A Tale of Two Cats

 Haleigh has been wanting to get a cat for a very long time. A cat has been on her birthday and Christmas lists for years. She's researched different types of cats, how to take care of them, and how much they cost. And she wrote a letter telling us that she would take care of them. 

So we decided to get a cat. It's worth mentioning that we started this process of looking for the right cat while Shelby was still alive. We wanted a male cat that was litter-box trained, good with dogs and kids, and was less than a year old. 

After perusing Petfinder for awhile, we ended up visiting the Humane Society a week and a half ago. We found a cute little guy that was part of a bonded pair (meaning we would need to take both of them.) We couldn't move forward with the adoption that day because Annaliese wasn't with us, but we put them on hold.

That night we talked about it and decided that two cats would be fine and it would be fun to get these two. When the smoke alarm went off in the middle of the night, Lydia came up with the name Smokey for the boy cat. 

Sunday afternoon we all headed back to the shelter and an hour later, we were the proud owners of two new cats, Amarah and Smokey.

Amarah and Smokey

After spending some time in the bathroom, we brought them downstairs. Smokey was cute, wandered around and has been a lot of fun.

Amarah made a mad dash for the fireplace and snuck back behind the chimney and the frame of the house. By Wednesday, we decided that she was stuck back there. In the wee early hours of Thursday, Kyle cut a whole in the siding of the chimney, hoping to reach in and grab her out. 

She had other plans and climbed twenty feet up! The result: we had to call the fire department to help us out!

There she is, way up there!!

Where she was supposed to be...

The firefighters ended up going into the attic and cut a whole around the chimney. However she hid from them and they couldn't get her out!

Our next plan was to hang some sheets down through the opening they created, hoping she would climb out. But nope. She remained perched on a little ledge.

By Friday morning, she remained there. We tried using a stick to push her off the ledge, hoping she would grab the sheet and climb up. Didn't work.

As a last resort, we created a lasso/noose and looped it around her neck and pulled her up. She didn't struggle much and she didn't help wiggle her body out of the opening at all.

She drank a lot of water, ate some food and acted as though nothing strange had happened. Our plan was to keep her and Smokey together in the bathroom, but one of our lovely daughters forgot to shut the bathroom door. They snuck out and into Lydia's room.

But then we couldn't find her. For hours. And hours. And then Annaliese told me she was sure Amarah was hiding in Lydia's bed. Yep, there she was!

Can you find her, hiding in the box spring?!?

And now, here we are, several days later and everyone is doing great! Smokey likes to play with Amarah...she just hisses at him and walks away. They are becoming more snuggly as time goes on, and I often find them both on Lydia's bed. 

They are much more entertaining than I realized they would be, and I must admit, they are pretty fun to have around!

A Tribute to Shelby

 Back in March of 2017, we brought home the cutest little mutt named Lady. We decided the name didn't fit, and decided to call the newest member of our family Shelby. She was a great addition, and quickly adapted to our house. She was great with the kids and loved being a part of everything we did. 

Shelby loved camping and hiking, chasing squirrels, playing in the snow and being in the middle of whatever was going on. She loved a good tummy rub and curling up on the couch. In no particular order, here are a few pictures from the past 8 years!

She really didn't like her Christmas sweater!

Hiking buddy!

In July 2024, Shelby was diagnosed with Addison's Disease. Since then, we were giving her prednisone every day plus a shot once a month. She seemed like she was doing great, until last week. After about a day of not feeling well, she woke us up in the middle of the night, howling and having what looked like to be a seizure. It only lasted about 10-15 minutes and then it was over. Kyle wrapped her up in some old t-shirts and buried her in the backyard. 

She was a great dog and we will all miss her! We put together this board as a way to remember her.