We've had our outdoor cat Sugar for about 10 years now. She's been a great mouser, and she's never been mean or a scratcher. I've really enjoyed having her as a cat. But when we first got a dog last fall, she was very unhappy--Shorty would drink out of her water bowl and she hated it, and he would get too close to her and she didn't like his presence. She would hiss at him, but it completely un-phased him.
(this photo is from last October 2012 when we first got Shorty)
Grandma and Grandpa T., who live next door, also have a cat that Sugar hates (she's old and is ornery with other animals). But apparently she decided she hated our new dog Shorty more, and it didn't take long for her to move down to Grandma's house. She won't even come near our home anymore! I really began noticing her absence when the mice began being a problem inside our home, because she wasn't around anymore to catch them for us.
After we got our new dog Tiki this summer, I was hoping that Sugar would come back around our home again. Tiki is much calmer and nicer, and doesn't bother the cat at all, but Sugar was so used to being fed by Grandpa and having her new routine in the barn & shop, that she hasn't come back. The mice were getting especially bad in our home at the beginning of this summer, and I knew that we needed another cat.
In July, we discovered that our neighbors, the Schwarz's, had some new kittens that they were giving away. We went up as a family one afternoon to look at the 4 kittens, and decided to take 2 of them. Weeks later, after they were ready to be weaned from their mother, we went back and picked them up. They have been such a fun addition to our home this past month! They are fun to watch, as they explore and walk and jump around obstacles outside. The boys absolutely LOVE these kittens, and they like being around kids! All the extra kiddos that have been around this summer have also enjoyed playing with the kittens, and we are so grateful that we got them from our nice neighbors who trained them to be so good around kids!
We set up the kittens' food and water in our open 4-wheeler shop on the front side of our house, as Tiki is settled in on the backside of the house. We were hoping this would help establish different territories for the different animals. Tiki hasn't bothered them at all, but the kittens are still unsure of her!
One of the kittens is a female calico, and we decided on the name of Tulu for her. We spent one afternoon coming up with different names, and Micah thought of this one and we all agreed on it.
The other kitten is male, and is orange/white striped. He's an outgoing, adventurous cat! We named him Torch; now all our pets start with the letter "T".
The two kittens get along really well with each other, and they also independently play without the other. They are just so dang cute!
The boys have really enjoyed our new pets. Jonah has been so good to make sure they always have food and water, and he takes good care of them.
Micah checks on them throughout the day and spends time playing with each of them.
Kanyon likes holding them and bringing them inside the house. Then he likes running around the house to catch them and take them back outside where they belong.
I've enjoyed having such adorable kittens around; they always make me smile with their cute little movements! Also, I'm looking forward to the day when they are a little bigger and can start catching mice around here too!
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