I firmly believe that kids need pets! We have tried bunnies, fish and a turtle over the years without much luck. I wanted a pet that the kids could actually hold and play with but not one that required a lot of maintenance. Chris is TOTALLY against dogs and allergic to cats. I flat out lied to the kids and told them I was allergic to scales the way that Chris is allergic to fur...so no snakes, lizards or frogs for us! :) After years of trying to solve the great pet debate, Chris caved and said he wouldn't mind a cat! So, at the last minute we decided that Santa should bring the kids a kitty! (Katey has been reading her little heart out trying to earn a kitty anyways!)
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So, less than a week before Christmas I started my search! I started with KSL.com and didn't have much luck. Most kitties on there were long gone by the time I called. Apparently this is a popular time of year to buy kitties but not a popular time of year for cats to actually have babies (well, ones that are old enough to leave their mama anyways). I did find a crazy cat lady on KSL who had 2 little black kittens that she would give me for free. She even drove them out to my house so we could play with them and see how Chris' allergies would be. They were DARLING kitties but the crazy cat lady was SO over the top I couldn't take it. Also, she happened to mention that she rescues feral cats and their mother was one of the hardest to tame. SOOOO, I didn't think that was the best fit for us, especially considering these kitties had never been to the vet.
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Enter my friend Wendy and her good advice. She talked me into adopting a kitty from a shelter. This took my search in a new direction THREE days before Christmas!!!! I spent literally an entire day driving from shelter to shelter looking for the perfect kitty...well, ANY kitty since all they had were adult cats. One shelter would let you adopt, but not pick up the pet until the next week because they said that Christmas presents always get returned. Where is the logic in that, I ask you? I even went to several pet stores and a nearby vet who does cat adoptions. I was striking out everywhere I went!
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I eventually made it clear down to the Humane Society & spotted the cutest little gray kitty right off the bat...Coal! I picked him up and immediately bonded with him! The volunteer lady said that someone was already filling out adoption papers for him but his sister, Amber, was out filming for Fox 13's pet segment and would be right back. So, I sat and waited...and waited...and waited some more! Finally Amber came back! I loved her, but I didn't bond with her like I did with Coal. She is pretty shy compared to her brother, but still sooo sweet. I wasn't quite sure what to do. Crazy cat lady had us convinced that we needed 2 kitties and preferrably ones that were used to each other. I really wanted both kitties! They were $50 each or 2 for $70. They were spayed, neutered, had shots and vet checkups and everything. I had my heart set on them. BOTH of them.
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Well, that's when I found out that the Asian couple that wanted Coal didn't have any I.D. on them and couldn't have the kitties until they could prove how old they were! The Humane Society is pretty picky about who they send their animals home with & you have to meet their standards. They will "hold" an animal for 2 hours but no more than that. This couple put a "hold" on Coal while they went to find their passports. They told me that if they didn't make it back by 2:30 then I could have both kitties. I wasn't sure if it was going to pan out and I wasn't sure what to do if I couldn't have them both. I kept calling Chris and asking for advice...he wasn't much help, but it was nice to have a sounding board. :)
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I found out that as soon as Amber made her debut on Fox 13 people were calling and asking about her. No pressure! I put a "hold" on Amber while I made up my mind and I ran to one last shelter to see what I could find. It was slim pickins and every kitty I picked up was already being adopted. I ran out of places to look and decided to just go back to the Humane Society and wait. I held "my" kitties and got really attached to them while I waited. At 2:25 the girl walked in the door and my heart sank. I went up to the counter to find out how much it would cost to get the 2 black kitties from the crazy cat lady neutered. I was pretty sure my day had been wasted and we were going to end up with 2 sickly black kitties by default. The girl behind the counter, who I had become buddies with in my hours waiting there, told me not to leave yet. Even though the girl had made it back in time, her boyfriend hadn't and he was the only one with I.D. so it didn't really count. There was also another girl there waiting for them because she wanted the other (older) kitty that they wanted along with Coal. We were both rejoicing that our day would have a happy ending all the way around!
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The 2 kitties I wanted were "foster" kitties, so they had been raised in someone's home until they were old enough to be adopted. Apparently that is a different department from the regular adoptable animals there. So, at 2:30 the lady in charge of adoptions said that I could have Coal AND Amber and I was SOOOO excited! Then the guy walked in with his I.D. at 2:40. They told him it was too late for Coal but he could still have the other cat. He was obviously not happy and his girlfriend kept begging to have them both. He got angry and started yelling and screaming at the poor employees. They told him there was nothing they could do about Coal but if he would calm down he could have the other cat still. He kept on freaking out and they finally told him he couldn't have any animals from them EVER and had him escorted off the property! It was VERY dramatic! My heart was pounding! I did feel bad for them, truly I did, but I was also so happy I couldn't decide what to think! Then I realized that they are much better off with me than a crazy guy anyways! When I had to take the kitties next door to be microchipped, they had someone walk me there and then to my car after. They had some great big guys stay in the parking lot and watch to make sure they didn't come back and try to steal them...or do anything else crazy for that matter! I had nightmares all night long that they found me and tried to steal my kitties! It was so crazy!
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So, luckily my Mom was nice enough to let me hide the kitties there. Santa needs a lot of help delivering live animals. It's just too much work for him to keep them in his sleigh all night. So, I kept going over there to check on them and play with them. They are such good kitties and you can tell they were raised in a home, not in a cage! It has been the perfect fit for us and I am so happy it all worked out! The kids were beyond excited when they found them Christmas morning! They were (and still are) a huge hit & Chris' allergies haven't been nearly as bad as we thought they might be! I am so glad I waited all day for those kitties! I'm so glad the lady in charge of foster adoptions liked me better than the other people, she said that's what helped make her decision because she really could have given the kitties to them instead! :) I'm so glad that the timing worked out so perfectly! I'm also grateful for the foster family that took such good care of our kitties and trained them so well! We are truly loving them! :)
On Christmas Eve we had some of Chris' family over for dinner! Chris smoked a turkey and we had a yummy feast! (I only spent 2 days in the kitchen & it was worth it!) :)
We played a little Guitar Hero...
...upside down & all. :)
Good times right there!
Then Katey got a hold of my camera and went a little crazy...
She had some very willing subjects. :)
"SMILE! You're on Candid Camera!"
What a cutie! :)
This would be me pigging out on cheescake! I couldn't help it! It was my first time actually baking a cheesecake and it turned out divine...if I do say so myself! :)
"Boof" wouldn't put her bottle down to open her Christmas Eve jammies. :)
"Hayn" loved his Mickey Mouse slippers and Thomas jammies!
My Mase loved his Sponge Bob jammies!
Once Soph realized they were Dora jammies she wanted them on NOW! :)
Princess loved her pink Sponge Bob jammies! :)
SOOOOO excited!!
Oh my gosh I love these kiddos!
