Until recently....
Kendal and I are into watching documentaries and a few Sunday's ago, Kendal chose a cat documentary for us to watch. I was pretty surprised at his choice, given that he too is certified dog person. But I obliged because I'm not about to say no to watching cute animals be, well, cute for 2 hours.
And thus started our kitten enchantment.
Fast forward to last Sunday when I was scrounging for a story idea for my upcoming A-TV News broadcast (those of you who see my posts on Facebook know what I'm talking about). You see, Thanksgiving break was coming to a close and pretty much everyone in my class hadn't filmed or written anything for our Wednesday show... because WE WERE ON A BREAK (that was for you, my fellow Friends lovers). Anyway, people started tossing around story ideas in our group text and someone mentioned that the Cache Humane Society (along with animals shelters across the nation in partnership with The Best Friends Animal Society) had a very successful Black Friday event over the weekend and adopted out most of the animals! Again, I wasn't about to say no to anything that revolved around cute little pups and kitties.... so I volunteered as tribute and snatched the story!
On Tuesday I went down there and found someone willing to do an interview with me (btw...why do people always get so weird when they see I'm carrying a camera??) I asked the girl if we could go into the cat room because I wanted a fitting background and dogs clearly make too much noise that would jack my audio. She showed me the room and said she would be in shortly. Finnegan was the first thing I saw when I walked in and I was immediately drawn to him amongst all the other little fur balls in there. I really don't know why... maybe the way he cocked his little head as I set my camera up... maybe the way his green eyes locked with mine when I said "hi kitty cat" in my high-pitched-animal-voice (I know you all have an animal voice too #noshame) but he seriously stole my heart in the first 10 seconds I saw him. At this point, I hadn't even touched him to feel his bunny soft fur because I am notoriously allergic to animals (my VERY least favorite aspect about myself) and I didn't want my coughing and sneezing and wheezing to interfere with the interview. So I just admired him from afar (and got some seriously adorable shots of him) while I waited to do my interview.
When we finished the interview, I commented on how cute I thought little Finnegan was! The girl was all "I know, we all LOVE him around here! He has the SWEETEST personality!" and then she told me that he was brought in with some brothers and sister as strays during October and how surprised they all were that he was still in the shelter. She also said she adopted one of his brothers and said that he was such a good cat. We wrapped up the conversation and I continued to get the shots I came for. As the day went on I couldn't stop thinking about the little white kitty with green eyes. Which surprised me because as I said before... I'm not normally a cat person.
I was up on campus pretty late because that's just my average Tuesday evening so I didn't get the chance to tell Kendal about my time at the shelter that night. It wasn't until Wednesday evening that I brought Finnegan up. I wasn't hopeful at all when I started the conversation because I've asked Kendal for a pet since before we even got married and the time has never been right. Probably because I've always tried to convince him to get a dog and dogs require a lot more time than cats. But I gave it a shot anyway and Kendal was pretty interested right off the bat! Very few things in our marriage have surprised me more than this. So I showed him Finnegan's picture from the Humane Society's site and the footage I caught of him while I was there. If Kendal was a girl he would have been squealing but he is a manly man so he just voiced how adorable he thought Finnegan was. Then we started talking about maybe acting on this and bringing home a cat. It had us both questioning our identities, but after some discussion we agreed that this was something we wanted to do. There was still, of course, my allergy problems, but I was raised in a home with two cats and two dogs and though that bothered my allergies some it wasn't until I came to college and wasn't surrounded by all the pet toxins that my body just forgot how to handle it's immune system. Seriously... it got bad. Every time I've been home since I moved to Logan I've turned into a real piece of work sneezing and coughing. It's ugly. BUT having pets around are a big part of my life and I figured if we got a cat now my immune system would have no choice but to figure out how to deal with it again. ALSO I've heard that if you have an animal around while you are pregnant you are less likely to pass such allergens onto your child because they are exposed to it while still in the womb and this allergy thing is not something I want my children to have to deal with. Because it's really sad and no fun when you can't love hard on the animals around you.
Given that I hadn't even really met Finnegan and got to know his personality, we decided that I would go in Thursday morning to see if he was really as lovable as the workers said he was. And if he was, I was allowed to go back after my class and bring him home.
So I did. And he was. And I told Kendal it was official. We were getting a cat. Craziest, most spur of the moment, BEST choice we have ever made together! (Including the GoPro we just purchased a couple weeks ago for our trip to India over the break... we thought THAT was the wildest thing we'd ever do. hahah)
I brought Finnegan home while Kendal was still at work and the bonding time I had with him was so special! He was nervous about being exposed to a new environment and he was sniffing every inch of our home with the utmost caution. It was adorable. But what was even MORE adorable was the fact that he trusted me enough that in between investing each crook and cranny he'd come to me for some reassurance. Either a head butt (cats love that... not a clue why!) or rubbing up against my legs or letting me pet him all over. He is SUCH a little lover! We got so lucky!
Not only is he the cuddliest kitten, but he is the smartest too. My proudest moment was about an hour after I brought him home, he started scratching at the carpet (no no, this is a not a good thing, I realize that, but just wait for it) and looking up at me and meowing and I realized "OMG I think he needs to go potty and he is TELLING me!" So I hurried and quickly set up his litter box and showed it to him and without any hesitation he hopped right in and did his business! Talk about some easy potty training. I love that guy for so many reasons.
Since bringing him home, we have had a whole list of sweet and fun moments.
