The One Playing in the oven….

…of the play kitchen.  That’s where Maya has decided that she likes to chill out and play.

Yes there is a Maya! She is a black kitten with a spot of white that is mostly hidden by her collar. A girl that I went to elementary school with posted to facebook that her husband was going to take the majority of her cats to the shelter since her second outside cat had brought home five half grown kittens. That popped the light bulb in my head; these kittens had been field raised and perfect for what I wanted; I figured I would have a little ferrel to work out of it but I had hopes she would have a female left. I asked her and sure enough she did… fast forward to today after a day of e-mails through facebook to figure out a time to go out and meet the kittens. I got the message to come on over tonight and I went to get Kathy who was going to "ride out with me" (insert Jen’s devious snicker). She lived on the far side of town but it didn’t take much time for us to get out there.

The first impression we got when we got there was a cat running back across the road; I told Kathy I bet it was one of Jennie’s and sure enough we later found out it was Pheobe the older sister of the cat I brought home. Jennie and her daughter came around to greet us and shortly after a small black cat came too and hid under a car. Kathy and I are pretty sure it was the male. I saw two kittens chilling out under a chair and when I approached and they didn’t run away. Once Jennie’s husband came out and helped determine the gender of the kittens Kathy took her little boy and I took the little girl and we got in my truck to take them home. In the truck Kathy came up with the name Charcoal for her kitten and somehow the name Charlie came out of my mouth and it stuck. Kathy really liked that name for her cat.  Kathy held them while I drove. We stopped at Petco and 160 dollars later I felt like a real cat parent. Yet the girls still didn’t know what was coming and neither did Kathy’s husband….

We got home and I had stuck Maya in the new carrier for my own piece of mind. Kathy got out carrying Charlie and I pulled Maya out of the back of the truck and we walked to the front of the house to four unsuspecting kids and three anxious adults plus one who wasn’t crazy about a cat coming to live at the house. The kids were all thrilled and Genesis even came over to meet the new baby.

I was very afraid of what Kathy’s husband was going to say but he is very much okay with it… now. The kids are all overjoyed and I think my allergies are staying in check for the time being. Photos are on facebook for my friends or will be soon.