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Well. We adopted two pets.

ATTENTION: There are pictures of a guinea pig in this post. Proceed accordingly.

I’ve never been much of an animal person.   People are more my jam.

But.

 

Some of the most important people in my life are animal people, so, because I love them, this happened.

Sonia and Zoe had been wanting a guinea pig for a while, and when Zoe’s hamster, Huckle, died this past fall, that really upped the hankering for a piggy.

They’d been keeping a serious eye on the animal shelter website, so they knew that the shelter sometimes has guinea pigs as well as cats and dogs.

So, one Saturday, they went over with Mr. FG and adopted a pig.

Guinea pigs are actually free at the shelter, so Sonia and Zoe just had to buy the supplies and cage.

Zoe had been saving up to buy a new tablet, but she decided she wanted a new pet more than a tablet. 😉

Anyway.   Leslie the piggy has been at our house since the end of November, and Sonia and Zoe love her to pieces.

She’s possibly the most well-cared-for, spoiled guinea pig on the planet. No shortage of love!

And she’s a sweet, gentle pig who loves being held and petted.

So, that brings us to the second pet!

Lisey has been wanting a cat for a pretty long while, and Mr. FG took her over to the shelter to see about signing up for a foster care program, just to try out cat ownership.

But the foster program mostly has kittens, and cute as they are, kittens are really not the best way to try out owning a cat.

Anyway, eventually he and Lisey stopped by just to look at the cats 😉 and they found one they really, really loved.

So, the girls and I went back a few days later so we could meet the cat, and she came home with us.

Normally, there’s a fee to adopt cats.   But they’ve been a little overrun with cats of late, so there was no fee (and rabies shot/spay and neuter/microchip is free too!).

Meet Shelly!

She’s 7 years old, and she’s a super friendly and gentle cat, which is perfect for a household of newbie cat owners.

The cat has kinda made her home in Lisey’s room, so she sleeps with Lisey every night, which is very sweet.   Lisey is, in her own words, ecstatic. 😉

Everyone else in the family is in love with the cat too, even Joshua (his Instagram stories feed is now 50% coffee and 50% cats, whereas it was about 98% coffee before.)

We’ve never had a non-caged pet, so this is kind of a big step for me.

But, having a cat hasn’t been as messy/smelly as I was worried it would be, and so far, we haven’t had too many scratching problems (crossing fingers!).

She IS a really nice cat, so I’m pretty won over. Plus, the fact that Lisey is ecstatic is a big selling point for me. 😉

Zoe does still really, really want a dog, but oh man, I think that’s where my boundary line is.   A cat, a guinea pig, two geckos, and a fish seem like enough animals for one house.

So. Consider yourselves officially up to date on the new members of our family now!

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Carla

Wednesday 14th of February 2018

I'm so happy for Lisey that you got a cat. I desperately wanted one growing up, but my parents did not like pets. I have one now that I am on my own. She sleeps with me at night, and it makes me happy every time.

olympia

Sunday 28th of January 2018

Congratulations on the lovely new additions! One quick tip: I find my own kitties greatly prefer their flat scratching post to the stand up variety. I found mine at Trader Joe's, of all places, but I also wonder if it would be doable to construct one out of stuff you have on hand, because spending $7 on a bunch of chopped up cardboard is a little ridiculous.

Enjoy your animals- they're lucky to have you!

Kristen

Monday 29th of January 2018

Oh, good to know! I'll check there.

Marianne

Friday 26th of January 2018

Awww, shelter pets are the best. We now care for the neighborhood feral cats, my neighbor trapped them, so they are fixed. One waits for me every morning and night waiting for its dinner. It no longer runs when I come out the door but hides under a pine and waits. I still feel bad they are outside especially during the -15 below temps but they are fed and watered. Congrats on all the new pets!

Jem Horwood

Thursday 25th of January 2018

Aww, this is just lovely. What a beautiful home for these critters to come to when they needed one. I think it's awesome too the way you've let your kids follow their hearts. A+ for awesome parenting!! Definitely Kristen 2.0. ;)

Kristen

Friday 26th of January 2018

Aww, thank you!

Randi MacDonald

Thursday 25th of January 2018

I will never understand people who say " I'm not an animal person". They are the most loving( unconditional) souls in the world. We have 2 dogs and we just rescued another rehomed dog on Monday. We drove 500 miles to pick him up. My heart breaks when I look at him and see behaviors I know would never have been there if I had him as a puppy. New boy is a standard poodle. He's a year. I have another year old spoo that I got as a puppy. I also have a 6yr old wirehair dachshund who I spent $$$$ money on when his back went out( and he was paralyzed). To each their own, but you'll be surprised how much love you will get back from your new babies.

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