Happy 14th, b0ys

Hellu,

September 12th is the day I chose (way back in the 3rd grade) as my kitties’ day of birth. My mom was working in the cafeteria at my elementary school and had a friend/co-worker ask what I wanted for my birthday. I always loved cats and we only had the one, Jasmine, at our house growing up. The kind woman drove to our house with a crate full of kittens in the back of her car, so that I could have my pick- she had a bunch of feral ones surrounding her home. I chose a grey one (Oscar) and she said that there were only 2 grey kitties out of all of them, so I should just take both! I don’t think my mom was liking agreeing to this haha but we took the two boys. We brought them to the vet to get all their proper shots and make sure they were healthy enough to have as pets after being wild cats. We bottle fed them the first few weeks and watched them slide around our kitchen floor as they tried to find traction. Eventually, when they were old enough, we had them declawed and neutered. My mom thought we should name the other boy, but I had no ideas cause my main focus was on the cat I had chosen: Oscar. If any of you remember the show The Odd Couple, then you might find it funny we named the other half of our grey pair Felix. It’s just such a good cat name haha so that’s their origin story, now let’s take a look 14 years later as we celebrate another birthday with the boys…

This is Oscar, my baby ^ I forgot to mention before, they do have extra toes on their front paws. It’s called “polydactyl” and they’re referred to as Hemingway cats, it makes them look like they have thumbs or are wearing mittens hehe anyways- I went to Petco to shop for a few gifts before going to my dad’s house where he’s been helping to take care of them while Justin & I are still stuck renting our apartment (once we move into a house next year, I’ll be bringing my boys home FINALLY). I picked up a stick toy with a bird on the end because I know that’s the kind of plaything Oscar really likes and he’s still so playful even at 14 years old!

I also picked up some helpful treaties as well ^ while Oscar was lounging around, I spoke with my dad about their dietary and digestive habits. Since I can remember, they’ve always had an issue with throwing up their food- we tried everything from feeding them separately (because we thought they might’ve eaten too fast as a survival instinct), to changing their food several times, even feeding them tiny meals throughout the day. Nothing seemed to help for more than a few days before they were back to rejecting their meals shortly after eating. I found some probiotic treats at the store and told my dad to try that if he thinks they’re having a particularly worse week- he says they only have the problem about once or twice a week nowadays, which is better than everyday. I also found some digestive help drops to go in their water, and I’m hoping he uses those if he thinks they need it. The last treat I picked up was some vitamins for older cats to help keep joints strong. I got these mostly for the other kitty, Felix, as he isn’t as mobile and he’s very fat haha I just want them to stay as healthy as they can for as long as I can keep them. They’re doing really well for their age (:

And this is Felix ^ the big, round boi. He’s only played with the toy as much as you see in the photos. He was interested in it when I waved the string, but once he realized he had to be active to catch it- he wasn’t feeling the game. He’s such a Garfield though, he loves treats of any kind and otherwise just lounges around. Felix has always been the nicer of my two boys as people have caught bites & scratches from Oscar whereas Felix will only lick you if he gets irritated. It’s so strange, but the cat is a weird one. I’ve also caught him licking the shower curtain, windows, any plastic laying around, and even the walls…

In celebration of their birth, I wanted to do something extra special that they might not have enjoyed WHILE it was happening- but they’ll thank me later ^ Justin helped as my shampoo man while we bathed my cats. They’re indoor cats and don’t get a proper bath for years at a time because they frankly don’t get dirty enough for it. One of the many great things about kitties is they mostly clean themselves! I wanted them to have the luxury of smelling nice and getting a good brush down afterwards, so we filled the tub and I went to grab Oscar first. He wanted to get out the entire time and got my change of clothes quite wet in the process, but he was so good with not trying to bite or scratch and he didn’t hiss or anything. I remember when they were younger and we bathed them, they’d howl their long meows the entire time haha he was easy to clean but HATED being dried off. The boy was such a squirmy worm that after a while I set him down and just tried my best to rub him with the towel while he attempted to escape the closed bathroom…

Justin didn’t manage to get any pics of Felix during the bath, but once he was dry, we got some snaps of the cuddles ^ he used to flop around in your arms as you approached the tub, but once in, he’d completely freeze and just cry while being washed. This time, he hissed when we put him in the water and then only cried out two times as we wet him down to be shampooed. He was less squirmy, but harder to hold down as we cleaned him up (because he’s huge and bulbous). Felix was a much better sport about getting dried off though- he enjoys all the towel rubs! Now we waited for the boys to air dry the rest of the way so I’d be able to brush them…

Oscar liked the brush, but just kept walking back and forth so it was a bit difficult to get all of his fur going the same way ^ but he was all clean and smelled fresh. Happy birthday, buddy! I can’t wait to bring my sweet boy home. I miss them so much…

They were just enjoying being on the ground level of the house ^ their domain is the basement for the most part. I was just getting as many pictures as I could at this point. I love looking back at them (:

After they were both as brushed as I could get them, I played with Oscar some more ^ and tried my darnedest to get Felix active as well- to no avail. I asked that Dad try to get him up off the cat condo more often and maybe put him on a diet or something cause I’m starting to worry he’s becoming unhealthy. Oscar on the other hand, he’s doing very well and I can’t help but be proud that he hasn’t gotten fat & lazy like his brother haha I’m a cat mom all the way!

That’s all the photos I took before Justin & I were saying our goodbyes to the cuties and heading back home. I always hate leaving them behind, but I’m so grateful to have my dad taking care of them while we don’t have the space currently. He’s such a blessing to me and the kitties…

Do you have pets? What kind and how old are they now? Let me know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading (: