Welcome Home, Baby Boy Kittens

Five days ago, we welcomed two little bundles of furry chaos to our household.  If you're keeping track, that brings us to an even four; two girls, two boys.

We wanted to get another boy cat after having to put Apollo down in January.  I've always read males tend to be more loving and good-natured than females.  It made sense to me because my girls have always been slightly more standoffish.  Apollo would happily snuggle and enjoyed being carried around. The girls don't like to be picked up and accept love on their terms.  They are lovely cats, but they have boundaries.  Apollo had no boundaries. 

My husband and I started talking about getting another cat.  We were concerned about how the girls would react and decided we should get two kittens.  If they were shunned by the girls, the kittens would at least have each other. 

This has turned out to be a wise decision.  As expected, the girls are not entirely pleased with the new living arrangements.  Molly is tolerating it better than Emma, but the boys are sweet and I'm confident the noses currently bent out of shape will straighten over the next couple of weeks.  

On the right is Jack, named after Jack Bauer on 24. He is about 3 months old with fairly common tabby coloring, but more gray than brown. On the left is Ralphie, named after the little boy in The Christmas Story. About 2 months old, Ralphie has beautiful black spots on his sides that make me think of a wild cat.

Adopted from Pet Helpers, in Charleston County.    

Cats Pose Threat to Birds...No Big Surprise

I've written about outdoor cats before on my blog for Westallisnow.com. We are all familiar with the reality that cats chase birds. We all watched Sylvester chase Tweety Bird or Tom chase Jerry. The cat/bird predator/prey is nothing unusual. And as it turns out, our cats are far more successful than Sylvester could ever hope to be. The American Bird Conservancy estimates cats kill 500 million to a billion birds every year.

This is a staggering number of deaths simply because some cat owners are convinced cats can't be kept locked up indoors. Certainly house cats aren't the only culprits, as most cities have some kind of feral cat population, but Fluffy certainly isn't helping the situation.

Even if you aren't that concerned about the birds, be concerned about your cat. Outdoor cats don't live as long as cats kept strictly indoors. Cats can be hit by cars, attacked by wild animals or other cats, poisoned, stolen, or contract any number of diseases. You cat cat live a full, happy life without ever leaving the comfort of his living room window perch.

A lot of cat owners who claim to be cat lovers put their cats outside because they feel their cats are somehow missing out and feeling depressed by being cooped up indoors. These folks knowingly set their cats up for injury or death every time they open the front door. If you really loved your cat, you would keep him inside. You do what you can to keep your kids safe from harm, if you are a true cat lover, why would you not do the same for the feline members of your family?