It was the first Christmas in our new home, circa 2010. The house we chose was modest, but move-in-ready AND came with an entire additional lot. Our plans for a large deck, a fenced-in yard, and potentially a swimming pool (someday!) were well in the works!
But first...we needed a kitten.
We had tried to get permission from our previous landowner, but their response was a hard "no" or "waive the $350 guaranteed-back deposit"-j-just to have a kitten! And that was a sum we very much needed at the time. So, at that apartment at least, we just had to forget about it and hope we would have a pet someday.
But now...now we were homeowners, and a kitten was the one thing I wanted for Christmas.
In late November or early December, we headed to our local animal shelter to begin the process. We filled out the paperwork and browsed the kittens.
The calico was easy to choose.
She was only four or five weeks old, had been taken from her mother too early, was saturated with fleas, had an eye infection, and was just all-around sickly.
Absolutely perfect.
For the first few days, we syringe-fed her, gave her frequent (extremely cautious!) flea baths (she was under two pounds, so we couldn't medicate her), and tried to get her up-to-health. It went okay for a couple days, but by the third or fourth day we knew we needed some help.
We contacted the shelter, and, as we were only in the "fostering" process at this point, the owner at the time offered a switch. She told us we could switch kittens if we wanted since the little girl was so sick, or, she said, she'd be happy to nurse our little girl back to health if we were sure she was the one we wanted.
Of course she was the one we wanted.
So, for those first few weeks in December, the shelter's owner cared for her, getting her back to health before Christmas.
She got to "come home" a few weeks later, and, just as we had hoped, our little kitten, now named Rilo (after the band Rilo Kiley, should you want to check them out), was a member of our household. Her adoption was finalized sometime before the first of the year, and we finally had our kitten!
Now, at 11 years old and on a slight diet because we love her so much, Rilo is still a steadfast member of our household. Her personality and sass leave us in constant amusement.
Did you look at me the wrong way? A growl from six feet away. It's too cold in this house. She'll just sit there by the register and grumpily stare until you turn the heat up. Are you peacefully asleep at 3:00AM? She'll poke your face until you wake up and pet her. Yes, I speak fluent English and I am plotting world domination, but I won't talk to you.
Overall, I couldn't imagine a day without this girl. She truly is an entertaining part of our home!
...Just don't get on her "bad side".