Favorites include:
His playful nature. If it's dangling, he's going to jump for it. He loves strings on hoodies, the way my hair hangs when I bend over, the strings on our window blinds, and the wand toy we bought for him. If the videos I've taken would upload on here (just spent WAY too much time trying to make that work! haha!) I'd share them all because it's very entertaining stuff! Guess you'll all just have to come over and see it in person :)
The way he responds to our voices. He either knows his name or knows that if he comes he'll get loved on (probably the later but I like to believe the former). But he truly does come when we call for him! Well... 90% of the time at least. He is still a cat and as we all know... cats have their own agenda. Haha
Watching him run up the stairs. Poor thing has to work himself up for at least a minute before attempting it. But not down the stairs... nope that's all good with him. But up the stairs? Different story. He gets in pouncing position, looks up, gets lower, meows, yawns nervously, and then finally rounds the corner with a running start and zooms up in a blur! You'd think King Kong was chasing him! Hahah it's so funny and need I say it? CUTE.
Seeing him turn into a soccer prodigy. We got him all these little ball toys and he loves chasing them along the floor. Cats may not play fetch by they sure know how to chase a ball! He swats them in between his paws running at maximum speed and I could watch him do it for hours. The best part though is when the ball loses it's momentum he'll walk away from it like he's done but then he turns around, crouches down, and goes it for the kill! And it starts all over again. He'll do that until he gets it stuck somewhere, like behind the fridge or the laundry machine or out of reach under the couch. We have to keep pulling them back out for him. But we do so willingly because we just love him OH so much.
His motorboat purr. Start scratching him and it will start right up. I'm excited for when kids come along because I think Finnegan is going to be fine with them. Doesn't matter where you pet him, doesn't even matter if you tug on his tail, he is completely unfazed as long as you are giving him loves. Oh and speaking of his tail, another little characteristic of his is that the tip of his tail is a bent. Apparently when he was brought into the shelter he had a broken tail, poor kitty. But even if you grab that he doesn't mind too much. He just swooshes it away and keeps on purring. Good thing because one day little humans will be crawling all over him! Every now and then I'll give it a little tug just to get him adjusted to such bothers.
And last but not least! His cuddles. He is one snugly little kitty. If everyone in the world spent 10 minutes a day enjoying Finn's cuddles, this whole globe would be a better place.
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| I was watching Netflix on my laptop in bed and Finnegan hopped up onto my chest and he was being way to cute to not snap a picture! So I pulled up Photo Booth and right then Kendal started calling me, hence the phone pressed to my ear. Haha when I answered Kendal thought something was wrong because I was whispering but I just didn't want to disturb Finn's slumber. :) JUST LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS! |
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| No one and no thing looks cuter when stretching than this little sweetie. |
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| That blue collar you see has a little bell on it so we can hear him wherever he goes. That little jingle makes every day as happy as Christmas morning over here! |
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| He discovered the warm and comfort of blanket forts. And when he isn't cuddled up under the blanket he is attacking the monster hidden underneath! Hahah watching him pounce on Kendal's toes is the funniest thing. I just wish I could see what goes on in Finnegan's head... I'm sure the monsters he sees are very real to him. Haha |
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| Cuddlin' with Finnegan, chillen' with no makeup on. And nope, not first thing in the morning either! Haha I spent my Saturday afternoon chilling hard with this little cat napper. We laid like this on the couch for several hours. I kept trying to get up to go be productive but when I'd move, he'd stretch into an even deeper cuddle like this and I just couldn't get myself to leave him. Can ya blame me?! |
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| Okay, now here's the best part of it all! I don't even believe the good fortune myself. Those allergies I told you about? NONEXISTENT WITH FINNEGAN! Can I get a what, whaaaat?? Seriously it's a miracle. I have never experienced this before. I don't know what's different. But I've been testing all my limits and trying everything that normally set me off before. Touching my face? Not a problem. Getting a little scratch on my arm? No hives. I'm honestly in heaven over here being able to snuggle with him as close as possible without going into a sneezing, wheezing frenzy! And I know I still have hardcore allergies because when I was in the shelter I was doing everything in my will to not look like my allergies where killing me because then maybe they wouldn't have let me take Finn home. (hahah I had to be discreet, ya know? didn't want to give them a reason to decline me!) Seriously it's a miracle. Okay, okay it's not really nonexistent, but I've only sneezed a few times and got itchy eyes twice. But zero hives and zero breathing problems! Anyone who saw me around animals before wouldn't believe I'm not taking 3 allergy pills a day. It's either A) a blessing for adopting him and giving him a good home or B) he's not an full grown adult and he doesn't have an undercoat yet. But even this theory is unlikely because I've played with kittens before and twas not the case. So I am sticking with A! He's a little blessing in all shapes and sizes. |
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| And here is what our current situation looks like as I type this post up. Such typical cat move. Find a neck and get cozy on it. Hahah but we don't mind it a bit. You can cuddle with us allllll day long little Finnegan :) (And as long as I spent trying to upload videos, I just spent equally as much time trying to get these words on a new line instead of being part of the caption on the last picture) #userfail. Make things easier to work, Blogger! But alas, it looks like I am stuck inside the caption so I'll wrap this post up here. For those wondering what we will do with Finn when we visit my parents in India in about two weeks, fear not! We are not the fools you might have thought we were. We did not adopt him without thinking these things through. We called one of my best friends and fellow cat lover and worked out all the details the night before we brought him home. He will be staying with her while we are away. He is very adaptable to his surroundings so I know he will be okay with her. Plus also she has another cat and two dogs so it'll be interesting to hear the report on how he does around other animals. I'm sure he will be fine! He is good little Finn. But I can tell you this much... I am sure going to miss him! Last night we left the house for like two hours to go see my father -in-law perform in a choir concert and I missed Finnegan the whole time! Hahah I told Kendal maybe he should just go to India and tell me about it so I could stay home with my baby kitty cat. ;) JK... kind of. Welp, my kitty is calling my name so I'll catch ya'll later. Gotta go get some Finnegan cuddles :) |
