Gremlin and Princess Floof

 I have always had a soft spot for animals. I do not discriminate much on the sort of animals I want, but I am a bit pedestrian in my choice of household pets. I respect that some people really enjoy snakes, racoons, and monkeys. For me, I go in for dogs and cats. 

I have made the choice for a long time now to not have a dog of my own. The family always had a few around and that was plenty good enough for me. I chose a cat that I had an attachment to. Zeus disappeared a couple of months ago. I have to admit that I made the choice again not to try and have an animal of my own. Sometimes James T. Cat claims me as his person. On even more rare occasions his sister Jesse (go team rocket) wants my attention. With fireworks, thunderstorms, or target practice in the area Gracie the dog can decide that I am her favorite person in the world. All of that is ample pet love for me. 

With spring there are always a few kittens on the property from the wild cats. We make some effort to catch the kittens once they are weaned. It is nice to have friendly cats out there among the pride. I fed the fluffy hordes. Why not have a cordial relationship, right?  Granted, I am totally good with trading food and water for a great deal of pest control. I feel like our pet cats help parley a bit of comfort and familiarity with their wild cousins. This is probably my imagination. 

It is nice when Teagan gets to meet new kittens. They are always cute. They are also always buck wild and full of hisses, spits, and claws. There are probably good life lessons in that truth. Inevitably we bring a few kittens inside for some taming when they are big enough. They get comfortable with us and then we let them back out hoping that a bond sticks. 

With Zeus gone, I was not surprised when Teagan and my Dad brought in the Princesses Peach and Daisy. They were cute kittens mostly with white and orange fur. They were also both as spirited as a buzz saw fueled by meth. I wanted little to do with either of them beyond my typical observations of," Aw. How cute?!" I am a fount of expressive emotion after all. 

I was not surprised when the Princesses were sent back outside. Late night yowling for Momma cat takes the edge off of cute really fast. Besides, the bond was managed. They run from all of us occasionally, but just as often we get a chance to pet them. 

Then came the Floof. For the record, all kittens are called some variation of this by me. Floofy. Floofernutter. The artist formerly known as floof. Whatever. I also tend to call them kits instead of kittens. This is as close as I come to being cutesy. 

This floof was comfortable inside with us from jump. She has huge personality and is both friendly and affectionate. The damned thing slept at the small of my back all night the first night she was inside. Now here is the rub. She came inside while Teagan and Dad were on a camping trip. Floof domesticated super well. The only way she was going back out was if Teagan didn't take to her. 

A couple of days after the Floof found herself climate controlled lodging, I was coming in the house  from the mailbox and noticed that the other orange kitten from the litter wasn't running from me. In fact, he looked sick. I snagged him with zero resistance and brough him in. 

He got a much needed bath in Dawn to get the fleas off of him. I strongly suspect they would have killed him in a day or two. We treated him for ear mites. We nursed the little fella from what looked like a very short life. He spent his days in my office resting in a box. The poor guy had to take water from a dropper and wouldn't eat for the first 36 hours or so. He was so skinny and miserable I started calling him Gremlin. 

By the time the kid came home from camping Gremlin was on the mend. He was eating, sleeping, and ignoring the litter box to do his business. Teagan promptly named them Anna and Elsa which I rejected outright. Why should the girl cat not be a Princess if her sisters were royalty? I suggested we name them Luke and Leia. I think Teagan rejected this out of spite for my rejection of Anna and Elsa. She is quite the fan of young Leia in Obi-wan. 

So Gremlin stuck both in the little boy cat's name and my attachment to him. He is also a very sweet cat and sometimes seems to cry for me as if I am Momma cat. He started and then stopped sleeping with me after about a week. I don't get to pass by him without pets if he is awake. He is also exceptionally fond of parking himself on my laptop when I am working. It is both an adorable and slightly annoying habit. It doesn't help that he climbs my leg, side, and back with his claws to get up here. 

The Floof has earned a full title. She is Her Highness, Princess Floof the Fierce. I suspect she will one day just be Princess. I also suspect that Gremlin and Princess are with us to stay. This is proof that I am a sucker for creatures in need. Weeks later and Gremlin still seems to be catching up from his brush with sickness. The floof is bigger and heavier than the Gremlin. That may or may not always be true. All I know is I hope they stop climbing me and chewing on my fingers before they are full grown. 

Gremlin always speaks to me as I am passing by. In return, I always stop and provide a few pets. I make sure the food and water dishes are full and everyone is happy. He and Floof return the favor on occasion by being affectionate. This is a good system.