Kitty Love

For those of you who haven't heard the news yet, Austin & I adopted two ADORABLE kittens last week!  We went to the Humane Society with the intent of adopting one playmate for Smudge who has been terribly lonely since we moved her into the apartment with us (she's used to sharing a home with four adults another cat and a golden retriever!)  When we arrived we were instantly drawn to this playful stripey kitten named Jude (we kept his name), but he was in a kennel with another little kitten... a black fluffy thing who is now named Simon (the name they gave him was dumb so we changed it)  Austin didn't like the idea of separating brothers, so when I suggested we look at some of the other kitties there, he asked "why don't we just get them both?"  First I felt his forehead for a fever, then I asked him to repeat himself, then I asked if he was serious.  For a man who has resisted and resisted me on getting another cat, he was now suggesting we adopt two!  Needless to say, we are now a 3 cat home... and I'm thrilled :o)  Simon & Jude are so much fun to watch and snuggle with, and Smudge is actually almost getting along with them already!  It's been one of the smoothest critter transitions I've ever witnessed, I'm so excited by it!  The boys go to the vet this afternoon for their first post-adoption check up, and I'm glad for it as they've been sneezing a LOT and I think they may have picked up upper respiratory infections at the Humane Society (very common in kennel situations) I just want to get it under control before Smudge picks it up too!

 Momma Catz - Smudge!

the babies... Jude (bottom) and Simon (top)

Photo of the day

Welcome to Pet-a-Palooza 2009! This is the first year we've ever gone... it was dad's birthday and he wanted to take Micah to see all the other dogs. It was actually pretty cool, lots of pet-supply/service vendors exhibiting and selling stuff, and a few cool dog shows like this obstacle race one. The tough part was the giant tent with the seriously THOUSANDS of pets up for adoption... how we managed to leave without a new critter I'm still not sure! I did get a new magnet for my car that reads "Peace, Love, Adopt" with a cute little pawprint on it. Sooooo many homeless critters just wanting to be loved... so if you don't have enough pets already, go adopt one from one of your local shelters because they need happy happy homes!!

Photo of the day - An Introduction

Meet Smudge! She is the newest addition to our family, since after 4 months of searching, it doesn't appear Fowler and Herman are coming back to us... :o(

I used some of my birthday money this year to adopt Smudge (10 weeks in this photo, day I brought her home). Jared and I went to the Michigan Humane Society, "just to look" and inevitably I fell in love and couldn't leave without her. She is the most precious kitten in the world and has a huge personality (as do most van Rossum kitties...!) She is so soft and full of life. When I brought her home she had piercing blue eyes, but they are starting to turn green so we'll see what happens there. She had been dropped off at the home of one of the MHS staffers and was not doing so well... she had fleas, earmites and an upper respiratory infection. Now she's doing very very well, and has almost kicked the upper respiratory entirely (fleas and earmites are all gone too!) She has doubled in size in the 3 weeks that we've had her and loves dogs. She and Micah have great fun chasing each other around, and she and Chloe (my fiance's very high-maintenance Weimeriner) actually get along great too! Zieltje (the matron of the house) has adapted very well to her, and tolerates her most of the time, though she doesn't hesitate to beat the crap out of Smudge when she's had enough of the kitten energy, which is kinda funny to watch. Anyhow she's so freaking cute I just had to post this pic and introduce y'all to her! (I can't take credit for her name, her foster mom named her, but it was so perfect I had to keep it this time!)

For more Smudge photos, click here!