And Then There Were Cats

Early on in our marriage, Andrew knew we were going to end up with a cat. He wasn't really sold on the whole plural cats thing, but he was willing to get A cat, at least. He's not a big animal person in general, but since I grew up with animals and was set on at least getting a cat, he conceded. We just had to wait until we were in a pet-friendly place.

When we were getting to the point where we were getting ready to graduate and get a house, I was finally able to start kitten shopping.

My mom & step-dad's cat "Mama Kitty" gave birth to Ayah on April 17th and I immediately made it known that she was going to be my kitten. Due to an accident before her birth, all of the kittens were stillborn except for her. I named her Ayah, which is Arabic for miracle, to commemorate her special story. 

Baby Ayah - April 26, 9 days old

I had teased Andrew about having two cats long before we chose to get Ayah, but he was never big on the idea.  The conversation had ended there. However, the idea was still stuck in my head. I had been browsing for fun at the pet store while waiting to hand over the keys to our apartment when I saw Meg and her sister. I LOVE Calico cats and immediately decided I had to get one. I started pestering Andrew more persistently about getting another kitten to help Ayah when she came home to us. Andrew still wasn't really sold on it but I finally talked him into it. (He's glad we have two cats now, because they play with each other and demand less of his attention than when we had just one).

Baby Meg - May 22, Almost 5 Weeks Old

We brought Meg home on May 23rd after Andrew had some time to sleep on the idea. Because it cost money to adopt her from the pet store, Andrew basically told me that she was counting as my birthday present. Happy birthday to me (two months early)! After a few days, Andrew came up with the name of Megara for her - we call her Meg for short.

Bonus for Meg: we brought her home the day before she turned 5 weeks old, and she was already super litter trained! This made me very happy.

According to Meg's approximate date of birth that the pet store gave me (they found her and her siblings abandoned when she was about a week old), Ayah is two days older than Meg is. She's smaller, though, which I think has a lot to do with who their parents are. Mama Kitty is a petite, small cat.

On May 30th, I picked Ayah up from my mom's house and we brought her home. She and Meg hissed and spat at each other and threw their own little fits about each other. However, they also followed each other around because they were curious and Meg wanted a playmate.

Ayah & Meg following each other around & fighting

After a few days of sleeping in separate rooms and only seeing each other when they were supervised, they finally got over the strangeness of the other and became friends.

Ayah grooming Meg

Also, in case you were wondering, kittens get big fast!! These pictures show Ayah at 3 weeks old and at 11 weeks old. Basically, this is how much she grew in just 8 weeks!

Ayah at 11 weeks old

Ayah at 3 Weeks Old

Side Note: My cats are my pets, not my fur babies. I am not their mom, I am their owner/human. I love them, but not in the same way - they don't fill the role of a baby, nor will they ever. I respect your opinion if you think of your pets as your fur babies; I hope you respect mine.