Meet our gorgeous kittens Lucy and Max (or short Lumax).
In this post I am sharing with you the adoption story of our kittens Lucy and Max.
When our beloved Bobby died in September last year, we were both devastated. Our home felt so empty and it was really difficult to come to terms with the big cat shaped hole she left in our lives. Then we met Charlie, a friendly Ragdoll who belongs to our neighbours. Our neighbours have five long haired cats, all breeds. They are all allowed to go outside, however, Charlie likes to visit people’s homes. Our first encounter with him was actually, when Bobby was still alive and he visited our home. Back then we were not so happy and didn’t know who he was, so we chucked him out. We had to protect Bobby. In October my husband Paul met him again in the lane and it was the beginning of a special cat friendship. Charlie is a wonderful cat, friendly, playful and very chill. We are so grateful to have him in our lives. He visits us daily, for a short time he even holidayed here (with the neighbours’ permission) and we adore him. We educated ourselves about the Ragdoll breed and even contemplated buying one. Charlie made us realise that there is room for a new cat in our lives and also that toms are very loving and affectionate. We decided therefore that in the new year – this year 2023- we wanted to give two kittens a home. I wanted the kitten experience again and I thought two kittens is better, as they can keep each other company when we are in work.
Preparations for the kittens.
I started to follow a lot of local cat rescues and those slightly further away and made an action plan of things that needed to be fixed in our home before we had new cats. In January we bought a new sofa and chair to make our own living room more comfortable. We used to have a sofa bed that broke during lockdown and replaced it with our old Poang chairs from Ikea. My husband couldn’t sit on those as he found them extremely uncomfortable. When we got our sofa delivered, we noticed that our front window has developed a fault and it is very difficult to close. This is an issue that we have to get fixed as it could be a real problem, when we need to open it. In January we ordered a new carpet for the hallway, landing and stairs to be fitted in March. In the meantime, we had a lot of painting to sort out – all skirting boards, the handrail and door frames and doors. I got most of this done with a lot of aches and pains! The doors still need to be painted. I am not sure this will ever get done.
Paul bought a huge fish tank for the living room a few years ago and we noticed that Charlie is rather fond of it! He loves watching the fish. In the beginning he was very excited and we were worried he would jump in! He didn’t, he was happy to just watch them while sitting on a chair. This was good info for us, as we needed to make sure the fish and kittens are safe. Paul created a new lid and stored cables and food safely away. We had a big round table in the living room, which made the room look even smaller than it is, so we replaced it with a smaller rectangular one, which is also extendable. I listed the round table on Gumtree and other online marketplaces and hopefully we will get rid of it soon. I managed to sell quite a few items on Gumtree.
Our garden side gate was broken for years, so in February I got that replaced with a new one that fits properly. In the meantime, Charlie was still visiting us. As we live on a busy road, we don’t want our cats to roam. We worry a lot about Charlie, who can be very trusting, but he is quite scared of cars, which is a good thing. He can however be quite dopey when he sees us in the lane and just stops in the middle of it! I found the company “Protect A Pet” and asked for a quote to secure our garden. I won’t lie – it’s not a cheap solution, but hopefully securing the garden will keep our kittens safe. I sent the company lots of photos of our garden, so they could give us a quote and knew what the challenges were. On the 16th of May they arrived early in the morning and finished the job within four hours.
An important phone call
Two weeks before the appointment I contacted Cats Protection Cardiff and Cats Protection Bridgend and asked if they had kittens available. Bridgend said yes and I filled in an application form. On the 16th of May (1 day before my birthday) I got a phone call from Bridgend and Amanda said that they had three 10-week-old kittens available – all beautiful tabbies. I asked for photos and then we had to make a difficult decision. They were all very cute, but we could only choose two, because our home is small. In the end we chose Max (formerly known as Alfie) and Lucy (formerly known as Abby). Their sister Audrey was snapped up by another family – I am sure of it, as she was very cute too and looked more like Max. Lucy reminded us a little of Bobby as a kitten. As you can see from the photos – she is small, skinny with big eyes and ears and has an amazing coat with lots of spots. She looks a bit like a Bengal kitten. Her brother Max is much bigger than her and has a very unusual pattern on his back. It reminds us of a Rorschach test. You can tell that they are siblings, because of the markings on their faces.
