CHAPTER 1
The Storm
In the south the storms can be very dangerous and today is no different. It started late this afternoon. It's a good thing we cleared the wrap around deck furniture earlier. The rain and wind were ferocious, which reminds me I need to whitewash the rails and slates along the decking this next spring. After closing the shutters, we started a nice warm fire in the fireplace. This is when I began to hear an unfamiliar sound coming from the front deck. At first, I did not pay it much mind. Then, after several minutes of hearing the sound, I went to the front door opened it and the screen. There, sitting next to the house so the rain would not get her wet was what looked like an orange-tabby cat, completely soaked and shivering. She looked up at me as if to say "can I come in"?
As I approached her she meowed and came toward me. I picked her up and took her inside. I dried her off the best I could with the towels from the bathroom. Sure enough she was a long haired orange-tabby with the clear light and dark circular bands from her neck all the way down to the tip of her tail.
It didn't look as though she had eaten for several days so I went to the kitchen and warmed up some milk. I picked up a new dry towel and laid it down close to the fireplace and set the milk down right next to her. She seemed a little weak but began licking the milk right away.
When she finished it I bent down to pick her up and check for any identification she may have on and grabbed the dish. It was then I felt her little tummy and realized that she may soon be having kittens, but I wasn't sure.
The next day I made a couple of visits to friends and neighbors to see if anybody knew who owned this cat. Unfortunately, nobody knew about the cat but, many indicated that she was soon to have some kittens.
"Momma Kitty"
After a few days of feeding and cleaning I noticed that the cat's appetite had greatly increased. I also thought that if she was to stay with us it certainly should not be outside. This led me to the pet store several miles into town to buy some food and an indoor kitty litter box. While returning home, I picked up box and a special blanket that could be used for her bed.
At home, I thought that the best place for her bed would be in our bedroom closet where we could keep a good watch on her. Then I realized that if we where to keep her, we should have a name for her. I racked my brain trying to come up with a name that suited her. Unfortunately, it wasn't for several days later that a name finally sounded right.
I decided on Momma-Kitty. This seemed to be quite appropriate seeing that she was going to have some kittens soon.
Birth of the twins
It wasn't long before Mamma Kitty felt right at home. In the morning she would eat her breakfast then want out to do her business. She wouldn't stay out long before she wanted back in the house.
In the evening when we were sitting in our special chairs or sofa Mamma Kitty would climb up into our lap and want some special attention. She liked it when we would pet her and rub and scratch right under her chin. This would trigger a soft and calming purr.
At bedtime she would join us in the bedroom in the special box and blanket that was in the closet. Eventually, this became the regular routine.
About three or four weeks later we noticed that Mamma Kitty was moving a little slower and had gained weight. The routine remained the same except at night we would hear her making different noises, ones that we never had heard before.
Late one night we went to check on her and it looked like she was having some pain lying down. We crushed an aspirin in a spoon and added some warm milk thinking this may help if she was about to have her kittens. This seemed to help after awhile and she settled down and went sleep.
In the middle of the night we were awakened by some more sounds coming from the closet. When we went to check on Mamma Kitty we were surprised to see her licking and cleaning off two very small and cute baby kittens that looked exactly like her except one had long hair like Mama Kitty and the other had just a little shorter hair.
She stayed with the kittens for several hours. She wanted to make sure her kittens were cleaned and had learned how come to her when they needed to be fed.
Soon it was time for her to leave and get some food for herself. As she left the box, her kittens would cling together and curl up next to each other to keep warm. Their eyes would not be open for several days so they communicated with each other by making similar sounds to find each other.
Name the kittens
When Momma Kitty would return, they immediately would go to her to feed and sleep where they felt safe and secure.
As the days passed, they eventually opened their eyes even though they still could not see very far. When it came time for Mamma Kitty to give them a bath, one of the kittens seemed to really enjoy the licking and attention that Mamma Kitty provided. However the other kitten simply did not want anything to do with it. Instead, the kitten tried its best to get away from Mamma Kitty. Mamma Kitty would just lay her paw across the kitten and hold it down until she was done cleaning.
The kitten's eyes grew stronger day by day. This allowed them to roam around the box with a stronger sense of security even though their legs were not as steady as their eye sight.
We knew it would not be long before we would have to come up with some names for the two kittens. After several more weeks we clearly could tell that they had different personalities. One seemed to be rougher and had more energy than the other. We decided to name him Buzzy. While the other female kitten portrayed much less aggressiveness and more of a calming affect, we figured we would name her Fuzzy. As you will see later in the story these names would seem to suit them well.
