November 6, 2004 I went to go pick up 2 kittens to bring home with
me. Shadow had gone to the RB in July of that year, and I wasn't
anxious to add another furry baby into the house right away. He
left a big hole in my heart, along with the other big hole.

In October I received an email from a girl I work with, and she
sent it to about 6 of us cat people. Another co-worker had a
friend who found a litter of 4 kittens under his shed. He had seen
the mother a few times, but when the kittens were estimated at
about 5 weeks old, she stopped coming around. When I saw the
pictures of the 4 stripey babies, my heart was stilled.  LOL  I
emailed the couple that found them and told them I'd take a pair
of the littermates. I had two cats at the time, Shamrock and
Bonnie, and Shamrock was/is a very aggressive, very rough playing
cat, though he was cat-friendly from the day I met him, so I
didn't think adding a pair of kittens would be a problem for him.
BUT, the kittens had to have the right purrsonalities. With the
help of a friend who told me what to look for in the ones who
would come home with me, I brought along a feather toy to see
which of them were the boldest, the most playful. They were
estimated to be 9 weeks old on the day I went. Two stood out;
fearless. Scarlett and Rhett. Their littermates, Ashley and
Michelle were playful, too, but they tended to run away when Rhett
and Scarlett got excited and toppled over them.

Almost from the start, Shamrock adored the kittens, and decided he
was Mr Mom.  

The first vet visit for the kits required me to give them a DOB,
so since they were estimated at 9 wks on Nov 6th, I gave them the
birthday of Sept 1, 2004.

Pictures from their early days to now:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shambondow/detail?.dir=1f98&.dnm=8496.jpg&.src=ph