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Early Morning Open Thread: Sisters

by Anne Laurie

Good news from Soonergrunt:

dont feel good at all. relly hurt but have good drug on cool iv button thing. doc said op went verry well and be happy. Also my phone im typing this on sucks. Will hae more 2morow when less stoned.

(The man is made of stern stuff. Worst I’ve ever had done to me surgically, knock wood, was an uncomplicated old-fashioned gallbladder removal, and I still don’t remember anything from the ensuing 48 hours or so.)

***********


From commentor Linda M:

The rescue of these two little girls was a happy accident. It had been about 9 months since we lost our previous cat, and I was just not ready to get into another relationship. My husband, who had just been rescued himself by a wonderful team: an oncologist, radiologist, and thoracic surgeon, was feeling spiffy and optimistic after surviving lung surgery. He was ready to take the plunge and go to the shelter to find one adorable fuzz ball to cuddle. One day I was informed that he was going over to the shelter, with or without me. Being the control freak I am, I couldn’t let him go alone, so I said I would go only to look.

There were cages and cages of kittens in the lobby. Due to the cuteness factor, I think most kittens get rescued first. I love any size cat: kitten, adolescent, mature, elderly, but we have always made a point to adopt at least an adolescent. So, we went straight to the room where the “older” kittehs are kept. We worked out a plan that we would only stand in front of the cage and let the kitty come to us; if the kitty wouldn’t come to the front of the cage, it was a sign that there was no chemistry between the kitty and the human. As we stepped up to a cage where these two beauties lounged, they both came forward and rubbed against the door of the cage and looked straight at both of us. The tag on the cage noted that they were littermates and they had been in the shelter for six months. Awwww. These little girls were only 13 months old, and they had been at this shelter for six months—breaks my heart. And, oh, by the way, the cage tag identified them and Paris and Nikki.

I opened the cage door and took them into the private room where we could all sit together and let our smells mingle. These girls crawled all over us, and we couldn’t keep our hands off of them. We decided that they had to go with us—immediately. There was no going home to think about it, no vacillating over should we get just one. This was it; we were in love! We filled out all the papers and got them out of there as fast as we could. When we got home and let them out of their carriers, they just trotted around as though they had always lived in our house—never once did they go hide or disappear behind the furnace—they were home and they knew it! Oh, and, by the way, name changes were in order. They are now Emily and Sissy. Two of the sweetest girls in the world!

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September 9, 2010 3:01 am Posted in: Cat Blogging, Open Thread, Pet Rescue  47 Comments

47 Responses

  1. something fabulous - September 9, 2010 | 3:19 am · Link

    YAY, soonergrunt! Wonder if he will read his message in a week or so and just laugh—can’t imagine he’ll remember it at all either!

    And yay, tabbies! I feel that they are underappreciated as the “base-model,” when there are so many fancier looking kinds at a crowded rescue. Good for you, Linda M!

  2. Mnemosyne - September 9, 2010 | 3:34 am · Link

    Sometimes we wonder how we ended up with a third cat when we really did only want two.

    And then we look at this picture and go, “Oh, yeah, now we remember.”

    (Charlotte’s sister Olive is the calico/tabby in the back—she went to a nice home where she can be Queen of All She Surveys.)

  3. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 3:40 am · Link

    So glad to hear from soonergrunt! I actually woke up just a few minutes ago from a dream in which he somehow participated, and came directly here to see if there was any news. Good for him. (And can I just say, nissives composed under the influence of strong meds are pretty amusing.)

    Those two kittehs are gorgeous! Love tabbies anyhow, and these girls are beauties. Great story, great picture.

  4. Yutsano - September 9, 2010 | 3:41 am · Link

    KITTEH!

    And soonergrunt stoned on morphine. That makes my exhaustion and general grumpiness a bit more bearable. I’m now going to go curl up with a border collie and experience a semi-comatose state.

  5. El Cid - September 9, 2010 | 4:05 am · Link

    Important news of the day.

    Construction Complete On 9/11 Truther Memorial

    September 7, 2010 | ISSUE 46•36 | The Onion

    UNDISCLOSED—On a remote patch of Kansas prairie believed to fall outside the range of U.N. spy satellites, construction is finally complete on the long- awaited 9/11 Truther Memorial, sources confirmed Wednesday.

