KAYA'S KITTIES

About a month after I got Kaya as a rambunctious 3-month-old puppy, I had my fill of dog in my life. However, one day we went to the pet store and I saw an adorable young kitty in the adoption center. Then I got the cat itch. I wasn't sure if I was ready for the lifetime commitment of a cat so I decided to foster a kitty or 2 in the meantime. I also wanted Kaya to be raised as a cat-lover so it seemed like as good a time as any. I wanted to make sure the first cat would be somewhat brave since Kaya was a sometimes-hyper puppy and new to kitties so we brought home Jack, a 7-month-old tabby with lots of energy and a bold personality. Kaya wanted to chase him a little bit at first and his idea of fun was crouching down and pouncing on her, then wrapping his whole body around her head, kicking and biting at the same time. The good news was, in Kaya's book...any attention is good attention. The first day or so I kept her on a leash to teach her some kitty manners and from there on out, Kaya was the best foster-mom a kitty could ask for.

Jack in the box...yum;)

Jack turned out to be such a maniac that I decided he needed another kitty friend to help settle some of his feline needs. So I brought home Huey, a 5-month-old tuxedo kitten who was a little on the shy side.

Jack & Huey

Huey thought Kaya was pretty much terrifying, but after only a couple weeks with Jack, Kaya didn't even bat an eye at the new kitty. So I regularly lured Huey near Kaya with lunchmeat and before long they looked like this...

Then I thought I had found the perfect adopters for Jack and so I brought home a new kitten, 6-week-old Marty. But the adoption fell through and so there were 3 kitties and 1 pittie, but Kaya loved it! She was happy to share her bed, her food, her treats and toys. Pretty much from day one, Marty decided Kaya was his new mommy. He connected with her even more than the other cats and it took him months to even acknowledge my presence. It was quickly apparent that Marty would be here to stay.

Marty...a little too small for his Halloween collar.

And this was Kaya's life...for a while anyways.

Someone to keep an eye on us.

Someone to torture while she's sleeping.

And while she's sunbathing.

Someone to eat with.

Someone to sleep with.

And someone to sleep on.

Someone to play with.

Someone to play with some more.

Someone to cuddle with.

Someone to love.

And someone to love us back.

But before long Huey found a home of his own. His new family have a small dog of their own and they still send me pictures and videos of them having a great time together! Soon Jack found a forever home of his own too. And then it was back to two...

We had one more foster cat after that. Simon was a 2-year-old cool, calm, collected(maybe a little too collected?) and oh-so-handsome lynx-point siamese and tabby mix.

Simon.

Handsome.

Simon had lived with a dog before but that dog wasn't very nice to him and actually drove him to be an outdoor kitty where he was badly injured. And so his people returned him to the rescue even though they had him long before the dog:( Simon spent several days hiding from Kaya in the closet, but with her tried and tested kitty-mommy nature, he found himself a believer.

Eventually Simon found his own home as well and I get to receive regular texts from his new momma, raving about his brave new look on life. Although Kaya had her puppy pitfalls...this was definitely one of her strengths. We hope to foster some kitties again when we have more space.

Also check out Kaya: The Cat Whisperer & Her Sidekick Norman
And Gina: aka Sweet Baby G, Squeaker, G Kitty...