This story is continued from my April issue, where Christine Fotheringham introduced readers to Sasha and her delightful brood of kittens and recounted stories of their amazing first few weeks.

Sasha and Her Babies

The Story Continues . . .

When the kittens were about four weeks old and getting about, it seemed like a good time to give them names, or find out if they already had them. So Rae introduced herself to them, but they were quite nonplussed. Apparently, they were looking at each other, saying "What?" So Rae asked for their guides and masters to assist. They obliged readily and advised us that these names would help bring out their individual destinies.

Edward had been named by Ernie (my dear cat on the Other Side) when he was helping to teach this little one to eat. His comment was that there was a sense of regalness in this kitten. So no nicknames.

The chocolate one should have a name from the wild. She became Legadema, which means "light from the sky" and is the name of the leopard cub in a National Geographic special, "Eye of the Leopard." 

The Guides said to us that the dark brown kitten should have a very feminine name that encourages interaction. Of course - Miss Penelope Brown. 

The black one, with one white toe, should have a spiritual name. Her destiny is to be helpful and healing. I chose Hamsa as the Hamsa Hand is an ancient symbol of protection.

Everything went swimmingly, until one day a few weeks later, Hamsa was stretched out on her back on my lap and I noticed that she had a couple of bumps in a place where girl kitties don't usually have bumps. Immediately I ran around the house grabbing and flipping kittens and discovered that no one else had bumps! So Hamsa, the girl, became Hamsa, the boy, and Edward became Edwina. I'm sure the universe had a few laughs at Ernie's joke!

The litter box was a puzzle. They didn't know why they had to walk so far, when it was so easy to just go where they were. Fortunately, Rae suggested a covered box to entice them.  I found a do-it-yourself litter box tent that was much larger than their box. This was a new place to play, which they loved, and the box was so close it was easy to go!  Naturally, it was a group activity. Every time one of them went, there were three faces peering over the edge, supervising - and sometimes jumping in for a closer inspection!

Weaning had its own set of challenges. Eventually, they did start eating some food, but they were, and are, very finicky.  I wanted to make sure they were really healthy so I purchased only the finest canned food and included extra supplements. The group response was "Bleah! It smells funny--we want taste, smell, crunch, tearing into flesh. Keep it simple. No supplements." Then they asked for mice! Needless to say, they've had to settle for chicken.

At around 10 weeks, Rae and I told them it was time for them to have their forever home and that people would be coming to visit them. Their response was, "We're a pod. We have our routine and we're just fine right here. These people are intruders.They can come and visit and then go!" End of discussion. 

Despite this, one of my friends fell in love with Edwina and when Rae talked to Edwina, she said "Oh yes, that's my new mom!"  She said she was ready to move and we could come and visit.  However, she left so much sadness behind her, my efforts to find new homes lost a lot of impetus.

Now, they're eight months old and on those days when I've put back all the area rugs after the morning speed and agility trials, closed all the cabinets after their daily inspection, dug a couple of squirming bodies out of the refrigerator, wiped the nose and paw prints from my PC screen, had my latest attempt at tasty home cooking sneered at and recovered from having four paws, claws extended for better traction, land on my back when I bend over, my enthusiasm for finding "forever" homes returned.

Immediately, I was living with the poster children for the Well-Behaved Irresistible Cat Society!  I received gentle pats on my knee and a sweet plea to be picked up, furry bodies managed to creep up into my arms and gaze adoringly into my eyes, almost any food I put down was eaten, and of course my heart melted. This lasted a few days, but then I swear, there was a group consensus of "I think we dodged that one, guys!  Now, let the games begin again!" And now I'm surrendering to the fact that they have found their forever home.