Two is Better Than One

In August of 2008 my husband and I had been married for 2 months and were living in Texas. My work schedule was slow and I really wanted a pet. Knowing it wasn't a good time for a dog, we decided on a cat. I found a great cage-free shelter, The Cattery, and we set up a time to go in and meet some kitties. There were a couple adult cats that we met and really liked but we were more interested in the kittens. We entered the kitten room and it was instant cuteness overload for me. I don't think I said anything other than "awww!" and other girly noises for 20 minutes.

I saw one of the kittens that had caught my eye on the website, Stuey. A brown tabby with white markings. His profile said he "loved to purr and make biscuits."  He meowed at me and I picked him up. He immediately started purring as I held him against my chest. He stole my heart in that moment.

Not one to choose a pet based solely on cuteness I started handling Stuey. I wanted a cat that was tolerant, friendly, sweet, and easy going. He didn't protest at all as I held him on his back, gently tugged on his ears, opened his mouth a little, pressed his paws to have his claws extend, this kitty was letting me do anything! Not only that, he was purring the entire time. I put him down so I could watch him play and see how he interacted and behaved on his own. He was definitely a talker, constantly vocalizing. I love talkative cats so he was getting bonus points.

Meanwhile, hub was playing with a little black kitten named Moe. Moe was bouncing around, batting at toys, and rubbing all over hub. Now we were in trouble. I loved Stuey. He was seemingly the perfect cat for what I wanted. Talkative, social, and tolerant. Moe had won over hub. Both kittens were 12-14 weeks old. We started discussing the predicament and the staff member with us chimed in. They were having a two-for-one sale, and having two cats is in many ways better than one. They play together, keep each other company, and snuggle. Snuggling kittens is one of the cutest things that has ever existed. We decided that we wanted both. Hub and I felt it was important to sleep on it though so the shelter was going to hold both kitties for us over the weekend. If we didn't show up right when they opened, the kitties would no longer be on hold for us.

The morning after the weekend came and we went to pick the kitties up. We showed up before they opened to make sure we got them. Stuey was ready to go but Moe had a common fungal infection, ringworm. After a quick conversation we determined to was easy to handle. We filled out the paper work, renamed the cats from Stuey to Zebulon and from Moe to Everest, and brought them home. Again I reverted to making nothing but girly noises and "awww!" sounds. Kitties adopted!