New Additions

Yesterday I was suppose to go for a run. I got distracted. Instead, I spent the day with Pat and Sara buying cat food and bowls for what would hopefully be new members of our family. Last year my cat, Fishbait, died. I had gotten her as a kitten when I was young and single in my hometown of Nevada City. She went with me to Carson City and then Reno as I began my career as a big-city firefighter. Eventually we ended up back in Nevada City when Pat and I bought a house here. All that time, Fishbait was there as my buddy.


Fishbait certainly had her adventures and I'm sure she used up at least 7 of her 9 lives. She managed to survive 2 dogs and 2 kids before succumbing to illness and age. We eventually got used to life without a cat but then the girls started asking for a cat. 2 cats actually, one for each of them. Made sense to me. But life was busy last year and the timing never seemed right.


But we got through the holidays and life has settled down as we begin the new year. The timing just seems right now so I drove out to our local animal shelter on Wednesday and scoped out the kitties. I immediately fell in love with one young adult and saw the possibilities in a couple others. Seeing those cats made me realize how much I missed not having a cat. I'd had one my whole life and I wanted another one as much as my kids did. Maybe more :)


It didn't take long to convince Pat that we should go kitty shopping. Actually, I wanted a couple of young adults. Kittens are so popular at the shelter that the older cats aren't as popular.

We picked up Caitlyn after school and headed to Sammies Friends at the Animal shelter. The grey was still there, a beautiful, healthy cat about 1-2 years old who had been abandoned by his owner. Caitlyn laid claim to him while Sara picked out a beautiful, healthy looking tabby female about 2-3 years old. Both cats had vaccinations and were spayed/neutered and they happened to be running a 2 for 1 deal.





After filling out the paperwork we loaded them up in carriers and headed home. We also have a dog and wondered how that would go. My plan was to bring both cats home at the same time so they were both strangers and wouldn't have any territorial issues. They spent the first couple hours checking out every room, windowsill, nook, and cranny before turning their attention to the dog. They quickly established that they were in charge. Yuba appears to be cool with that.











Ian (now Mittens) and Empress (now Taffy) quickly made themselves at home. No hiding, hissing, or fighting. They are both love bugs, happy with any lap that makes itself available. It's obvious that Mittens is a little younger due to his playful personality. Taffy is good for Sara because she's very tolerant.









So our family of 5 has become a family of 7 and we're very happy about that. Plus it's nice to know that we've saved the lives of 2 wonderful and loving cats.