(no subject)
Aug. 24th, 2009 04:26 pmFroglet's friend C, age 5, to her mum: Mum, can we have a dog?
C's mum: you know we can't, dad is allergic.
C: well, can we have a dog when dad's dead?
I will always miss Lafayette, that pretty much goes without saying. But the hardest bit, over the past three months, was being followed around by a Subliminal Cat. I would get up in the morning, and I would ALMOST hear a cat pur; I would be cooking and I'd feel a moving presence in the corner of my eye, and I'd turn around with a smile, anticipating her presence, and then it would hit me again: she's gone.
We had it all planned: we would finish the school year, and then we'd go on vacation in France for 4 weeks. Right after coming home, we would go to our local vet's office and adopt two kittens: one for Froglet, one for Tadpole. They would take care of the feeding; and since I am THE MOM, I would take care of the litter (joy) and the nail clipping. We had it all figured out, I tell you.
IT DID NOW GO AS PLANNED, but then, in my family, what ever does? *g*
We called the vet's office from France, to find out if they even HAD kittens -- I was so eager, I could not wait. They had good news for us: they were expecting six kittens to adopt the week we were coming home! So we went to see the kittens, but then they had only three instead of the promised six, and the girls picked one kitten each, but I really really wanted a kitten too, and it was so hard to leave one behind... and so I convinced Husband (who was very reluctant) to think about it.
And because he is HUSBAND (and therefore AWESOME), he went back to the vet's office and thought about it while playing with all three kittens.
Me: So? Did you think about it? Can we adopt the third one, too?
Husband: It's too late, she's already adopted.
Me *very small voice* what?
Husband *shows adoption paper with a flourish, takes his best TA-DAA voice* BY US!!!
Me: ... *jumps up and hugs Husband* EEEEEEE!
Vet: so which one are you taking home?
Me: WE'RE TAKING ALL THREE!
Vet *drops glasses*
THEN CAME THE NAMING.
Froglet: What would be a good name for a boy kitten?
Me: Napoleon?
Tadpole: YES NAPOLEON!
Me: OK. Well, the female could be Josephine, then.
Froglet *gloomily* If Tadpole's kitten is Napoleon, I need a king's name, or something. Louis... the fourteenth?
Me: er. This is a 6-inch kitten we're talking about, and Louis-the-fourteenth is an awfully long name.
Froglet: Well, do you have other king's names?
Me: They were all called Louis or Charles or Henry, I am afraid. There is one Louis-Philippe?
Froglet: Urgh. How come royal families have so little imagination?
Me: ...
Froglet: What was the name of the guy with the ear?
Me: The guy WITHOUT the ear, you mean? Vincen Van Gogh? And his brother Theo?
Froglet: THEO! I like Theo.
Me: Ok... Then maybe Tadpole's kitten could be Vincent?
Tadpole *defensively* NAPOLEON.
Me: Ok. Napoleon, Josephine and THEO, then.
Hey, who am I to argue? :D
According to Third Child, who is currently visiting, they're ninja kittens! They already know all the tricks to get onto the dining room table -- including climbing up the tablecloth, which ... is dangerous -- and I have learned to be careful. When the butter starts making a noise like shrrrp shrrrrp, it's usually because it's being attacked by a tiny kitten tongue. We take turns sternly putting kittens back on the floor, but they're smart little things: they've noticed that Third Child is definitely the weakest link, because he will not touch them (I think he is afraid of cats, but he doesn't want to admit it). So they gleefully attack the table whenever he's on his own, and then he bellows for help. It's hilarious to see this big, slouching, uber-cool fifteen-year-old utterly unable to defend his cream cheese sandwich against three cheerful, super-friendly and CONSTANTLY HUNGRY kittens.

First evening at home, they're testing the furniture. :D

This is Napoleon, aka Indiana Jones, because he is afraid of nothing and is very playful. He's Tadpole's special cutie, and she is currently training him as a lap-cat. He's good-natured and lets her get away with pretty much anything, including pushing him around in a doll stroller.

Meet Theo. Theo is Froglet's sweetie, and the picture doesn't do him justice. He's the smallest one, and the shyest, too, but he's gaining in confidence every day, and he loves being cuddled. He's a bundle of nerves and jumps at every noise, but he's also the best climber of the bunch and he was the first one to master our quite tricky stairs.

