Last Saturday morning, I planned my day around going to the local big chain pet store. On Saturday, they bring rescue animals in and since Randy mentioned one teeny tiny time that he was thinking about getting me a kitten for Christmas, I didn’t want to let the moment pass.
I told Randy that I wanted to go and just “look” at some kitties. You know, to get a feel for what we might get when the time was right. I am 73% sure that I meant that and wasn’t just saying that because I already knew I was coming home with a kitten.
For reals, if the only kitties I held were the first two kittens I held, I would have gone home without a kitten. They were perfectly lovely, but I didn’t feel a connection. That changed when I held Alfie the kitty, but still, I am positive I would have come home without a kitty if it hadn’t been for Alfie the kitty. Mostly.
Anyway, Randy went out that morning, blissfully unaware a little black fuzzball was soon to purr his way into our lives. When he got home, he put his hand out and handed me a teeny stuffed animal.
Me: Aw. You got me a baby seal.
Randy: That’s not a seal. That’s an owl.
Me: Ummm, this isn’t an owl, dude. It’s a seal.
Randy: Noooo…it’s not. Look at the big eyes. Big owl eyes.
Me: Yes, because owls are the only creatures with big soulful eyes. Have you actually seen a baby seal?
Me: Randy, you know how owls have two legs and they sit upright?
Randy: Yes?
Me: This owl appears to be laying on it’s stomach.
Randy: He’s resting.
Me: You know how owls have talons?
Randy: Yes?
Me: This owl appears to have no talons, but it does appear to have four flippers.
Randy: I don’t think those are flippers.
Me: Randy, you know how owls don’t have furry little tails?
Randy:…
Me: This owl has a furry little tale.
We left to go to the pet store and Owly the seal was forgotten.
Well, forgotten until we brought Alfie the kitty home. Alfie the kitty hates Owly the seal. He hates him to the tips of his pointy little claws. Alfie the kitty disembowels Owly the seal every chance he gets. Which is fairly normal behavior for a kitty. Alfie the kitty also enjoys pushing empty boxes around the living room with his forehead. I am not entirely certain that is normal behavior for kitties. He also likes to suck on things. Dude the dog has had his paws sucked on repeatedly, but as he is an inanimate object, he doesn’t mind.
Don’t tell Randy I called Dude an inanimate object, that would be like telling a little kid there’s no Santa on Christmas eve.
Anyway, regardless of holidays you celebrate or don’t celebrate, I wish you holiday peace, contentment and happiness. And maybe cotton candy.
Now excuse me, I’m going to spend the next three days cuddling my new kitten, my old husband, and my stuffed dog.
Speaking of Dude, here are Dude’s Holiday photos.
Kittens suck on things like that when they were separated from Mama too soon-so basically normal for rescued kitties, it reminds them of Mama and comfort. At least that is what a vet told me a very long time ago. Glad you got Alfie, purring is one of the most comforting sounds ever. Holiday peace and happiness to you too, it’s lovely to have time off…
Yup. Taken off Mama too soon. Might be why he pushes boxes if he was in a crate. He may have been ‘rooting’ for a nipple and it made his head quit ‘hurting’ when he pressed or pushed his ‘wall’ until somebody fed him.
He sounds like he’s adjusting his comfort zones to include everything but the little stuffed seal that has the face of an owl.
🙂
Yeah, Michelle. That’s a baby harp seal. For sure. But the kid in the factory got his bins mixed up when he was sewing on heads.
(Just let Randy think it’s an owl… you have bigger wars to win… shhh…. blissful unawareness is what we’re all after anyway.)
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you, too!! He’s beating up the seal as I type this. Hahaha
That’s exactly it. His foster momma told me the kitty mom rejected him and his brother at 3 weeks and she had to bottle feed him. It’s still adorable, though. He has a blanket in his bed that he sucks on as he’s falling asleep.
I bought Oliver, our rescue cat (we are his third home) a sheepskin from Costco. Do you have Costco where you live? He dives into the sheepskin and “makes bread” while purring until he is satisfactorily exhausted. The look of contentment is priceless. Alfie might like a mama-kitty-sheepskin of his own. Merry Christmas to you and your family and Alfie too from me ‘n G, Bill and Solly (horses) and Oliver up here in the frozen wasteland of Canada!!!
We do have a Costco close by. Thank you!! I think he needs one of those. Merry Christmas to you, too!! XOXOXO
I love Owly the seal. And I’d love pictures of Alfie the kitty.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you! I have a few pictures, but he is hard to photograph! He just comes out as a shadow.
Congratulations on your new Kitty Cat! Kittihood is adorable. A lot easier than puppyhood or infancy.Those corrugated scratching boards are fabulous. I buy them at Trader Joe’s. Saves the upholstery.
Happy Holidays!
Thank you for the tip! We have a scratching post and he uses it. The only other thing he has been scratching is a the carpet. We’re replacing all the carpet before we put the house up for sale anyway..honestly, he couldn’t do any damage to this old ass carpet. haha.
what? you won’t be cuddling the now decimated Owly Seal?
Merry Christmas to you and Randy and Alfie!
A kitten at christmas – watch out for him destroying the ornaments on the tree.
The tree is up on a table, he can get to it and has tried, but so far, no casualties. I’m going to take it down today, just in case.
Here’s a Sci Show video about why cats knead (and suckle while they do):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WNdMwM_oFQ
My friend Chris has a black cat named Sammy (Samuel L. Jackson) who sucks his back toes so much they’re not even black any more, they’re a weird color of reddish brown.
That stuffed animal looks like an owl from the front, but has no wings. Wings are a fundamental owl-part. My friend Koa once got hired to build owl-houses, which were apparently mounted on posts near crops or stored grain so they can police the area for rodents. And some folks just liked having owls around. He made two U-Haul trucks full of the owl houses, and I think that there’s a good chance that the live-streamed owls on YouTube are in a house he made.
Lots of cats viciously attack their toys. Our cat has some Emu feathers on some fishing line that she goes crazy over, and keep your flesh out of her way when she does or you will bleed…
Alfie the kitty likes feathers, but nothing compared to this little stuffed owl. He woke up this morning and immediately started beating it up. haha. Thank you for the video! I have a lot to learn, no doubt. He seems okay so far, though.
Kitty claws are needle-sharp and HURT! I found that you can trim off JUST the tiny tips (1/8″), (using nail clippers) and that will help a lot.
I am terrified of doing that. I think I’m going to take him to a grooming place and watch them do it first.
Aww congrats on the new kitty! I miss having one around the house. But with two pit bull mixes that think kitty kats are for dessert, I can’t have any. 🙁
So like you totally had me going with the baby seal! Oh lawd, it’s been a long weekend!
B
Thank you. He’s such a sweetie pie.