    Funded by donations from dozens of websites and fringe publishers, and dedicated to “the fearless amateur research and bold guesswork” of those seeking to “expose the secret machinations of the world’s true puppet masters,” the 7,000-square-foot monument has already attracted hundreds of visitors.

    “It was a long time coming, but at last it’s here,” said Don Gustaf, a blogger who drove from Cincinnati to see the site. “This will stand forever in tribute to those who lost their lives the day clandestine CIA operatives used advanced wireless technology to electronically hijack a pair of 767s and remotely fly them into the World Trade Center.”...

    ...”A dozen brilliant lights—one for each of the 12 charges used to bring down the World Trade Center—boldly shine their truth upon our ignorant world,” read a review of the memorial on the website IlluminatiFAQs.com. “Perhaps most profound is the eternal flame, placed directly beneath a beam of reinforced steel to remind us there’s no way burning jet fuel can melt steel, as the main stream media would have us believe.”

    Sometimes they’re just fucking beyond brilliant.

  6. El Cid - September 9, 2010 | 4:21 am · Link

    Well, at least these guys didn’t do anything radical or violent like building a muslimarian community center.

    Twelve American soldiers face charges over a secret “kill team” that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies.

    Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians.

    The soldier that exposed these monsters was just out of basic training. Suffered beatings from them just because he complained about them smoking hash in his barracks shipping container. Guts.

  7. asiangrrlMN - September 9, 2010 | 4:28 am · Link

    Still thinking about soonergrunt and wishing him a speedy recovery. Awwww, kittehs! They are just as sweet as can be.

    @Yutsano: Hi, hon. Night, hon. For you when you wake up. Otters at play.

  8. arguingwithsignposts - September 9, 2010 | 4:32 am · Link

    Fuck, SG is the man. He’s kickin’ ass and taking names at this very moment. Fucker posted a comment from post-op! Think about that for a minute.

    Srsly, get well, SG. BJers are with you 100 percent.

  9. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 4:35 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: O.M.G. that little Fenway is cute! They must have rubbed otternip all over the walrus.

    What a name, Fenway. Heh.

  10. El Cid - September 9, 2010 | 4:37 am · Link

    Pffft. Weakling. SG should have posted during surgery. That would have been gutsy.

  11. arguingwithsignposts - September 9, 2010 | 4:39 am · Link

    @El Cid:
    win.

  12. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 4:40 am · Link

    Hey, arguingwithsignposts, hope you’re doing well.

    Um, I don’t like to be pushy, but I can’t help noticing it’s been a while since you’ve posted any photos of The Lady Smudge Her Own Self. Or maybe I’ve just missed them. They’re all in threads I skipped. Yeah, that must be it.

  13. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 4:42 am · Link

    @El Cid: Ha!

  14. arguingwithsignposts - September 9, 2010 | 4:46 am · Link

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    Since I’m looking at you Glenn Beck!? new photos this weekend, promise. {taskmaster!}

  15. Arclite - September 9, 2010 | 4:47 am · Link

    For John Cole and you gamers out there, here comes a story from West VA.

    Gamer suspended over name of W.Va. town: Fort Gay

    Key quote: “I’m not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating,” said Moore, who missed a key Search and Destroy competition because of last week’s brief suspension. His team lost.

    Think this will be an issue in 20 years? I hope not…

    Also, too: Get well Soonergrunt

  16. El Cid - September 9, 2010 | 4:56 am · Link

    @Arclite: Different, but interesting. From East Bibb County GA:

    Neighbors on an East Bibb County have different answers for the question ‘What’s in a name?’ That’s because they live on a street with a name you might call sinful.

    “The street name is Lustful Court,” said Yoshonda Patterson, who’s renting a home on the street. A partly hidden sign bears the name that neighbors says sparks laughter and confusion when they give their address.

    “They laugh; they chuckle a little bit like ‘Lustful Court? I can’t believe you actually live on a place called Lustful Court!’” said Michelle Washington…

    ..Bibb County Commissioner Lonzy Edwards brought the issue up to the board Tuesday after receiving complaints.

    “I just believe that that does not reflect well on our community or the people who live in that area,” he said.

