Happy Trails Little Kiki!

Kiki came to me with her litter-mate Jett when they were quite tiny, and giving another foster-mama a lot of trouble latching onto a bottle. She has more experience with dogs, so she called me and asked if I could help. I already had seven kittens, down from ten because we lost three, so I said I’d help her get them latched, but really couldn’t take them in.

Ha. You knew where this was headed, right? I had trouble getting them going too, so I took it as a personal challenge, and told her to leave them with me. I’d most likely give them back in another day, latching easily.

So of course Kiki and her very stubborn sister Jett ended up staying with us. What’s two more, right? They’re so small! Kiki got her name from her kinked tail. I wasn’t about to name her Kinky, but Kiki totally fit her. They got accustomed to the lives of lap cats.

She weaned, and got used to big kitty food, even though she was still quite small.

She became a bit of a shoulder kitten, ever curious!

Intensely curious. She would climb the walls.

And experiment with proper mood lighting.

And she became wise in the ways of helping with groceries.

Kiki, like the rest of our kitties, became accustomed to bedtime cuddling.

And posing for pictures.

She was EVER so sweet and lovey and purry! And had the most adorable squawk!

And in spite of all of that, we had a terrible time finding homes for this batch of kittens, and we ended up enlisting the help of Hopalong Animal Rescue. They were good enough to help us with the spays/neuters, vaccines, and microchipping, and in return, I ended up doing one of the hardest things EVER. I had to bring the kittens to be put in cages/condos at Petsmart where they could find their forever homes.

Sob! Kitties who are used to beds and boobs are hard to confine in cages!

Their actual cages at Petsmart weren’t TOO bad, and I can (and do!) visit them daily, when they can get out and play in the visiting area.

On the Friday after bringing them in, I happened to be visiting when a lovely young mother and her 3 year old were standing in front of the cages with an adoption form in her hand. We got to talking, and she said that her son had been wanting a kitty since he could talk, and they had fallen in love with Kiki. When I went in to visit, they came in with me. Preston, who was totally charming, and told me all about how he was going to get a kitten, scooped Kiki up, and she totally just hung there, purring away.

I told them all about her, and Anna told me about their family, and it all sounded better and better. They have an 11 year old border collie who has been with cats before; Kiki LOVED our dog Suki. She grew up with a cat with a kink in her tail, and her husband grew up with a kitty named Kiki. Most important, Preston, who REALLY wanted a kitten, is the kind of boy who disappeared at grandma’s house, only to be found sitting quietly on the front porch, with a cat in his lap, petting it and talking to it.

Their application was faxed in but there would be no approval since it was nearly the end of the day. There was, however, an adoption event at the Petsmart the following day, and they can do approvals on the spot. I made a point to come on Saturday, because sometimes they rescue places don’t like to adopt to families with small children, and I wanted to be sure these small children (Preston has an older brother, Mason, who is almost 5) got this particular kitten. I think it helped, because I did hear the adoption counselor say “well, especially when the kitten picks the family, and the foster-mom approves, we can make exceptions.” She said this while Kiki was sitting in Mason’s lap, purring. I took a picture of them before they left. Dad was out buying kitten supplies.

I exchanged information with Anna, and they left with Kiki, and my heart was just soaring.

I let a couple of days pass, and sent a quick text, asking how it was going. I got back an email and a photo:

We absolutely love having Kiki! She seems so comfortable here. Bella, our dog, is Kiki’s best friend. I came home from the grocery store and they were cuddled right next to each other on the rug. Everything is going great. She is the most affectionate kitty I have ever met. She was purring up a storm in this picture. We will keep updating you!

Sincerely,
Anna

I melted!

I thought her picture of Preston with Kiki reminded me of David, with Smokey, so I sent her these pictures of the two of them:

She responded back with this happy news:

Kimberly,
Thanks for sending those great pictures of your son! Mason and Preston are having a blast. KiKi sleeps with Mason on his bed and when I check on them they are all cuddled up and KiKi is purring away. I’ll keep sending pictures. . .

Sincerely,
Anna

So Kiki has TWO boys, and a dog. And a very happy forever home.

That’s why I do what I do!