Also, we welcomed two cats into our house over the past year. Being so far from home and my mother, there was a point where I needed a taste of my life in California, early this year, it really hit me that I miss my hometown. Tyler suggested that we look into getting a kitten. That day, we found a post on Craigslist, advertising free kittens. One look at the photo they posted, I was in love. Within the hour, we were in the car, heading to Petco, and purchasing everything I would need for a kitten. Then, we spent the next 2 hours, driving to Dunlap, Iowa. She was a barn cat, raised on a farm with pigs, and chickens. She's all grown up now, but she is an amazing at, and just what I needed at that point in my life.
Meet Athena. She's beautiful, calm, and seems to know just when you need her. She's got the nickname "Mom" now, because she seems to take care of us, comforting us when we need it the most, and will come looking for us, just so she knows we are still okay. She'll share my pillow with me, making sure I get to sleep okay, then sometime in the night, she will come next to me just so I can put my arm over her, and she will sleep like that with me. She's a great cat.
Athena will literally let you do what you want with her. She'll let you put her on her back and scratch her belly, she will let you look at her teeth, and claws. She will even let you carry her around the house like a baby.
Nyxie was a cat who was likely going to be dropped off at the shelter. Tyler had called me one day from work, to ask me if I wanted another kitten. Of course I did! A woman at his work was going around asking if anyone wanted a kitten, because her cat had had kittens a while ago, and she had found homes for all of them, except one. So, we went that night and picked up a small, average looking cat that we call Nyxie. She's our adventuring cat, who loves exploring the closet (which we now call Narnia), and is always on a constant mission to escape from the front door of the apartment.
We had worried about the possibility of them not getting along, because Athena was older, and getting set in her ways, but we were shocked when Nyxie was the one who was hissing and not getting along with Athena. But, once Nyxie got used to the apartment, they became inseparable. They sleep together, groom each other, and run around the house like children together.
They are the most spoiled cats on the planet, I think. They have a Littermaid automatic litterbox, and even a drinking fountain. They eat only grain free Wellness food, and also won't eat any treat that isn't healthy either. They ate turkey with us for Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Ahh, the things we do for our cats, right?
