Meet Tide & Tiger

My family always had cats growing up. Most of them died or "ran away" and didn't last very long, but in 1994, we got two orange tabby kittens- one boy and one girl- from the same litter. They turned out to be the best cats we had ever had!! Seth and Beth- I don't really remember how the names came about. I probably was just trying to think of something that rhymed. I remember how they would always sleep at the foot of my bed, and I loved how they would chase my feet and jump on them as I moved them under the covers. Beth eventually got very sick and died in, I think, 2002. It was very tragic for me because I was very emotionally attached to her, and I was home alone that day and watched her die. Well, my mom is now living on her own, and Seth has been such a good companion for her. He used to be very fiesty and would hunt a lot, but after Beth died, he became much more of an indoor cat. Sadly, about a month ago, he left home and never came back. It's hard because we're not really sure what happened to him, and we didn't really get to say goodbye, but he was 14 years old, so we're pretty sure he's not coming back.

So... now for the happy part! For my mom's birthday, my sis-in-law and I searched everywhere to try to find kittens for my mom. One day, I just happened to hear my niece Savannah say that her neighbor's cat had just had kittens, and I about jumped out of my chair. We have always been very fond of the orange tabby cats, so I asked if there were any of those in the litter. She said there was one, and I immediately said, "I want it!" Later that day, we went to look at the kittens, and there was another one that I fell in love with, too. I showed pictures to my mom, and she said she wanted both of them. We figured out with Seth and Beth that they are much happier when they have company and tend not to stray as much.

Once the kittens were weaned, Jared picked them up and brought them over to our house. Taylor fell in love, too! She hasn't been around cats that much. She sees a lot of dogs around our neighbors' houses and loves them-- from a distance; she's not so fond of touching them, and she definitely doesn't want them jumping on her and licking her (is that genetic??) but when Jared brought these kittens home, she immediately wanted to pet them and hold them and kiss them.

Notice how she always manages to get them backed into a corner.. haha.. and I had to make sure she didn't LOVE them too much by squeezing their necks.

That night, we went over to my mom's house and surprised her with the kittens. They are so sweet and playful, and she said they were potty-trained right away! The first time she showed them the litter box, they immediately used the bathroom in it. Jared is not a cat person, but I think even he enjoyed them a little.

Savannah had already given the kittens nicknames but she graciously said that we could name them whatever we wanted ;-) The next day, my sil Sarah and my nephews Bryson & Rylan went to my mom's to check out the new kitties, and they, too, fell in love. Each of the boys claimed which kitten was theirs. Mom said the black and brown one looked like a tiger with her stripes, so she thought they should name her Tiger. Bryson said, "No, Grandma. Tigers are for Auburn!" So, they tossed around some different ideas. They thought about Tide. Then, I think one was going to be Ala and the other was going to be Bama, but now, they have settled on Tide AND Tiger. Mom said to tell Jared that now she, too, has a House Divided!! haha

It's been a long time since we've had little baby kittens (do you see how I'm talking about them like they're MINE? haha). We just love them to death already, and I'm so grateful that my mom has some more kittens to keep her company. Thank you Dawn and Savannah- and tell your neighbors thank you as well!!!