First time out of the box
Fuzzy and Buzzy wasted no time in playing around and wrestling with each other while Mommy Kitty was away from the box. Buzzy would rear up on his hind legs and charge after Fuzzy. Fuzzy would roll over on her back and begin kicking Buzzy with her hind legs until Buzzy would stop and get off her.
This didn't last long before Buzzy became bored and decided to explore the edges of the box. He had seen Momma Kitty simple jump over the edge of the box with little to no effort. Buzzy thought that there must be something on the other side of the box that Momma Kitty really liked.
Soon Buzzy was making several attempts to scale the wall of the box but to no avail. Buzzy, if Momma Kitty wanted us out of this box don't you think she would show us how to get out? Oh Fuzzy, Momma Kitty just wants us to be independent and learn these things on our own. Buzzy what are you going to do when Momma Kitty comes back to check on us? Fuzzy let's worry about that if and when she returns.
Sure enough, about the time Buzzy had made it half over the top of the box Momma Kitty came back in to check on us. Boy was she upset! She spoke to Buzzy in Kitten talk then grabbed him by the nape of neck and jumped into the box. With that, she began to give us a severe lecture about leaving the box without her. "I told you Buzzy that wasn't a good idea. But no, you would not listen".
"The next time you get a silly notion like that you should think about what Momma Kitty says. "Yeah but, Fuzzy there is something over the wall of the box that Momma Kitty just does not want us to see and I want to find out what that something might be". "OK Buzzy but it's all on you if you get out and Momma Kitty finds out that you did not listen to her".
Where is Buzzy?
After a few minutes of feeding and a long nap, Buzzy was up to his old tricks again. This time he had made it over the box. Fuzzy made a kitten purring sound in hopes of locating Buzzy. He answered back with a similar purring sound that let Fuzzy know that he was not far away.
"Fuzzy, you should see everything that's over here. Some things I don't even know what they are". "Buzzy I can't reach the top of the box, I want to see too." OK. "Buzzy made it back over the box and began to help Fuzzy over the top". `Fuzzy, you're standing on my head. "I'm almost there Buzzy just a little further". One last stretch and over she went. Buzzy was right behind her in a matter of seconds.
Wow! Look at all this stuff. What is it Buzzy? I don't know maybe it belongs to the owners but I think I hear Mamma Kitty coming from that other place past that door. "What do we do Fuzzy"? "Run under here Buzzy". Fuzzy took a few quick steps and hide under the bed behind the bed spread that almost went clear to floor. Buzzy turned and ran towards the bed spread but hit his head on a wooden post that supported the bed. "Ouch! That hurt, that's going to leave a bump". "Under here Buzzy where I'm at".
By then Momma Kitty was in the room and noticed that Fuzzy and Buzzy were not in the box. She knew they could not have gone far. So, she waited for a few minutes to see if she could see them or hear them. She knew they were good kittens and perhaps it was time to let them do a little exploring on their own.
After several minutes both Fuzzy and Buzzy went to the under the edge of the bed and peered carefully under the spread only to see Momma Kitty lying outside the box. "Oh crud Buzzy, what are we going to do now"? I don't know but we to think of something quick I have to go potty". "Buzzy, you always have to go potty".
Within minutes Buzzy let out a soft purr-meow as if to call for Mamma Kitty to come help. Momma Kitty came right over to the bedspread and made a similar sound but not so softly. We both came out from under the bed and followed her over right next to the box. She went to the side of the box where there was another box but not so tall and filled with something that had a good smell to it. Mamma Kitty told them that this was what she called the Burial Grounds and that this is where they are to go do their business every time. She told them to always bury their business so it would stay fresh and not begin to smell.
Mama Kitty teaches kittens
Before Mama Kitty put Fuzzy and Buzzy back into their box for a nap, she thought she might give them a couple of lessons that could come in handy later on in their lives.
She called Fuzzy out first and told her to do what Mama Kitty does. First, Mama Kitty pawed at Fuzzy and told her that when you are playing you do not open your claws. Now stretch out your paws in front of you like this. Mama Kitty bent half way down with the front part of her straight forward and opened her claws and began kneading them in the carpet. "You always use you claws when you are afraid.
Now you try it Fuzzy".
