New Kittens
Matt Seinberg

It's been two weeks since we lost Daphne. I'm happy to say we have two new kittens. We named them Daisy Noelle and Scarlett Rose.

Marcy, my wife, call vet clinics, looking for rescue cats.

Last Tuesday, my wife, Marcy, made some phone calls to area veterinary hospitals, including the one we got Daphne from 14 years ago. Its name has changed, since the founding doctor retired and sold the practice.

Marcy was talking to Kelly, who is the head nurse now and she does kitten rescue as part of her animal career. Although Kelly works at this practice, it is separate from what she does, that is, cat rescue, though it does help her out. Kelly pays for everything herself, relying solely on donations.

Anyway, Kelly told Marcy she had kittens and sent us pictures of a black one with white spots, just like Domino and Daphne, and two gray twin sisters. We immediately called her back to make an appointment to meet her and the kittens at the practice in Westbury that Friday.

I got there early, just so I could have some extra time in meeting and playing with them. We fell in love with them immediately and Kelly said she could bring them to us the following Wednesday; on Monday the gray ones were spayed. The black kitten was spayed, already.

Kelly bought the new kittens.

I kept in touch with Kelly over the next few days. We confirmed her visit for 6 pm that day. I left work early and anxiously awaited her arrival. You see, we didn't tell the kids that we were getting the new kittens, since we wanted them to be a total surprise.

Kelly showed up on time and just as she started to come up the walkway, Michelle came out of the house and noticed something was up, as Kelly was holding a cat carrier. She let out a yelp of joy and ran inside to tell Melissa.

Michelle and Melissa were excited to say the least! They asked us why we didn't tell them and, of course, we told them it was to be a surprise. They were surprised all right!

Kelly advised us to keep the kittens in one room for a couple of days, until they got used to the new surroundings. Everything was fine until 11:30 pm and we were ready to go to sleep. That's when the kittens decided they wanted to play. They chased each other around the room and started meowing rather loudly under the bed, as well.

I didn't get much sleep that night. I needed two cups of coffee to get going the next day, one at home and one on the way to work from Dunkin' Donuts. It was a very long day and I couldn't wait to get home to see our new girls.

One thing they did, just as did Daphne when we got her, was hiding under the bed. How can you play with a kitten if it's hiding under the bed?

I decided on Friday that it was time to move their food, water and litter box out of our room and into the dining room where we've always had them. These girls are smart. I'm sure they'll remember where they are once I show them.

I attempted to build a barrier around the bed so they couldn't get under it again, but, with the materials at hand, it wasn't strong enough. Marcy doesn't think we need it, but I do. They need to get accustomed to being all over the house and not just in our room.

Their new "hiding" spot is in the living room, either behind the sofa or in the corner under the end table. It's easy to pick them up from there and snuggle with them on the couch.

On Friday, Daisy stayed with me on the couch for over two hours, purring away, eyes closed, being very happy. When I got up and attempted to take her into our bedroom, she ran away, to hide under the bed.

Our sanity was restored.

No matter what, these two little beauties saved our sanity and brought happiness once again into our home.

As the animal people say, "Who rescued whom?