Adventures in Kittendom: The Terrible Two by Anna J Stewart

If you are frequent readers of this blog, then you're familiar with my feline family members. A few months after losing our beloved Snickers, we bit the furry bullet and adopted two kitties, Sherlock and Rosie. We've had them six months now and I can honestly say...I may have overestimated my capacity for dealing with kittens, LOL. Don't get me wrong. I love them to death (ha!), but there have been times I've questioned my decision. All that said, they're fully grown now (I hope!) and as full of mischief and mayhem as they were the day we brought them home. Hey! Mischief and Mayhem. That's what I should have named them!


Yeah, yeah, I can hear you all now. Aren't they cute! Yes. They're little angels. Ha! No. They couldn't possibly do anything that would make Mom (aka me) want to pull her hair out. Or have me getting out of bed at 2 a.m. because someone (ahem, Rosie), discovered the forgotten set of wind chimes hanging in my closet. Seriously, how does she find this stuff? Did I mention they're fully grown now? And that they sound like a herd of stampeding wildebeests racing through the house? And that Rosie is most definitely my cat because she's as solid as a stone and heading to the chunky side. Especially when she lands on my chest at 4 a.m. to let me know that there's an empty space in her bowl (the bowl isn't empty, mind you, she's just eaten a hole in the food). 


Now I'll admit, this is when they're at their most previous (cue Gollum wheeze here). Sleeping. Ah...silence. Rosie's meow echoes through the house while Sherlock barely squeaks. One of the perks is they entertain each other. The down side? They entertain each other with everything except the toys we've bought them. All my previous cats always broke the mold. Not these two. They are as one would expect kitties to be, tortitude and all. But moments like this, when they curl up together on the counter in the kitchen while I'm writing, and Rosie's purrs fill the room like a jet engine, there really isn't anything much better than that. Other than, perhaps, a full-night's sleep.


Unless you count having a reading buddy on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Moments like this I can forget all the frustration at wondering what that sound is or what they're getting in to now. Just a purring kitty snuggling on her (and mine) favorite blanket. 


It is rare when Sherlock deigns to copy her sister to settle on my lap, but she did recently. She even stayed long enough for me to get photographic evidence. Ha! Take that anti-social creature. She's such a beautiful, sleek, QUIET cat, but I don't have any doubts she and Rosie are, in those more quiet times, silently plotting to take over the world. As they've already taken over the house, it's the next logical step.

Tell me about your fur babies--whether they purr or bark or...quack? Anyone have a duck? Anyone up for a play date? They'll get their exercise, I promise!  Until next time, Heartwarming fans. Have a great day!



USA Today and national bestselling hybrid author Anna J. Stewart writes sweet to sexy romance for Harlequin's Heartwarming and Romantic Suspense lines. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, funny, and family-centric romances with happily ever afters for her independent heroines. A former RWA Golden Heart nominee and 2018 Daphne DuMaurier finalist, Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural , Sherlock, and Jason Momoa addiction and surrounds herself with friends and family. When she's not writing, you can find her at fan conventions, at her local movie theater, or building her client list for her content editing services. You can read more about Anna and her books at www.authorannastewart.com. Her upcoming Heartwarming, HOLIDAY KISSES, the latest in her Butterfly Harbor series, will be released on April 1st.



Comments

  1. Anna, what a fun post and it brought back memories of when I had kittens, not cats, in the house. They drove me nuts. Then I went to my friend's house last night who has a Rag Dog cat. Coco Chanel. Well, the cat kept her up ALL night, and all she did was complain about the lack of sleep and how grouchy she was. But, in the end, I love kittens and just put three little kittens in my next Heartwarming book. I'm a soft touch, I admit it. Can't help it.

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  2. Anna, those two are adorable. There, I said it. 😉 I once had a kitten that climbed the drapes all the way to the top then hung there with a look of terror because she didn’t how to get down. Right now I’m still missing my last cat Daisy, not quite ready to start another furry adventure. Enjoy Sherlock and Rosie!

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  3. They're so cute! Hubby's allergic to cats, so I only get my cat fix from visits and photos. You remind me of when I was a a teenager, spending the night with my friend who had a 25 pound Siamese. He liked to look out the window and then walk across the bed and everyone sleeping in it several times every night.

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  4. You're babies sound so sweet.lol I know your thinking she just doesn't know. 3 years ago we found four babies, only two days old, after their mom had been killed. We brought the babies in the house and set up a nursery. Yes, 4 kittens and 2 hour feedings. Unfortunately we lost 3, but one lived. My Pippa. She's brought so much joy, humor, and love to our house. We experienced the sleepless nights as a baby, but if she sees a smidgen of her dish she alerts everyone in the house. She doesn't like cat toys, but loves boxes of any kind. Thank you for sharing about your babies.

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  5. OH my goodness! Such a true picture of the life of a cat mom! We moved a couple of years ago and thus far my husband has refused to allow me to get any new fur babies. Our little dogs of 13 years passed away shortly before we moved and he hasn't had the heart to get new ones. But I miss having a cat.

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  6. They look adorable. I just have boys.

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  7. Anna, your cats are so beautiful! But I cracked up through your post...especially regarding the bowl not being empty but there being a hole in the food. Oh, man. I can sooooo identify. I love my three cats (adopted as babies several years ago)...Nimbus, Stormageddon and Grimalkin. However, the damage they've done to my furniture, the stampeding and night etc...I totally get it. Mine are pranksters too. My dogs don't steal and bury things in the yard but my cat Nimbus is a skilled thief. A bit of a Robin Hood, since he steals items the dogs aren't supposed to get and takes them to them. To chew up. Anyway, gotta love 'em. :)

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  8. I love your stories...they so remind me of MY house. I adopted Binx three years ago, introducing him to the aged princess reigning over the premises. My heart was in my throat as tiny Binx would dance in to tease her royal highness then roll expertly away from her flying claws. Binx (also black like one of yours) was a rescue. When I called the center to ask something about his health history, I happened to reach his foster mom. She reassured me, saying he'd spent the first three months of his life with cranky elder felines and knew exactly how close he couldn't get. He hasn't slowed down, though sadly her majesty passed this summer. I call Binx my wild man and he still climbs drapes, races through the house like a herd of elephants (how can one cat make so much noise?), pushes every boundary (hey, pal, you're wwwwaaayyy past that line you aren't supposed to cross), and insists on sitting over my heart instead of on my lap. It's a little hard seeing around his 12 pounds of muscles and mischief to work on the computer. Happy Cattitude!!!

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  9. They certainly have made things interesting, at least! Never a dull moment, it sounds like! I know what you mean though, about questioning your decision. Our dog, Chauncey, is a lot of work. He was abused, we think, before we got him, and he comes with a lot of emotional baggage. But he's also this very quirky, funny dog with strong ideas. He lets me know where he should eat, (and then everyone has to clear the room so he can) and where his bed should be at any given time, and what I should be doing. He's so sensitive that if I start writing an emotional scene, he'll get up and leave the room! It amazes me that a 12 pound dog can fill our house with his personality, but, for better or worse, he does!

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