July 11, 2008

our newest addition to the family



I don't know what it is about being married and suddenly feeling the need for a pet, but it is true. Matt and I went out to a friend's farm and picked out the cutest, sweetest little kitty ever last week. (At least that's what we thought until she started biting this week!)
Talk about a tough decision... We stood above 7-10 little, cute kittens as they ran around and climbed on each other. Each one with their own unique personality coming through in only a few short minutes. Matt was immediately drawn to the black one, who was fairly quiet and kept to himself. And I was drawn to the two calico cats who had the prettiest eyes and were playing with each other. And last on our list of possibilities was a silly orange cat (although we had decided that we did not want orange). This kitty was a character to say the least. She, or was it he, would fall over as it tried to jump, make funny noises, and overall make us laugh. But, we had decided on not getting an orange cat, so as quickly as she was considered she had to be dropped from "the list".
So we stood... watching the kittens, picking up the one we wanted, and then stood some more. About 20 minutes into it I knew we had a situation on our hands. Matt suddenly said, "Why don't we just get two of them hun?" Are you kidding me!? We're not ready for two cats, the vet expenses, the litter box cleanings, no no my friend, just one today. So then we were back to standing, watching, trying to wait for the other person to give in and see just how adorable the kitty was that each of us wanted.


And then finally, it happened. Matt put down his black kitty and picked up the cute calico and we were off, 30 minutes and one darn cute kitty later we were on the road to a happy family. .. until she pooped in my hand in the car, maybe I wasn't ready to be a "parent" yet.

So without further ado, meet Juney! (yes, we got married in June, and got her in June)





Is she not the cutest little thing ever?! Well, at least after she got a bath she was much more beautiful! Here are the bath pictures, she really didn't mind the bath, which was surprising.







This past week I had to take her to the vet, alone. Before I even left I was nervous to take her. One, because I don't do needles and the thought of me having to hold her while she got a shot only gave me a mental image of me on the floor and the vet standing above me horrified. And two, I didn't want to be the bad parent that took her somewhere she hated and received pain. Nonetheless I was off to the vet with Juney. At first I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet and calm she was. Then, as if some divine power told her the vet was coming, she flipped out. The vet simply waved his hand in front of her cage and she started hissing like a wild animal. I was mortified, and then I was even more mortified when the young 20something vet looked at me and told me that I could get her out if she was going to be like that. Great, I thought to myself, you piss off my cat then let me jam my hand in the cage to get bitten. Luckily though, she was much calmer when I got her out. A few shots, clipped nails, an ear cleaning, and a worming pill later and we were finally on the way home!


Which leads me to the last couple of days. This is how the week started:


She LOVES to sleep on our shoulders





And I LOVE to sleep with her =)




And then we reach the end of the week...and suddenly a need to bite us! I'm not sure if kittens go through a biting stage like kids, but this seriously needs to come to a stop. I have to muster up the courage to flick her little nose and tell her no, which about breaks my heart. At which point she just bites me again. Anyway, we are learning to "parent" as we go along. I figure we can't really mess a cat up too much, so we're good to go.


And in all of this I must admit, although I know we're not ready for "real" kids (and believe me, I understand that a kitten is NOTHING like a child), I must admit that I absolutely can't wait! The way Matt picks her up and talks to her like a child, and carries her to her little box in case she needs to "go potty" just makes my heart smile. For now, we'll perfect the cat world and worry about little kings later.

1 comment:

Kirsten Gardzelewski said...

Hi Bailey,
Jenna told me about your blog so I thought I'd check it out while the little guy sneaks in his morning nap. If you guys are anything like us you will have a progression to kids which you have already begun...first comes and cat, then the dog, and then finally the 1st baby!:) Cats are a great place to start because they are the easiest. A bit of unsolicated advice about cat training (if there is such a thing) spraying them with a water bottle when they are being naughty works well. Although I'll have to admit I don't think I have ever been able to do it, it's always been Ivan's job but it does work. Your wedding looks beautiful, love the pictures. By the way, I haven't forgotten you (well to be completely honest I did until the other day) I will be putting your gift in the mail sometime very soon! Sorry to be so behind schedule!:(