I was feeling awfully sentimental today so I thought I would post the
stories of how Simba and Pepper came to own me.

After graduating college two years ago I moved to Kentucky with DH and
decided I needed a pet to spoil.  A former roommate of mina had a cat,
and I absolutely loved the independent feline personality.  So a cat it
was.  A friend of a friend of a coworker had several cats, one having
just had kittens.  DH very much wanted an orange male kitten, and the
available litter had 2 orange boys to choose from.  So DH and I went to
pick up our kitten.  And OMG it was so sad.  The people had animals of
every sort (fish, cats birds and rabbits) no of which looked like they
were taken care of.  None of the cats seemed to be sputtered.  The
orange mama kitten was sitting in a cage, which she had apparently been
confined to after giving birth and was only let out of the last few
days.  Apparently mamma and kits had been confined to keep them safe
from the other cats.  DH and I had not seen any bitties and the place
was so sad we decided to leave.  As we turned to go down the porch
steps a little 10 week old orange tabby boy came running up the steps.
He seemed sacred of people but let me pick him up.  Of course we had to
take him home.

DH and I got in the truck, me holding newly named Simba.  It was then
we noticed he had flees  bad.  And ear mites, and later we learned
he also had worms.  The first stop was Wal-Mart to pick up some flee
shampoo.  DH got in the shower with Simba and started to wash him.  The
flees were so bad, that the water latterly ran off him red from all the
bloody flee bites.  Simba was cleaned up and vetted the next day.

Now Simba was supposed to be =9Cmy cat.  However, he chose DH as HIS
PERSON.  I am slightly less important then trash, in Simba's opinion
=81  but at the time money was tight so we decided not to get another
kitten.

When Simba was 4.5 months old we took him to be neutered.  On the way
home to pick him up from the vets DH and I stopped at pet smart to pick
up some paper based litter for after Simbas surgery.  And of course
we had to go pat the adoption area.  They must have had 12 kittens, and
I had to stop and pet them all.

And then I could see Pepper.  So adorable with his eyeliner, tabby tux
and little round belly.  11 weeks old and oh-so-cute.  He purred and
licked my chin.  DH gave up and went to fill out adoption papers.  I
took Pepper around the store to pick out new toys food dishes and
another litter box.  He sat in my lap for the ride home.  After the
adoption was complete, the lady who assisted us said she was so happy
we had taken him, because he was scheduled to be put down the next
Monday.  Apparently they could not keep kittens past 12 weeks of age.
Pepper had been brought in as an abandoned kitten at 2 weeks old and
his siblings had all been adopted.

I went home with Pepper, and DH picked up Simba from the vet.  The boyz
were introduced and have been causing havoc and giving love for 2
years.  They have given me so much love and joy, I am thankful every
day.

~ Jemfur, Pepper and Simba.