Kitties!

Saturday morning I drove up to my friend's house to pick up the kitties. She had a cardboard carrier I could put them in, so we loaded them up and I put them on the floor on the front passenger side of the car. I could tell that they were unhappy while we drove home, but thankfully they didn't make any messes and they didn't freak out. They just cried off and on during the drive. I had a bit of adventure when I realized that my gas tank was almost empty and the first time I got off the freeway the gas station turned out to be closed and there wasn't another option besides getting back on the freeway and driving some more. I had a brief vision of myself stranded and out of gas at Point of the Mountain with two angry kitties in a box, until I drove a few more exits and found a working gas station.

When we got home I brought the kitties in and took them down to the basement since I decided to put their litterbox in the bathroom down there. That's the least-used bathroom in the house and it has space for the box. I wish I had a laundry room or a mudroom of some sorts; that's the only thing I don't like about my house. They hung out in the bathroom for a while, but then their curiosity got the better of them and they came out to explore the family room. I was sitting on the couch watching Downton Abbey for the afternoon so we got to spend some time snuggling and getting to know each other.

The kids came back home Saturday evening and were super excited to see the kitties. P.Bibbie is still learning not to chase them around shrieking; they are, thankfully, pretty tolerant of her. We decided to name them Tiger and Lily. For some reason several of us wanted to name one Lily (they are both female) and we thought it would be fun to have names that go together. They are both gray and white. Tiger is a bit smaller and has more pronounced dark and light gray stripes. She's also a bit more crazy and playful. Lily is darker gray all over and has a dark spot on her nose.

We're all discovering the pros and cons of pet ownership. We have to be a lot more careful about opening the outside doors because the cats seem to want to bolt outside. We're also working on training them not to jump on the table and not to scratch the couches. I'm realizing that my basement is probably going to smell faintly like cat litter all the time. They've been good at using the litter box, but the litter I bought has an odor. I also need to get a trash can with a lid to put the litter clumps in so things aren't as stinky. Yesterday evening we went to a friend's house for dinner and as we were eating I looked over and saw that S-Boogie's white shirt was covered in cat hair. Oops. These are the drawbacks of having cats. The rewards are already showing though. The kids love the cats and I love watching them interact with them. P.Bibby says "hi kitties, what you doing?" all the time and it's the sweetest thing ever. Yesterday I was reading on the couch and a kitty came and snuggled up next to my feet, purring. That's worth it to me.