That über-cute pile of kittens, taken last weekend, is rapidly reaching the point where they can all be weened and go out into the world. They’ve all discovered the joys of canned cat food, which mother Sunshine is most appreciative of. Three females, all in the front, are Caramel, Nougat, and Maggie (front to back). And they’re all pretty much spoken for by three persons. The two males in the back, Greebo Ogg (front) and Ponder Stibbons (back) are spoken for by me. Greebo’s short name will be Bo, while Ponder will be Ponder. Bo and Ponder. Ponder and Bo. It has a certain ring to it…

I’ve made the decision to fill the gaping hole left by Lucy’s death with a pair of Ginger males. The loss of Lucy is still painful, but time moves on, and there are other cats in this world that need Persons to care for them (and that they can care for back).

I chose to adopt both because my oldest daughter and her boyfriend have both noted how the males are very close to each other. I don’t have the heart to break up the pair by picking just one. So I picked both. This means the cat population at my house will double to four, two females (Ellipse and Lulu Belle) and two males. How they’ll all interact will be interesting to observe. But the first thing that’ll happen to the new guys is they get neutered here in Orlando. I will not have males spraying around the house marking their territory. Right now I’m planning on picking them both up the end of December, with a trip to the vets the first week of January to get them fixed.

Sunshine their mom has been the perfect mother, with the infinite kindness and patience of a saint. Regardless I’m sure she’ll be glad when four of the five are gone; Caramel (the one chomping her ear) will stay, and both are going to get fixed. Mom produces beautiful kittens, but this is mom’s last litter.

I named my two males after characters from Discworld, in honor of Sir Terry Pratchett. Long before there was Potter, we had Rincewind and the far more entertaining Discworld to explore. And before you ask, yes, I can tell them apart. In color or black and white. Now I just have to get through two more trips before the end of 2015 and another four weeks and get the house prepared for their arrival…