  17. Starfish - September 9, 2010 | 4:59 am · Link

    @El Cid: Wow. That is more depressing than the very depressing things John already posted this evening.

  18. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 5:12 am · Link

    @aws: Thanks! Looking forward to more on the weekend.

  19. SiubhanDuinne - September 9, 2010 | 5:23 am · Link

    Before I go back to sleep for another hour or so, may I just go on record to say that I hate Mara Liasson more with every day that passes, and if she were here right now I would grab her hair, pull her head back, and slap her face about eleventy times.

  20. Arclite - September 9, 2010 | 5:25 am · Link

    @El Cid: Heh. Progress is slow. 100 years ago you’d have been thrown in county lockup for going to the beach in a bikini. Now there are court cases where women are arguing for the right to go bare-chested in public.

  21. Keith G - September 9, 2010 | 6:00 am · Link

    Early AM (Texas) news check brought me here to see if SG was ok. Thanks Anne. Its nice to start the day with good news….and kittehs!!

  22. something fabulous - September 9, 2010 | 6:53 am · Link

    All right, fellow insomniacs, a little shout-out please! Since being first (first!) to this thread, have been wrasslin’ with an expense report I should have finished MONTHS ago—and I’m still not quite done! But even I am tired now, so good night, and thanks for the good news, AL!

  23. WereBear (itouch) - September 9, 2010 | 7:14 am · Link

    What lovely baby girls!

    I too love tabbies. Getting two at once usually means they will be friends as they grow up, too.

    Yay soonergrunt.

  24. PurpleGirl - September 9, 2010 | 7:30 am · Link

    I was thinking about soonergrunt last night; good to hear from him and that it’s good news.

    Kitten pictures are always nice and these kittehs are pretty.

  25. Jane2 - September 9, 2010 | 7:50 am · Link

    The kitties are gorgeous and the stoned message is great news!

  26. WaterGirl - September 9, 2010 | 8:15 am · Link

    YAY! Soonergrunt, my dad would have said you are one tough cookie! I knew you would be fine but am so happy to hear it. I am so glad this surgery is over. Happy day!

  27. WaterGirl - September 9, 2010 | 8:20 am · Link

    Linda M, these girls look just like my girl, who just turned one last week. I will try to post a photo later. What a great way to start the day – good news from sooner followed by cute kitty photos and a sweet rescue story.

    I hope you front pagers post the good news from soonergrunt at the top of every post today.

  28. Lee - September 9, 2010 | 8:34 am · Link

    We got two litter-mates as pets (not a rescue story) about 3 years ago.

    They are a blast to have around the house. They will get into anything. I think the dynamic of two litter-mates is significantly different than even two cats that were brought together as kittens.

  29. valdivia - September 9, 2010 | 8:38 am · Link

    yay for soonergrunt. get well soon.

  30. geg6 - September 9, 2010 | 8:58 am · Link

    Cute kitties!

    And can I just express my admiration for Soonergrunt? Dayum, but the dude can post while in a post-op haze? It would probably take a week for me to be coherent enough to manage it. Sooner, you are a badass.

  31. Nicole - September 9, 2010 | 9:14 am · Link

    SG, so glad doctor said it went well and be happy.

  32. Carnacki - September 9, 2010 | 9:32 am · Link

    YAY!

  33. Dave Ruddell - September 9, 2010 | 9:35 am · Link

    I said I would go only to look

    Yeah, that’s what they all say. Then they come home with kittehs. This is not a bad thing.

    Also, since I know there are some ME2 fans here, Lair of the Shadow Broker is worth the money.

  34. TaMara (BHF) - September 9, 2010 | 9:36 am · Link

    I can see this whole thread is full of win and I will read it as soon as I’m at work (better when on the clock!). But for now, let me say, ‘Yay soonergrunt!” Stoned or not, great to hear from him.

    And what a great rescue story. Linda, you’re terrific, but your husband just warmed my heart. I’m so glad he made it through all that and then demanded his kittehs!

  35. phoebes-in-santa fe - September 9, 2010 | 10:01 am · Link

    Tabbies are the best and those two in particular are adorable. So glad you rescued littermates.

    What kind of surgery did SG have? Can someone let me know. Thanks.

