay progress to follow soon.