Kittens!

When we first moved to Hawaii we rented a place that didn't allow pets. So we found a wonderful home for Anners... with a woman named Anners. She was pretty traumatized by our exit. We were a bawling mess when we said goodbye and she felt very bad for us. Still we felt that the quarantine process and her age made taking her to Hawaii not a good option even if we could have kept her here.

So we moved and Cambria especially cried every night. That was the time that Anners would snuggle with her on the bed. It was painful. So much so in fact that I actually asked our landlords if they would reconsider the pet policy and that we would like one or two cats. They totally said yes! 

I didn't tell the kids. I just started scouring the adds on craigslist for a good fit. Cliff didn't want feral cats and didn't want to have to cure a ton of diseases or eye problems. So I was choosy.

One day at our co-op some people who had a daughter at the pre-school there had a box of 6 five week old kittens and they were on the way to the Humane Society. I made the decision really quickly to take two, hope that Cliff wouldn't be mad, and checked to make sure they were girls. 

All I had was a box. And they meowed for the whole last hour of co-op. I was so excited to tell the kids that they were ours. I wish I had a camera to capture Kaiah's face, because she was so shocked and excited that she just about cried! 

On the way home we purchase milk, a dropper, and some kitty litter. They were so small they had to be fed every couple of hours. So we took them to football games (which were several hours long), longer car trips, and even to church for two weeks in a row. 

They were obviously an instant hit. And the kids all love them still almost a year later SO MUCH! Cliff was definitely surprised, but after seeing how much joy they brought us all, he actually said that they were the best decision "we" ever made :)

Naming them has been painful since we have 6 people in the family with opinions. Cliff said we may not name them Tiger, Boots, Socks, or Mittens. So the epic search began and we settled on: 

Seargent Twitchy Thunderpuss Jinglepuss McSruffins (Twitchy for short)

and Captain Moxie Mt. McKinley McOrcapuss (Moxie for short). 

Cliff calls them Socks and Tiger. Stinker.

They look and act very differently which makes us think that they are most likely from the same litter, but fertilized by different males. 

This kitty is intense, a fierce hunter (she captures all of our cockroaches!), and not super snuggly, unless she has Kaiah's blanket, and then she does this weird head butting, paw kneading, licking, nursing, purring behavior. It is SO CUTE!

And this one is very floppy and... well, twitchy at the same time. She is laid back, lets Cambria abuse her throughout the day, and is perfectly comfortable sleeping in a box of legos or Cambria's purse.

Mason has been rewarding them with treats every time they do something good, like lick each other.

And we all just LOVE them. They are a great addition to our family, and we are so thankful the landlords said we could have them. Pets make life better in our opinion!