Newest Members of the Family

I have been looking for some kittens for the girls for the last two months. I told my friends Charmaine and Julie and they were on the lookout for a kitten for me. While at the vet, Julie found out that there was a mother cat that had just had kittens and that we could have one in three weeks, when it could leave its' mother. She took photos of the kittens, so that we could choose, and brought her camera to Girl Scouts. I showed the photo to Kari and Kambrielle and told them that Kevin and I had decided that they could get a cat. Kari about hyperventilated and cried right there at school. They went home and told their sisters and we had the happiest girls around.

Fast forward a few weeks........ The lady with the cats won't call us back. No kittens are available..............insert sad and disillusioned children here. You can't get kittens here like at home. You don't really see them on the streets much, or people giving them away. I don't know why you don't see them more, especially with all the rats that are here, but I have my suspicions......(think dinner meats)

Friday when Kevin got back from work in the early afternoon we loaded the girls into the van and headed off to El Arca, one of the pet stores here in town. They had two kittens.... and only wanted $210 a piece. They were a himalyan siamese mix. I asked the worker there if he knew of anywhere we could go to get a kitten that just needed a home. He looked at me like I was insane and shook his head no (of course, I did interrupt his computer games he was playing...)

We went to another pet store in town and they also had three kittens for sale. These were a steal at $278 for the black ones, or $334 for the orange one. Needless to say, we left there without purchasing anything. We did enjoy looking at the monkey they had for sale. It had an infant that was clinging to its' back and it was really cute. They won't sell them to Americans, is the rule, but I am sure that if I had the money they would sell it to me! (something about the way we can't bring them back into the US)

Kari suggested we try a pet store in a poor area of town, that we pass on the way home from Kevin's work. We headed back there and headed in to talk to the owner. They only had dogs, birds and fish. I asked the owner if he knew of any kittens and he was very kind to make some phone calls. I told him we didn't want a pedigree, just a kitten that needed a home. About 15 to 20 minutes later a man showed up on a motorcycle, holding a box with 2 very scared kittens. The girls immediately fell in love and, after a bit of negotiation, we left with 2 little girl kittens and spent about $27 for the two. Kevin and I decided that we would get two so that they could keep each other company.

We brought them home, bathed them, and fluffed them up. (They took the baths without a problem) Throughout the night the girls played with them, observed them and came up with names. The one with the gray markings is smaller, but more adventuresome. She goes exploring and gets into everything. She is named Sophia. The one with the black markings is much more timid. She jumps at everything and is learning to trust us. She is named Giuliette (Kaitlin wanted the Italian spelling of Juliette).

Hopefully the twice weekly baths and brushing them will keep my allergies at bay.
My eyes are itchy, but my children are happy!
~Kim