Fuzzy took a soft swing at Mama Kitty with her paw and Mama Kitty returned a soft swing back at Fuzzy. Fuzzy then stretched her front legs out and opened her claws and began kneading the carpet with her claws. OK Buzzy it's your turn. Buzzy did the same and was happy of what he accomplished.
The other lesson she wanted to teach the kittens was to hunch-up and approach your unknown by stepping sideways while moving towards the unknown. For Fuzzy and Buzzy, this was not simple. He hunched up but when he began to move sideways his claws dug into the carpet and stuck. This caused Buzzy to completely roll over with his claws still in the carpet. Fuzzy laughed so hard that Buzzy tried it again heading towards Fuzzy but could not unhook his claws from the carpet and of course this made Fuzzy laugh even more.
Mama Kitty thought this was enough for right now and sent the kittens to box. For the next several weeks whenever Fuzzy and Buzzy got the chance they would practice with their paws and wrestle around with each other. Hunching-up at each other and moving towards each other as if to attack while playing.
Exploring the hallway
They played for several weeks but never really left the bedroom. Today would be different for the two of them. Fuzzy and Buzzy were out on the carpet playing when they noticed there was a door that leads out of the room. Of course Buzzy was the first to approach the door very carefully. Fuzzy thought this would be a good time to sneak up behind Buzzy and scare him to see if he would turn around and play with her.
This startled Buzzy and he flew straight through the open door and out into the hallway.
The hallway did not have carpet; it was a polished hardwood floor. Once Buzzy hit the floor his paws simple didn't work. Buzzy's legs were spread out eagle style he slid on his belly across the floor. "Buzzy you are so funny". "Fuzzy quit laughing and get out here and help me". Just at that time' Buzzy hit the far side of the wall and began trying to run back into the bedroom with not much success. His paws kept running but he wasn't going anywhere. Fuzzy slowly approached Buzzy and began to push him in the direction of the bedroom but as soon she tried to get started she also slipped grabbing Buzzy's tail. Eventually, the two of them made it back into the bedroom. Thanks for your help Fuzzy. I thought we were both goners. Both Fuzzy and Buzzy went straight to their box and did nothing until Mama Kitty returned hoping they were not in trouble.
Bathroom accident
As the weeks went by Fuzzy and Buzzy had grown quite a bit since their birth. They also learned how to navigate the hallway a little better but still were not real comfortable it.
At the other end of the hallway was the kitchen and living room. Now Mama Kitty spent most of her time during the day sleeping on the sofa while, Fuzzy and Buzzy continued to explore other parts of the house. The first thing they explored was the closes room to the bedroom which was the bathroom.
Fuzzy thought this was a really neat room. It had all kinds of places to hide and wait for Buzzy to come around so she could scare him. Fuzzy climbed into the bathtub and thought this was the greatest place to slip and slide without getting hurt. On the one hand Buzzy still was not sure that he wanted anything to do with something that would make him slide. However his curiosity got the best of him. He looked around to see if there was a better way to enter the bathtub that was not so difficult to get in and play with Fuzzy.
Then he spotted a round bowl just high enough for him to get up on and then enter the bathtub. He did not know what it was but seemed safe enough to him. After just a few steps along the top of this bowl his footing slipped and into the water he went backside first. "Fuzzy! Come help me quick I've fallen into a large tank of water and can't get out". Fuzzy looked over the edge of the tub and saw Buzzy trying to get out of the toilet. She couldn't stop laughing at Buzzy now seeing that he had gotten into yet another mess that she would have to save him from.
As Buzzy finally set himself free from the bowl of water he walked away shaking one hind leg in the air and then the other in an attempt to dry them off. "Buzzy what are you doing some kind of dance or something?" "Be quiet Fuzzy and help me back into the bedroom".
Drinking from a bowl
After a long evening of cleaning up both Fuzzy and Buzzy were very tired and settled in for night. In the morning Buzzy noticed Mama Kitty leaving the box. Hey, Fuzzy, let's go see where Mama Kitty is going. She always leaves in the morning for a while then comes back and wakes us up. "OH no Buzzy. I'm not going to sneak around following Momma Kitty; we always get into some kind of trouble." "Don't you want to see where she goes?" "You go Buzzy; I'm too tired from yesterday's adventures. OK suit yourself."
Buzzy wasn't out of the box more than two minutes when Fuzzy thought she should probably go and check on him if only to protect Buzzy from and mischief he might get into while gone. As she looked down the hall she could not see him. She continued down the hall to where the kitchen was and found Buzzy looking at a bowl on the floor filled with some milk.
