Love at First Sight
Love at First Sight
Dateline: February 20, 2005 --Today marks the third birthday of Jaspurr and Joey, cat siblings who have been the GuideCats for this site for almost three years. They have grown from fuzzy, adorable kittens to sleek, glossy-coated, clear-eyed cats, each with his own distinct personality and mannerisms.
The story of my search for them and their subsequent adoption is a long one, and is described in The Great Kitten Search, as well as Jaspurr and Joey's Baby Album, so I will not duplicate it here.
Suffice it to say that for several weeks we visited shelters throughout Northern California, looking for our kittens, and finally found them just 20 miles from home. The object of my search was a ginger-striped kitten, as that was the first time in over 40 years that I had not had a marmalade boy in my life. Jaspurr fit the bill perfectly, and I claimed him as mine, the instant I laid eyes on his photo.
Stunning Alpha Cat
That pint-sized ball of fuzz that fit perfectly in the palm of a woman's hand developed into the stunning alpha cat that Jaspurr is today. Jaspurr is the most personable cat I have ever known, and I've known many, many cats over the years. He is everybody's friend, and will unfailingly go to an outstretched hand for scritches, after giving his little "signature" head rub against the nearest piece of furniture.
He is the family "greet-cat," whether it be the UPS man, one of our adult children, or our next-door neighbor at the door. This photo was taken a couple of months ago, right after our Christmas tree was delivered. Jaspurr was pumped with excitement, but sat still long enough for a quick photo op.
Who Wouldn't Love Joey?
We visited our kittens at the adoption contact's home. The woman whose cat birthed them (her 10th litter) would not allow us in her home, but she would bundle them up in a box and walk them across the street. We chose Joey on our first visit, when they were 11 days old. Actually, since Jaspurr was my kitten, Asa picked out Joey (the little gray guy). His choice didn't surprise me because he had always preferred male cats (a "guy thing," I suppose), and Joey was the only other male in the litter of five kittens.
Asa also named Joey, and the name fits him perfectly.
King of the Hill
Joey is long-limbed, supple, and as athletic as a little joey (kangaroo). Our Joey can cross a room and fly to the top of our six-foot cat tower in a fraction of an instant. The next minute, he'll either be hanging upside down like a bat, or gazing down at us from his lofty perch, as if to say, "Who, me? I've been up here all day." Our three youngest cats will play "King of the Hill" on that tower for hours at a time.
Joey Boxed
Have you ever noticed that although cats love new toys, they love the boxes they came in even more? This was the box one of our automatic water dispensers came in, and Joey could hardly wait to try it (the box) on for size. I think he was just short of a year old at the time.
Pour a Cup of Cat
Jaspurr, the big galoot, will also make a fool of himself in his eagerness to snoop inside a box. This one contained the Hamilton Beach coffee brewer Asa bought just before Christmas 2004. Lance and I both cracked up at the image of a "Pour a Cat" this created. Jaspurr clowned and mugged at the camera. He didn't care; he was inside his box, where he wanted to be. (We still haven't thrown out that box - we're all having too much fun with it.)
It's a Scary World Out There!
Although Jaspurr and Joey are indoors-only cats, I have to qualify that with "outside only with strict supervision." Our adult son, Lance, who lives with us, and who is my right arm, dotes on the cats and takes them out almost every day, during nice weather. Since our home backs on the water, and there is no (legal) way to effectively fence it down to the water's edge, Lance uses a somewhat primitive system of a "water fence," i.e., a hose set on spray at either side of the house, which effectively keeps the cats confined to just the rear of our house.
Last year, Lance tore down our old deck, preparatory to either installing a new deck, or landscaping the back area. Joey was very hesitant at going outdoors the first few times. Nowadays, he "bugs" Lance every day to go out, and when he can't, he spends a long time every day gazing out the windows longingly.
Mmmm...Dirt FeelsGOOD!
Jaspurr, on the other hand, loved his outdoor experiences from the very first. He loved wallowing in the dirt that had once been under the deck, and even in "scratching his chin" on the rough wood piling that remained, or lying on the cement piling base. Needless to say, it took a bit of brushing to get the sawdust and dirt out, after this little venture. In another era, he probably would have made a good barn cat, with a very short life expectancy.
These babies were everything I ever could have wished for, when I first laid eyes on them. We knew the brothers had to stay together, from the very first.
Although they sometimes have their little "sibling rivalry" tussles, they still are close brothers, and can often be seen either sleeping curled up together, doing their side-by-side "thug walk," or inspecting the latest new "toy," which in this case was a Cat and Dog Chess Set I brought home to Lance from a recent trip.
Never a day passes that I don't rejoice in the presence of these two cats in my life.
Our whole family feels truly blessed with them, and we hope to share many, many more years with both of them.
I hope you have enjoyed this little "tour" of the past three years with the J-Boys, Jaspurr and Joey, GuideCats for this site.
