My new area friend and her significant other have barn cats who in turn had kittens about 8 weeks ago.
Last night, she was kind enough to take me to the farm 1) to see if we could find the kittens (the mom's been moving them around lately) and 2) to see if I might want one or more of them for our "farmette"/"homestead" (in addition to being welcome new companions, we also need help with pest control - especially now that we have our new chicks and our garden).
On our way to the farm (which was absolutely beautiful - every step of the way), we stopped at the neighboring house as that was where the "cat whisperer" and his wife lived. We went inside to chat for a while (most pleasant) and then all went over to the farm. Both the husband (the whisperer) and his wife were some of the most gentle, good, and genuine souls that I've ever met. The husband goes and takes care of the farm (including the cats) as this is one of 4 farm properties owned by my friend's significant other.
It took a while but eventually, the husband found the kittens that were old enough to leave (there were a couple of "batches" of kittens). This wasn't easy as the farm was a very big place and the momma cat had been moving her kittens around a lot lately. It took lots and lots of patience, but eventually, the husband lured one of the kittens out. It was an all black female. Bingo! Exactly what I wanted; an all black female.
We wanted a companion for our new kitten (and every one there thought it best as well), so the husband waited patiently again (and again, and again) until he finally got the 2nd female (also black). While I was open to a non-black cat for the second, it did need to be a female.
(I'm much more allergic to male cats than females. Additionally, if and when we do need to bring the cat or cats into the house on a very cold day, etc., we don't want the long lasting smell associated with male cat urine.)
We were told by the Wisconsin Humane Society that it's best to leave new kittens / cats inside a cage where they are meant to live for at least a couple of weeks. My friend concurred with this idea. Also - we want to give the kittens a chance to grow a little more.
We had a very large dog cage and set them up for comfort in there in the barn - cat litter, a sleeping box lined with a towel, fresh food, water, a couple of toys, etc. Both Ed and I go and talk with the kitty's many many times a day. We pet them and take them out to hold them a little.
While I wasn't sure how I was going to tell the kittens apart given that they look almost exactly the same, it's actually very easy. Smudge (the first kitten "grabbed") is very outgoing, adventurous, friendly, and active; she purrs often. Maple (the second) is extremely timid, not active at all, and not nearly as friendly (but she's getting there). The two are very bonded though and cuddle all the time; usually with Smudge somewhat on top of Maple.
So what about the names "Smudge" and "Maple" anyway? As it happens, our son, Henry, was with us last weekend. While driving all together, we ran through all kinds of possible cat names. Pretty early on, Henry decided he liked the names Smudge (it made us all laugh as the name for a black cat) and Maple (because Ed likes to harvest and boil down maple syrup from our property). So - Smudge and Maple it is!
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