  36. SIA - September 9, 2010 | 10:23 am · Link

    SoonerGrunt thank you for the update. If doc says be happy I’m happy too. Behave and do what they tell ya.

    Everytime i read one of these pet stories I get weepy. And throw in SoonerGrunt and boohoohooo. Happy tears.

    Linda M, lovely sweet girls you have.

  37. Dog is My Copilot - September 9, 2010 | 10:24 am · Link

    I love all the animal rescue stories posted here. A nice counter-balance to the depressing daily news.

  38. ruemara - September 9, 2010 | 10:48 am · Link

    Hooray for Sooer! Way to man up and type. About all I could do after surgery was…nap.

    And KITTIES! NOM on the paws. This is a great story and reminds me of my Takkun, who walked on myself and the mate and fell asleep on our shoulders during his SPCA outing. Pushy doll. Nothing like cats who know what they want.

  39. REN - September 9, 2010 | 11:03 am · Link

    I love these stories. It’s half the reason I come here, as politics has gone beyond ridiculous to insane. To preserve my own sanity I ignore the stupid and will simply press the D in the booth for now.

  40. tesslibrarian - September 9, 2010 | 12:07 pm · Link

    SG—doctors never say “be happy,” so that is fantastic! Plus, pretty cogent note for post-surgery. Did you only send 1? I sent 4 xmas cards to my accountant when I wrote them after getting my wisdom teeth out (thanks, demerol).

    This is a wonderful rescue story, and such beautiful girls! When we adopt again, I do want an older cat, preferably siblings/buddies to keep each other company. Goodness knows kittens are sweet and funny, but cats are just divine creatures. And after discovering how timid and quiet Jack is when we leave him at the vet, I’m actually going to go for the ones that just seem sad to be in a cage. Jack is such a surprise gift, such a loving, sweet, silly creature that I’m willing to take that gamble.

    I hoped to be ready for another this fall, but I’m not, and I’m making peace with that. Jack may never be, but we’ll deal with that as necessary. For now, he’s inside much more often, and sleeps on the bed between us, his head and arm stretched over my leg or ankles. I’m looking forward to cooler weather, so he’ll prefer to sit in my lap each evening, rather than between us on the sofa. It’s happy.

  41. Alwhite - September 9, 2010 | 12:57 pm · Link

    SOONER - enjoy that button while you have it! When they pinned my pelvis back into one piece the catheter came out so pushing the button only dumped drugs on the sheets. It took me two hours to convince the nurse there really was something wrong & to check it!

    But eventually they will take it away, I hope that you get good stuff then – sometimes that can be dicier times because the replacements are not as good as the real thing.

    Get well soon.

  42. binz - September 9, 2010 | 1:37 pm · Link

    The rescue of these two little girls was a happy accident.

    Uh, no, those are kittens not little girls.

    I’m glad you rescued them but I really hate it when pet owners constantly talk about their pets as if they were people. I find it offensive.

    Edit: Even the word ‘rescue’ seems to me a use of a word historically used for describing saving people.

  43. binz - September 9, 2010 | 1:43 pm · Link

    And hooray for soonergrunt! Keep goin’ dude.

  44. Keith G - September 9, 2010 | 2:06 pm · Link

    @binz: Whoa! You are kidding, right? You funny!!

    If not, you must hate Ol Yeller, My Friend Flicka, the Yearling, Lassie, National Velvet, the Bible.

    Okay, that last one anthropomorphized a nonexistent sky critter, but you get my point.

  45. Paul in KY - September 9, 2010 | 2:18 pm · Link

    Thank you for adopting the beautiful kittehs. Also happy soonergrunt is safe & stoned :-)

  46. Platonicspoof - September 9, 2010 | 2:45 pm · Link

    @phoebes-in-santa fe:
    From last month, comment 58.

    From last Monday.

  47. randiego - September 9, 2010 | 5:31 pm · Link

    Uh, no, those are kittens not little girls. I’m glad you rescued them but I really hate it when pet owners constantly talk about their pets as if they were people. I find it offensive. Edit: Even the word ‘rescue’ seems to me a use of a word historically used for describing saving people.

    oh for fucks sake. somebody please tell me this is a spoof. If it’s a spoof, it’s a stupid spoof.


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