I didn’t have pets as a child and I never thought I’d ever be a “cat person”.  We adopted a 3 year old cat about 12 years ago and he was the coolest cat.  He was a beautiful cat – magnificent striping and muscular and a wonderful personality.  We loved our Jeffy Cat and when he became sick and passed, we said we would never have another cat.  Why?  They shed.  Litter boxes.  No personal space. Travel difficult.  And no other cat could be as cool as Jeff.

Then, a few months ago, along came the little stray mama cat in the neighborhood.  She had 5 newborn kittens and our neighbor was watching over them the best he could.  We would visit and we helped what we could, but we knew their fate if we couldn’t find them homes.  They would freeze this winter, or they would be caught and taken to the high kill animal control facility with little hope of leaving there again.

We fell in love with them and adopted two of the five.  Homes were found for two others, and the neighbor is caring for the mama and remaining kitten.  We also made a winter shelter for them – taking a tub and filling it with straw and a Styrofoam cooler and layers of warm blankets and cutting a hole for them to get in and out.  But, we are still hoping we can find both mama and the kitten a home.

We’ve had the kittens, Blue & Smokey,  for over a month and they bring us so much joy.  Watching them play and learn to climb and jump and clumsily roll around – and even having them wake us up at 5 a.m. for their morning kitten grub by climbing on our heads or giving us nose kisses- we love every minute!

This year I learned that kittens are really lovely.  And even more, they have allowed me to give more love and live with more happiness.