Meet Mr. Boots and Sandy

After several months of silence, I finally have something to say...

Yesterday, for my 40th Birthday, Mr. S and I went to the H.A.R.T. Animal Shelter and adopted 2 kitties!!! This is Mr. Boots (he will be 6 years old next month):

And this is Sandy, who will be 4 in March:

They arrived at the shelter together, surrendered because their person had died (see more on their bio at the shelter's website - they are on the 5th row on the page). Sandy, who is now affectionately called Miss Sunshine (and Missy Miss), is full of personality and loves being the center of attention, but is a bit skittish right now when she hears loud noises. She is very playful and already allowed me to clip her front claws; very necessary since she loves to kneed!


Mr. Boots, on the other hand, has had it quite rough. Shortly after arriving at the shelter, he became ill and then depressed and stopped eating. Due to the love and medical attention of the volunteers at the shelter, he's been slowly coming back to health. When we first saw him yesterday, he was very despondent and wouldn't make eye contact. Despite that, and even after seeing nearly a hundred lovely cats, Mr. S and I felt in our hearts that we needed to take them home. We were given all of his medications, including an IV and fluids, hoping that a new home was all he would need to be happy again. After a brief and noisy ride in the car (Missy Miss cried the whole way) they arrived at their "forever home" only to immediately dive under the couch. I fully expected it to be hours before I saw either of them, but within 15 minutes, it was Mr. Boots who decided to investigate. Well! He wanted see, smell and rub on everything!! He was intensely curious about the house (especially doors and the stairs), and less than an hour after arriving ate a few treats. Since then, he's been eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow. In fact, when I told the person at the shelter how well he was doing, she said that we didn't need to give him any of the medications (mostly anti-depressants and appetite stimulants). He is such a sweet and gentle guy and loves individual attention. Despite the fact that he and Missy Miss came from the same home, so far, they are not the best of friends.While she was taking a long snooze in the bedroom today, he and I had some fun with catnip and a peacock feather. Doesn't look like a depressed kitty, does he? Even so, he's so thin that I can't wait to see him gain weight and hold my breath every time he eats or drinks.

Oddly, he doesn't purr, but maybe he will eventually. He loves to play with water, which is good because our kitchen faucet is drippy. I've never allowed my kitties on the counters or tables, but I don't think I'll have much say in the matter! His favorite place is my sewing room, where he is only allowed with supervision.

Missy Miss has quickly discovered her favorite spot on the quilt I made this summer. Her fur is like velvet, and despite the smug look on her face in this picture, she is extremely sweet. So far, she hasn't figured out how to open the door that leads upstairs, but she has learned that if she grabs the bottom it will go "bang bang", and that this sound, coupled with incessant crying will lead someone to open the door for her. A behavior that is so much like Chloe that it gives me a chill and chuckle at the same time.

So far, neither of them has shown any interest in my knitting, other than to plop themselves in my lap to divert my attention.

Sigh. I've missed this.

It's been a long couple of months. The short story is that my mom was diagnosed at the end of September with a recurrence of renal cancer after 15 clean years. She had surgery on December 4th to remove the new tumor, and so far (fingers crossed), everything looks good. She is doing well, and we'll just have to wait and see about everything else. That said, I'm trying to get back to my own routine, and that includes blogging. I'll try and post photos of knitting soon - I've been doing plenty of that.

Now I've got to get to my blog reading to see what everyone else has been up to!!

Thanks for reading!

XXOO Kitties and Me