Gotcha!
You entered our lives on New Year’s Eve 2009
We have been your staff for 16 years. You have demanded from us everyday since you came into our home. We have loved you every day ever since. I still remember when we gotcha…
New Year’s Eve 2009
We went to Cat Adoption Team (CAT) to find a certain someone. We took the ASPCA Meet Your Match Program survey to see which type of cat we could adopt. At the time, the program had a very good success rate in placing prospective pets with human(s) or households. I matched with an orange “sidekick”. My partner matched with a purple “private investigator” or “secret admirer”. We ended up with a bonded pair: one orange “sidekick” and the other a purple “love bug”. They were the only bonded pair that were snuggled up next to one another in their enclosure.
Caroline, the “sidekick”, was a black and white short-haired cat. She was very timid when she first came home. Her sister Sapphire, the “love bug” was a gray medium-long haired cat. She was someone who hid. Both of them were three years old at the time, so no longer kittens. They had been in shelter for about a year.
My partner and I went out to celebrate with some friends for about an hour. We left our new furry friends alone to scope out their new digs. We wanted to give them some time to adjust from being held captive in their double wide cage at the shelter to a one-bedroom townhouse. While we were out, we decided their names didn’t quite fit. With the help of friends, we decided to rename them Smokey (formerly Sapphire) and Bandit (formerly Caroline). We found out later this was the third time they had been renamed. Bandit was originally “Pepe Le Pew” and Smokey was originally “George”.
They have been the two best kiddos a pet parent could want!
Bandit on a few occasions would sneak into my partner’s dresser drawer and pull out one of his socks to play with. She has a super sniffer. She will know when you are going for the treat bag over anything else on the counter. She loves laundry days, especially dirty towels. We have a video of her rolling around in the towels pulled from the bathroom and kitchen waiting to be washed. She also loves to snuggle at any time, even at 2 am!
Smokey is fast! She will buzz past you up the stairs and under a bed in 5 seconds flat when a doorbell rings. She is a talker. When our daughter goes to sleep, my partner and I will do a daily recap. Smokey thinks it’s a family meeting and joins in on the discussion. She will snuggle with me on occasion or whenever my partner is not available. She’s a little ball of fur and can fit into the back of the chair. You know she’s there “hiding” because her fluffy tail is sticking out giving her away.
They still snuggle up next to each other even if there are two beds side-by-side. Sometimes, they are peacefully sleeping next to each other. Other times, one will wake up and attack the other. What an asshole! They are just two old ladies who just happen to be siblings. They love each other, but sometimes they just need to let the other one know they need some space.
We have had you in our lives for 16 years. You are not spoiled! We are letting you live your best lives in your golden years. I don’t know if both of you will see your 20th birthday next October. I hope so. We love you both very much!❤️😻
