The Kitties

I decided to keep everyone on the edge of their seats and do a 'group' of our many pets a day so not to give you too much excitement all at once! (Plus with all of them, it would just be way too long and wouldn't get as much out of each of our 'babies' as I want!). So today I chose the kitties...

This is our very first baby Cleo. She was adopted from the animal shelter in Banner Elk, NC when I was still in college and Logan and I were still dating in the fall of 2002. She lived secretly (shh - don't tell the cranky neighbors) with me in my apartment with the occasional trip to Virginia on holidays to stay with Logan. She is a Siamese mix although the older she is getting, the more grey/tan she is getting (does fat change coat color?). She was bright white with lynx points when she was a baby! (I'll have to dig up some old pics of her and scan them!). She is by far a Mama's girl although she will snuggle with Logan from time to time.

Cleo definitely has the Siamese attitude which I tolerate a lot more than Logan! She is a very solitary kitty and hates strangers - she hides in the back for hours when we have company. I am sure some of our friends are doubtful she even exists! She makes it very clear when she has had enough petting/brushing/being looked at and if you misread the signs (ahem - Logan!), she gets a little bitey. Even though she is a Miss Cranky Pants, she is by far my 'special' girl - I might throw up a little when I say this but we definitely have a bond between us and put up with each other!

Ok, now that I sound like a complete dork/crazy cat lady, let's move on to the other kitty baby!

This is Gabby. We have had her for a little over a year now and she is probably about a year and a half old - she was maybe around 6 months when we got her last Winter. Poor Gabby had a rough start to life but you would never be able to tell with her attitude! She is the sweetest kitty and loves to be pet and hugged on.

We got Gabby from a lady who worked with a woman we went to church with. She had found Gabby on the side of the road in Abingdon when she was a tiny baby. She was soaking wet and very sick and she spent a LONG time at the vet's office while under her care. The woman couldn't keep her because she had several cats of her own and was looking for a good home for her. We had been considering getting another cat for a few months (Cleo kept trying to talk us out of it - she was fine being an 'only kitty') so when we were asked if we were interested, it didn't take us long to agree. Logan met the woman and picked our newest member up! On the way home, Logan noticed there was something that just wasn't right with her....

She is completely D-E-A-F!!!! Cannot hear a lick! It really hasn't been much of an issue with her though since we keep both of the cats indoors. She still runs, plays, and sleeps as much as any normal cat although she does have some quirks! Sometimes she will get 'lost' in the house and because she can't find us or hear where we are, she will do this loud sonic boom meow trying to figure out where everyone is! It's normally pretty funny - that is until it is at 2:00 in the morning and we are asleep. She has gotten much better about it though and doesn't get lost as often...

Cleo pretends like she hates Gabby but they are pals for sure. Many a time I come home and they are curled up in the sun together or are having a joint bath. Gabby also encourages Cleo to get some exercise by chasing her around the house!

So there are the kitties! Here are some more pictures to enjoy to get to know these two a little better! Next up...the dogs!

Cleo is obsessive with my Vera Bradley. It doesn't matter where or what it is, she is on or in it. Here I was packing to go somewhere and she decided I had forgotten some things!

Snuggling AND bathing - this is rare - kind of like capturing Bigfoot on camera!

We see who rules the roost here - I think this is like chickens' pecking order...Whoever is up the highest is the leader.

NO - this is NOT the normal state of our house! This is when we moved and Gabby is checking to make sure everything is packed safely...