The kittens came from a litter of a stray cat that was found by a member of the public. I think if I remember correctly, she adopted the mum and one of the kittens.
We arranged to pick up Lucy and Max on Saturday the 20th. I was told that they were both already spayed/neutered and that little Lucy had also been treated for an umbilical hernia – something that’s not uncommon in kittens. I was also told that they both are very close and bonded. Purrfect. That’s what we were hoping for. The strange thing though was that we couldn’t view the kittens or interact with them prior to adoption. We basically drove down there and picked them up. With Bobby it was different. We viewed her and Harry and all the other kittens and stayed with the fosterers for a long time. So, with these guys it was a bit like a blind date. As soon as I saw them both together in the carrier, I just couldn’t believe how gorgeous and cute they are in real life! We both each picked a name for them – Paul chose the name Max (as in Mad Max, or Maxxie Jazz) and I chose Lucy, though I often call her just Luce or Lulu.
First weekend in their new home.
On their way home Max was subdued and Lucy quite vocal and curious in their carrier. It’s quite a long drive from Bryncethin to Cardiff.
At home we let them explore our bed room first. As soon as we opened the carrier they popped out and were very playful. We spent the whole afternoon playing with them until they finally got very tired. They are quite wild! Each day they got to explore a new room and it didn’t take them long to get familiar with the house. Lucy had a few little accidents, so we bought extra litter trays and are monitoring the situation. Three weeks in and she is much better. After our first week together, we made a vet appointment for their second vaccine. Unfortunately, our own vet in Cardiff doesn’t use the brand they already had been vaccinated with, so we went to the CP vet in Pontyclun. The vet was a little bit concerned about the hernia, so we have now booked another appointment with our own vet to have a look at it.
Getting to know the kittens day by day.
The kittens have now been with us for three weeks and they are very funny, playful and adorable. They love to chase each other through the house, beat each other up, groom each other and sleep together. They are very vocal too. When Lucy is looking for her brother, she meows pitifully. She does also cry when he seems a little rough. Sometimes I separate them. Max has the tendency to suckle on her hernia site, so I distract him with a toy. Max is quite a character. He’s mischievous, loves his food (and tries to eat mine!), is very purry and hates being picked up. And he has quite a swagger (we should have called him Mick 🙂 – which is just adorable. Both are wrigglers! And their murder mittens are sharp. My arms are full of accidental scratches. In a few weeks’ time we will start clipping their nails, so they don’t get stuck on clothes or furniture and our skin! Lucy is a little bit shy and takes a while to get out of her shell. I hope with time they become very affectionate and will enjoy some lap time. Right now, their world has expanded and there is too much to explore. They love to watch our fish. They are not allowed out yet, as they are too small and the garden isn’t finished yet. We want to make the garden cat friendly again and Paul wants to rebuild the big climber in the garden. I am hoping that we can introduce them to the outside world in July or August. As with Bobby we are also planning to harness train them, so we can take them to other places for short walks. I love them both to bits and they are very precious. I have already taken lots of photos and filmed a few short videos of them. My plan is to create a longer video for YouTube about them.
What about Charlie?
We haven’t forgotten Charlie, but the kittens have priority for the moment until they get older. As they can’t access the garden yet, we tend to leave it open for Charlie on the days we are at home and he can come and visit. In the first week when he couldn’t get in, he managed to jump from the neighbour’s wall onto our conservatory window and cried in front of our bedroom! That cat is determined! We were told to be careful with introductions, when they are so young and I am mindful of that. They have briefly met him and after initial growling at him, Max now loves to see him. Both kittens find Charlie fascinating. And he is just so gentle and patient with them. It’s quite cute. We are hoping that he can occasionally come for visits and the kittens will keep liking him. The signs are certainly promising.
The hardest part of having these cuties around is really – going to work and worrying about them. So far however, they are fine and haven’t destroyed anything.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post – if you want to share any tips for new parents of kittens, let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading
Helen x