There is NO denying that Finn is Flora’s cat (the two are seemingly inseparable and completely tolerable of one another’s antics), but Greta gets in on her action every once in a while. Here Flora is “reading” a Grimm’s fairy tale to Greta during the latter’s nap, and leaning in for a snuggle to boot.
With so much kid- and doll-sized things around the house, the kittens have found the coziest places to snuggle. Greta likes a window view and is usually found on the climbing blocks or bookcase. You can almost always find Finn curled up in the doll stroller, doll carrier, or shopping cart. He even lets the kids push him around for a “walk!”
Finn gets in on the action and takes a ride in the doll stroller while Charley pushes, and poses with Flora to show off his tummy.
We took Finn and Greta next door to play with their sister, Lola, this weekend. After just a few weeks apart, the kittens didn’t remember each other! Finn was pretty interested in making friends, but Greta and Lola just hissed like bitchy teenagers the whole time, and Greta was so pissed, she was even hissing at Finn. Cats!
In other news, Finn and Greta are getting more adventurous around the house and love to scout out a sunny window or open basket to snooze in.
Last night Finn and Greta snuggled up to sleep on Flora’s bed — Finn nestled in near her pile of stuffed animals, and Greta plunked down right near her head.
We definitely settled on Greta and Finn for the kitties, although Flora thinks we can “all just call them whatever we want.” We were also considering Fern and Cooper, so she’s been known to call them that, too. But Greta seems fitting, as she has that Greta Garbo movie star quality, and it means pearl, which is rare, and she was the only gray kitty out of the five. She’s actually gray and black, with just a little red-brown and cream. The cat coalition called her a Torbie, which is short for a tortoiseshell-tabby mix. Tortoiseshell describes coloring — red-brown and black (mostly black), and most are female. Tabby describes coat pattern, which may include stripes, spots and swirls. I’m not sure what that makes Finn (I think an orange tabby), but with the orange and cream hair and blue eyes, his Irish name meaning fair is fitting. Plus, I’m Irish on my Mom’s side and German on my father’s, and Marty is German on his father’s side, too. Both kittens have cream around their eyes and mouths, and I think their eye color is not definitive yet.
Well, we’re 99.9% sure we’re naming the kitten siblings Greta (from German, meaning pearl) and Finn (from Irish, meaning fair). We brought them home today and they are doing well. The two napped all day in a basket under the bed (together, of course), came out to eat dinner, and then played like no tomorrow. We’re showing the kids how to be quiet and gentle (two words not often used to describe Flora and Charley) around the kittens. Quiet is especially hard for Charley since he gets SO excited when he sees the kittens and their toys. Greta is a little more shy than Finn, but he politely let Greta eat first before taking his turn. Finn loves to play with chase toys and Greta really likes balls. We’re letting the tiny ones adjust in our room for a bit before letting them explore the entire house. Our neighbors, Kevin, Ronda, and Victoria, adopted their sister, Joey. She was the tiniest one of the five and has white and sand coloring. Their Mom, Angel, is still waiting for a home. She’s very sweet and loving!
We’ve all really been missing Sepia, and I’ve been casually searching petfinder.com to see if there were any little kittens in our area up for adoption. The minute I laid eyes on Jordan I melted. Marty agreed. I immediately filled out the adoption application online through the Billerica Cat Care Coalition, and was approved. Approved, you may ask? Yes, approved — they check references and your vet record — seriously. The kitten’s mother, Angel, a Calico cat with medium long hair, and the litter were living in Lowell where the Mom was being abused by neighborhood kids and the kittens were living in an abandoned apartment building hallway. The kittens were born in the first week of September, so they are just about eight weeks old.
This morning we went to Petco in Burlington for a meet-and-greet with Jordan and her siblings (the kitten’s first outing). I mean, would it have even been humanly possible to say no once we saw these little loves in person? I don’t think so. So, Jordan (kitten standing in bottom picture) and Donnie (first kitten in top picture) are ours, and we pick them up next weekend! Jordan is the only gray colored cat of the litter of five and has yellow/gray eyes (the other four are orange and white) and Donnie is the only boy and mostly orange with blue eyes. The kittens appear to be a Tabby/Tortie mix with long hair and big round eyes. They love to eat, play, and get into mischief. We’ll be giving them new names after they come home.
The other siblings are Joey (white and buff), and twins Dani and Joanie (both orange and white). I wish we could have brought the whole lot home, but I think two frisky kittens will be more than enough!
