Cat Birthday Party......yep, that's what I said.

Last May my family adopted 2 kittens from the Humane Society.  Those of you that know me know that I am not a pet person at all.  Hair, stinky food, poop, smells.....ya, not a pet person.  But I wanted my boys to learn to love and care for a pet and I wanted to get a pet while they are still young (10,8,5) before they get so busy with other things that they don't care about the family pet anymore.

I originally was thinking of getting a Hamster.  Mostly because I think it would be fun to see them run in the ball and through all the tubes. :)  They are also easy for a neighbor to watch when we travel since they are self contained in their cage.  From my research they were a better option then Guinea Pigs because they are a "desert" animal and don't eat or drink much so there is less of a smell and less "waste" to clean up after.  I asked friends that have had Hamsters and got a few stories of them being stuck in walls and heating vents and dying in there.  That didn't sound fun...it actually sounded traumatic, the opposite effect I was going for.

The anti-Hamster movement came the day when we came across a dead mouse in our garage.  I grabbed a shovel and started to scoop him up and his little legs started paddling in the air.  He wasn't dead yet!  It was so sad....and creepy.  After squealing and giving the shovel to my husband I instantly thought "I don't want one of those in my house!" So Hamsters were instantly off the table. 

Dogs were never "on the table" because I don't clean up poop or slobber.  My dad had hunting dogs that he kept in a pen outback, they stunk really bad and pooped everywhere! We also travel a lot and having someone watch a dog is too much work.  Fish are fun to watch, but they are smelly and SOMEONE has to clean their tank.  And at my house when SOMEONE is suppose to do something, NO ONE does.

So I was down to cats.  They cover up their own poop, they are easy for people to take care of when we are gone, they don't drool and they don't need to be let out of the house. I was excited to think that they have tons of energy when they are little and as they get older (and my kids become too busy to interact with them) they are more chill.  Cats were the perfect match for our house.

So to make a long story even longer, I found our cute little Gandalf:

 That was actually his name from the shelter!  Perfect fit for my boys.  The sign on his cage said "I am 30 pounds of energy in a 3 pound cat.  I would do well with one of my brothers."  But I only came in for 1 cat!  There was another "runt" of the litter cat in the cage.  He was all black and if I took Gandalf he would be all alone. :(  I flipped over the sign on his cage.....Frodo. 

Seriously.....how can you split up Gandalf and Frodo?  Maybe they planned it that way.  lol  Then I see a sign that says "Kittens, adopt one get one free."  It was a trap I swear!!  They saw me coming from a mile away!

So I called my husband at work, told him I might be bringing home 2 cats instead of the one we agreed on.  He was fine with either 1 or 2 cats, but when he heard their names he was sold.

So Gandalf and Frodo have been with us for almost a year.  They were 8 weeks old when we got them making them born in March.  My boys wanted to have a birthday party for them.  They wrapped up a large can of wet cat food for them and I made Gandalf and Frodo cupcakes for us and the cats got to eat their present.

So here I am, not a pet lover hosting a birthday party for our 2 cats.  They have been so much fun and it's been great to see the love my boys share with them.  They get excited when the cats sleep with them at night and laugh when they do something crazy.  They only complain a little when they have to clean the litter box.  And the cats have not clawed any furniture or peed or pooped anywhere outside their litter box. Not much more to ask for there!
I'm glad we got our "little furry friends".