And this is little Josephine, the kitten I couldn't bear to leave behind. :D She tended to sleep behind the litter box and I thought her shy at first. She turned out to be extremely cuddly and adorable. She is currently sleeping on my lap, purring loudly, and I can't stop smiling.
I came home the other day, and as I was walking up the steps I heard a small noise, like a tiny engine firing up behind me. I turned around and there he was: Napoleon, purring just because I was home. Less than a minute later, I had three babies purring and circling my legs.
A house with happy kittens is a good house to come home to.
C's mum: you know we can't, dad is allergic.
C: well, can we have a dog when dad's dead?
I will always miss Lafayette, that pretty much goes without saying. But the hardest bit, over the past three months, was being followed around by a Subliminal Cat. I would get up in the morning, and I would ALMOST hear a cat pur; I would be cooking and I'd feel a moving presence in the corner of my eye, and I'd turn around with a smile, anticipating her presence, and then it would hit me again: she's gone.
We had it all planned: we would finish the school year, and then we'd go on vacation in France for 4 weeks. Right after coming home, we would go to our local vet's office and adopt two kittens: one for Froglet, one for Tadpole. They would take care of the feeding; and since I am THE MOM, I would take care of the litter (joy) and the nail clipping. We had it all figured out, I tell you.
IT DID NOW GO AS PLANNED, but then, in my family, what ever does? *g*
We called the vet's office from France, to find out if they even HAD kittens -- I was so eager, I could not wait. They had good news for us: they were expecting six kittens to adopt the week we were coming home! So we went to see the kittens, but then they had only three instead of the promised six, and the girls picked one kitten each, but I really really wanted a kitten too, and it was so hard to leave one behind... and so I convinced Husband (who was very reluctant) to think about it.
And because he is HUSBAND (and therefore AWESOME), he went back to the vet's office and thought about it while playing with all three kittens.
Me: So? Did you think about it? Can we adopt the third one, too?
Husband: It's too late, she's already adopted.
Me *very small voice* what?
Husband *shows adoption paper with a flourish, takes his best TA-DAA voice* BY US!!!
Me: ... *jumps up and hugs Husband* EEEEEEE!
Vet: so which one are you taking home?
Me: WE'RE TAKING ALL THREE!
Vet *drops glasses*
THEN CAME THE NAMING.
Froglet: What would be a good name for a boy kitten?
Me: Napoleon?
Tadpole: YES NAPOLEON!
Me: OK. Well, the female could be Josephine, then.
Froglet *gloomily* If Tadpole's kitten is Napoleon, I need a king's name, or something. Louis... the fourteenth?
Me: er. This is a 6-inch kitten we're talking about, and Louis-the-fourteenth is an awfully long name.
Froglet: Well, do you have other king's names?
Me: They were all called Louis or Charles or Henry, I am afraid. There is one Louis-Philippe?
Froglet: Urgh. How come royal families have so little imagination?
Me: ...
Froglet: What was the name of the guy with the ear?
Me: The guy WITHOUT the ear, you mean? Vincen Van Gogh? And his brother Theo?
Froglet: THEO! I like Theo.
Me: Ok... Then maybe Tadpole's kitten could be Vincent?
Tadpole *defensively* NAPOLEON.
Me: Ok. Napoleon, Josephine and THEO, then.
Hey, who am I to argue? :D
According to Third Child, who is currently visiting, they're ninja kittens! They already know all the tricks to get onto the dining room table -- including climbing up the tablecloth, which ... is dangerous -- and I have learned to be careful. When the butter starts making a noise like shrrrp shrrrrp, it's usually because it's being attacked by a tiny kitten tongue. We take turns sternly putting kittens back on the floor, but they're smart little things: they've noticed that Third Child is definitely the weakest link, because he will not touch them (I think he is afraid of cats, but he doesn't want to admit it). So they gleefully attack the table whenever he's on his own, and then he bellows for help. It's hilarious to see this big, slouching, uber-cool fifteen-year-old utterly unable to defend his cream cheese sandwich against three cheerful, super-friendly and CONSTANTLY HUNGRY kittens.
First evening at home, they're testing the furniture. :D
This is Napoleon, aka Indiana Jones, because he is afraid of nothing and is very playful. He's Tadpole's special cutie, and she is currently training him as a lap-cat. He's good-natured and lets her get away with pretty much anything, including pushing him around in a doll stroller.
Meet Theo. Theo is Froglet's sweetie, and the picture doesn't do him justice. He's the smallest one, and the shyest, too, but he's gaining in confidence every day, and he loves being cuddled. He's a bundle of nerves and jumps at every noise, but he's also the best climber of the bunch and he was the first one to master our quite tricky stairs.
And this is little Josephine, the kitten I couldn't bear to leave behind. :D She tended to sleep behind the litter box and I thought her shy at first. She turned out to be extremely cuddly and adorable. She is currently sleeping on my lap, purring loudly, and I can't stop smiling.
I came home the other day, and as I was walking up the steps I heard a small noise, like a tiny engine firing up behind me. I turned around and there he was: Napoleon, purring just because I was home. Less than a minute later, I had three babies purring and circling my legs.
A house with happy kittens is a good house to come home to.