In my experience it seems like most people hate cats, particularly boys. Knowing there was a huge chance the person I wanted to marry wasn't going to be a cat person, I had decided it wasn't going to be a big deal. So when I found out Jeff was a cat person too, I hardly couldn't believe it. There was plenty other things we didn't see eye to eye on, but it was like someone had thrown us a bone (or some catnip) and let us both love kitties together :)
Unfortunately, the place we lived for the past three years didn't allow pets, and we both totally understood why. Personally, if I were a landlord I wouldn't allow people to have pets either. But we no longer live in Provo, and Jeff's mom mentioned if we wanted to get a kitty she wouldn't mind at all - almost like she was encouraging us to get one.
So Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Gainesville to the Alachua County Animal Services to get ourselves a kitty. Most pounds are depressing places and I was anxious I might cry the whole time, but when we walked in we were both super impressed with how the cats were kept. Most had lots of playing space with toys and other kitties to play with. We were encouraged to take the cats out and play with them, too. While we played with all the kitties, a certain orange tabby kept coming up to us wanting our attention. It didn't take too long before we knew he was the one. (Another plug for adopting an animal from a shelter - our kitty was already neutered and had been given all his shots. Plus our little kitty had a respiratory infection and they got him healthy before they knew he was going to be adopted.) We left the pound with Russell in a little box and headed to the pet store to buy food, litter, and of course, toys. We ended up buying the "litter kwitter" so hopefully Russell is using the toilet in a few weeks. I'll have to let you know if it was a scam or not ;)
Jeff picked out the name because Russell's eyes look like fall leaves that would 'rustle' in the wind. And easier explanation is he's orange, like rust, haha. But he is a sweetheart, loves to be pet and snuggled and will often rub his little nose under your chin. He also follows us around and tries to walk between your legs. Needless to say I'm in love and am so glad Russell is part of our little family now. Hopefully he doens't get jealous when the baby comes! (and don't worry, I'm not touching the kitty litter and am well aware of the risk it poses for pregnant ladies)
I'll have to post later about some of Jeff's old cats. There are some pretty good stories about Growler, Jeff's three legged cat :) Hopefully Russell can keep all his legs.
