Two great friends

Sugar AKA L'il Shug

Spice AKA Spicey, Spicer

Our beloved Rufiie died in the summer of 2012, far too young.  He was a real character, everybody loved him.  He would jump, shoulder height on command, sometimes without, into our arms.  Our house was somber the rest of the summer.  When I broached the idea of getting a kitten with Nicole a little while later she was adamantly opposed.  It was too soon.  The lack of little feet making noise on the floor bothered me and left me sad, more than I would have expected.  Finally, in mid September of 2012 I asked Nicole again and this time she was less opposed.  She was ready to think about it and talk about it.  

I had already begun looking for a kitten.  Our kitten was going to come from a rescue shelter.  Using Google I found a few local veterinarian clinics where staff were sheltering cats and offering adoption services.  Craig's List and Kijiji were also full of ads offering cats for adoption.  I made a lot of calls over a couple of days and nothing was jumping out at me.  By now Nicole was warm to the idea of a kitten.  

One ad on Kijiji caught my attention in particular for some unremembered reason. I decided to call and it was a good choice. The lady I spoke to told me all about her shelter network.  She was one of many activists who took in unwanted or abandoned litters of kittens.  They had vets in the network who provided the necessary medical services.  The activists sheltered and socialized the kittens and found homes for them.  I liked what I heard.  It was her turn now to question me.  She wanted to know all about the animals we had over the years.  She wanted assurances that the cats would remain indoor cats, not ever be declawed or given away.  She told me there would be a contract outlining my obligations to both the shelter and the kitten.  It was almost too intrusive.  I came close to just saying thanks, I am going to go elsewhere for a kitten.  Fate kept me from doing that.  She told me she would bring some kittens over to our home the next night for us to meet.  She would conduct her interview of us then.

She showed up the next evening with her boyfriend and six kittens in tow.  She opened the cages and it was kitten chaos.  They were all around eight weeks old.  They were all adorable.  The cat lady, as we came to call her, wanted to see our house.  She asked a lot of questions which were clearly aimed at getting a sense of how a cat in our house would be treated.  She outlined what would be contractually demanded of us if we we chosen as adopters.  The shelter did not want the relationship with the kitten to stop at adoption.  They would provide sterilization and vaccination services.  If for whatever reason we could not care for the cat we are obliged to return the cat to the shelter.  

She liked us.  She was sure we fit the adoption bill.  Then she dropped a big one.  You ought to adopt two, one is no good.  Cats are way happier if they have company.  We were not convinced whatsoever at first.  She had done this before though, and we were putty in her hands.  We would try it for a week, see how we felt. We actually believed it, too!  

The six of them were scampering about, into everything as kittens will do.  Picking two was almost impossible.  There was a soft grey male who I could not stop looking at and a black and white female who reminded me of Rufus and Rufie.  The others were all so beautiful, too.  While asking questions we learned that a little tortie sort of chimera kitten was the black and white's sister.  That resonated with both Nicole and I for some reason and we picked those two.  Arrangements were made to have them brought back to us in two days.  Two evenings from now there would be life in the house again!

Next day cat lady called to inform me that higher ups in the network wanted to investigate us more thoroughly. They wanted to speak to our vet.  I just about blew a gasket.  The whole process 

was starting to feel a bit ridiculous.  I capitulated and provided the info.  She called back later in the day to confirm everything was fine and she would bring the kittens that very evening.  I went out to the local pet store and dropped sixty bucks on a cool cat condo to put right in the middle of our 12 x 6 big window in the living room, along with a monster big domed litter box and a whole bunch of other kittie supplies.  They were going to come home in style!  We had settled on Sugar and Spice as names. 

Right on time cat lady, boyfriend and two adorable kittens arrived. Bit of paper work to do, kittens to cuddle.  Kittens vanish under the bed.  Wisely, we decide to leave them be for a few hours.  Cat lady tells us she will call us frequently in the next few days.  We were still unsure about two kittens.  Hah!  Suckers!

We could not stand it anymore, it had been a few hours since they had scampered under our bed.  We each went to a side of the bed and we gently talked to them.  We coaxed them out.  Onto the bed they went for pets and cuddles.  That was that.  They never hid away again.  Sugar spent the night on my head, literally.  She washed my buzz cut scalp thoroughly.  It took her all night.  I let her do her thing.

Spicey seemed the more standoffish one.  Wrong.  I bonded with Sugar the first morning.  She was sitting on top of the kitty condo and I was across the room on the couch.  She made eye contact with me and for the first time I saw those intensely green big wide eyes.  I said come on Sugar, you know you want to!  She flew across the room from the top of the kitty condo and bounded into my lap.  I was now owned.  

Over a few days we learned about the two of them.  Sugar was indeed well named.  She was a goofy little love bug.  Large frame, little legs, moves sideways and sounds like a robot.  Spice, totally confident, loving, occasionally wicked with the claws.  Amazing little athlete. Owns her twice as big sister.  She is a scrawny little thing.  That's a spicey little cat!  

I had no idea just how much I would bond with these two kittens. I had loved pets before.  What was different this time?  I was different.  Home with them 24/7.  I have been away from them only 8 days in their lives.  I am absent from their lives only a few hours a month.  I am always with them.  I also have a newfound appreciation for living things that comes from living in the moment.  I always have time for them.  They always have priority over anything else, Nicole excepted.  I love them and they return the love, all day, everyday.  Nicole and I laugh and laugh some more.  Just another day with the girls.  So much life in our home! Such fun noise!  You just never know what will happen next.

   

I struggle up those stairs from the basement, resting once or twice on the way.  Spicey never leaves my side.  She stops when I stop. She bobs her head and grunts, rubbing against me when I get to the top.

When I go to do virtually anything Sugar is my shadow.  She follows, watching my every move intently, rubbing against me constantly.  When I rest on my recliner she is never far from my side.

Spicey the love bug can be found wherever a lap is available. You can pretty much handle Spicey however you want, upside down, over the shoulder, rolled up into a ball.  She is good with it all.  Just don't touch her anywhere near the base of her tail.  She will rip you up.  For a long time I am one big prednisone bruise.  It was cool though, my bad.  She no longer uses the claws.  Phew.  She also plays fetch the ball with aplomb, at least sometimes.  

Life is like an equation.  It balances out, always.  As I lost on one side, I gained on the other.  See?