Dateline: February 20, 2005 --Today marks the third birthday of Jaspurr and Joey, cat siblings who have been the GuideCats for this site for almost three years. They have grown from fuzzy, adorable kittens to sleek, glossy-coated, clear-eyed cats, each with his own distinct personality and mannerisms.
The story of my search for them and their subsequent adoption is a long one, and is described in The Great Kitten Search, as well as Jaspurr and Joey's Baby Album, so I will not duplicate it here.
Suffice it to say that for several weeks we visited shelters throughout Northern California, looking for our kittens, and finally found them just 20 miles from home. The object of my search was a ginger-striped kitten, as that was the first time in over 40 years that I had not had a marmalade boy in my life. Jaspurr fit the bill perfectly, and I claimed him as mine, the instant I laid eyes on his photo.
Stunning Alpha Cat
That pint-sized ball of fuzz that fit perfectly in the palm of a woman's hand developed into the stunning alpha cat that Jaspurr is today. Jaspurr is the most personable cat I have ever known, and I've known many, many cats over the years. He is everybody's friend, and will unfailingly go to an outstretched hand for scritches, after giving his little "signature" head rub against the nearest piece of furniture.
He is the family "greet-cat," whether it be the UPS man, one of our adult children, or our next-door neighbor at the door. This photo was taken a couple of months ago, right after our Christmas tree was delivered. Jaspurr was pumped with excitement, but sat still long enough for a quick photo op.
Who Wouldn't Love Joey?
We visited our kittens at the adoption contact's home. The woman whose cat birthed them (her 10th litter) would not allow us in her home, but she would bundle them up in a box and walk them across the street. We chose Joey on our first visit, when they were 11 days old. Actually, since Jaspurr was my kitten, Asa picked out Joey (the little gray guy). His choice didn't surprise me because he had always preferred male cats (a "guy thing," I suppose), and Joey was the only other male in the litter of five kittens.
Asa also named Joey, and the name fits him perfectly.
King of the Hill
Joey is long-limbed, supple, and as athletic as a little joey (kangaroo). Our Joey can cross a room and fly to the top of our six-foot cat tower in a fraction of an instant. The next minute, he'll either be hanging upside down like a bat, or gazing down at us from his lofty perch, as if to say, "Who, me? I've been up here all day." Our three youngest cats will play "King of the Hill" on that tower for hours at a time.
Joey Boxed
Have you ever noticed that although cats love new toys, they love the boxes they came in even more? This was the box one of our automatic water dispensers came in, and Joey could hardly wait to try it (the box) on for size. I think he was just short of a year old at the time.
Pour a Cup of Cat
Jaspurr, the big galoot, will also make a fool of himself in his eagerness to snoop inside a box. This one contained the Hamilton Beach coffee brewer Asa bought just before Christmas 2004. Lance and I both cracked up at the image of a "Pour a Cat" this created. Jaspurr clowned and mugged at the camera. He didn't care; he was inside his box, where he wanted to be. (We still haven't thrown out that box - we're all having too much fun with it.)
It's a Scary World Out There!
Although Jaspurr and Joey are indoors-only cats, I have to qualify that with "outside only with strict supervision." Our adult son, Lance, who lives with us, and who is my right arm, dotes on the cats and takes them out almost every day, during nice weather. Since our home backs on the water, and there is no (legal) way to effectively fence it down to the water's edge, Lance uses a somewhat primitive system of a "water fence," i.e., a hose set on spray at either side of the house, which effectively keeps the cats confined to just the rear of our house.
Last year, Lance tore down our old deck, preparatory to either installing a new deck, or landscaping the back area. Joey was very hesitant at going outdoors the first few times. Nowadays, he "bugs" Lance every day to go out, and when he can't, he spends a long time every day gazing out the windows longingly.
Mmmm...Dirt FeelsGOOD!
Jaspurr, on the other hand, loved his outdoor experiences from the very first. He loved wallowing in the dirt that had once been under the deck, and even in "scratching his chin" on the rough wood piling that remained, or lying on the cement piling base. Needless to say, it took a bit of brushing to get the sawdust and dirt out, after this little venture. In another era, he probably would have made a good barn cat, with a very short life expectancy.
These babies were everything I ever could have wished for, when I first laid eyes on them. We knew the brothers had to stay together, from the very first.
Although they sometimes have their little "sibling rivalry" tussles, they still are close brothers, and can often be seen either sleeping curled up together, doing their side-by-side "thug walk," or inspecting the latest new "toy," which in this case was a Cat and Dog Chess Set I brought home to Lance from a recent trip.
Never a day passes that I don't rejoice in the presence of these two cats in my life.
Our whole family feels truly blessed with them, and we hope to share many, many more years with both of them.
I hope you have enjoyed this little "tour" of the past three years with the J-Boys, Jaspurr and Joey, GuideCats for this site.
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