Two by two

When I adopted Cricket from the shelter, I told Madeleine she would be her kitty. That didn't work out so well, because though Cricket was anxious to make friends, Madeleine was too shy. When I adopted John from a rescue group, I told Cricket he was her kitty, since Madeleine usually ran away instead of playing and I knew Cricket was frustrated. That worked out great, and John and Cricket became pals.

With the stripey girls staying with me from 4-6 months now, they are entrenched parts of our household. We are just getting to the point where the girls are going to be cleared medically to be adopted, but I am not sure I am going to be able to let them go. Everyone is getting along with everyone, and six feels just exactly right. My only complaint is that there is not a lap cat among them.

These are typical scenes that I captured over the weekend. Popular warm spots for daytime napping are the bed, with a goose-down comforter, lots of fleece and faux fur, and a new oil-filled radiator in the bedroom, The Beach in the kitchen, and believe it or not, the bathroom sink and counter. When we remodeled, the new master bath was carved out of the mechanical room. It's separated from the furnace by a thin sheet rock wall, and turned out to be quite toasty while the furnace is running.

Now we see that Sharae is Cricket's kitty:



Gigi is John's kitty, though it's really more the other way around. Gigi has a crush on John, having had her heart broken twice, when each of her brothers left.



And even shy Madeleine has a kitty, Seri, who enjoys hanging out in the sinks. Madeleine has really blossomed in this household of six, something I never imagined would happen.



Is this the end of fostering? Are we going to keep the stripey girls?