Forbidden Realms

I was heading home from Disneyland when my friend Abril reached out to me.  Her brother found a tiny black kitten at a construction site in the Bay Area and knew she wasn't safe there.  He kept her warm and safe all day until he could commute home with her, where their family promptly fell in love.  Initially, the rescue and I were helping them care of the little kitten, as we guessed she was a little older than what we typically accept into the rescue- but after getting more information about the kitten and discovering that Abril's dog was very anxious and refusing to eat, I volunteered to take her if they could hold onto her until the following Saturday.  My glamour clouds were ready for Petsmart and the two returning big boys I was scheduled to receive back were also scheduled to go to Petsmart Saturday morning.  The plan was for me to sanitize the kitten room then accept the little baby. I also asked intake to try to find me a similar sized singleton so that she could have a friend- single kitten syndrome is a real issue.  They don't learn to socialize as well without playmates to wrestle and annoy.    

Ahhhh... plans.  Kittens LOVE to thwart plans.  The glamour clouds floated off to Petsmart as planned, but my big boys arrived with earmites that needed treatment.  This meant at least 2 more weeks with me and required a lot more thought into how to keep the big boys and the tiny babies separated. I set her up a tiny kitten pen with a fancy litter box area separated from her food and sleeping area.  The tiny baby had plenty of room to roam around and loved the little fluffy bed I put in the corner of her area.  I ended up adding a heating pad as well, as she wasn't quite big enough to keep herself warm when she was all alone.  She was a singleton for another 4 days, though it never seemed to bother her.  She'd serenely wait until I called to her for cuddle time, and her favorite way to cuddle was to tuck herself under my chin or to curl up in my hand. 

We found a friend, just 5 days older, and brought home this tiny gray ball of fluff.   I'd been saving the name Guenhwyvar for some time.  Guenhwyvar ("gwen-hweh-var") is a black panther from the astral plane that travels to the material plane to fight alongside her drow, or dark elf, master in the Forbidden Realms book series.  When the companion kitten turned out to be a sleek grey kitten, it seemed fitting to name him Drizzt Do'Urden, after the main character- the drow.  In the book series, the drow are an evil race.  But Drizzt Do'Urden rejects the customs and sinister intentions of his people and sets out with Guenhwyvar to forge his own path in a world that hates him for the color of his skin.  Regardless, Drizzt always tries to help the people who shun him. For some time, Guenhwyvar is the only creature who accepts Drizzt instantly, looking past the surface into the generous and pure heart.  

In my realm, Drizzt and Guenhwyvar were instant friends. Unlike his literary counterpart- a very stealthy drow, Drizzt Do'Urder the kitten screamed all the way home and through his introduction to Guenhwyvar.  She was happy to meet someone her own size and they promptly entered into an energetic and playful wrestling match in my lap.  Then Guenhwyvar showed Drizzt her favorite cuddle spots under my chin.  

This tiny duo were content for nearly 2 weeks, keeping each other entertained or coming out for supervised cuddle and play sessions with me.  They ignored their roommates entirely, which made it a lot easier to keep the little bits and big boys in the room together.  The big boys ignored them back for those first two weeks, showing no interest in them or their enclosure.  Then the littles decided they didn't want to be confined and coerced their big brothers to help them bust out of their enclosure.  We adjusted their enclosures daily, trying to make it more secure in a variety of ways before I moved them into the bigger kennel. This didn't last long either before we left them unsupervised for several hours while we celebrated Thanksgiving.  Using this extra time wisely, they plotted and schemed and somehow broke out of my custom loft kennel.  We're pretty sure they were assisted by Ed the Destroyer.  However it happened, they were blissfully curled up on the bed with the big boys when we returned home.  

I admitted defeat and gave up trying to keep them apart.  After 2 weeks of disinterest, they seemed to simultaneously decide they were destined to be together.  Ed the Destroyer is a force that cannot be denied- I've had to remove my throw rugs, put weights on top of the treat bin, and hide my mouse and keyboard when I'm not using them.  He knocks down things that have never been destroyed by any other litter of kittens... and I'm convinced that this dumb orange cat- who doesn't have enough brain cells to lay on a bed without falling off, somehow uses sheer charisma to unlock a heavy sliding wooden kennel door. 

In addition to my usual struggles photographing dark or black kittens, these guys are infatuated with the camera.  They almost always walk directly towards my phone if I try to take their photo- resulting in an abnormally large amount of gray or black blurs or very close-up pictures of their chests or nostrils.  

Drizzt is pretty fearless.  He follows me even if I'm vacuuming and he's always eager to try to escape the kitten room if I am leaving.  When he has escaped, he will run up to any other animal to say hello, regardless of whether he receives a warm or a hostile reception!  He's particularly interested in my youngest kitten, Nimbus, who has the same friendly personality. He always wants to be a part of the action.  Guenhwyvar is more reserved and would let the world come to meet her where she feels the most comfortable. When she's not cuddling with me or her siblings, her favorite spot is nestled into her floofy cat bed in a wooden cubby.   Both of them are very treat motivated. TOO motivated! We're working on learning manners, but either they're not paying attention to the lessons or I'm a horrible teacher.  They climb over any obstacle- inanimate or very much alive- to get to a treat and they chomp at it enthusiastically.  It's a work in progress, but they may need a lot more practice in their new homes before they learn to be calm at treat time.  

Update: Shortly after the fosters were allowed to mingle with my house cats, Ed and Mee Deggi were adopted by a wonderful family.  Guenhwyvar wandered around that evening, crying.  But my sweet Nimbus was happy to step in as big brother.  Guenhwyvar seeks him out to lay on top of him or to curl up in his arms if I'm not available.  

Guenhwyvar isn't particularly fond of being picked up unexpectedly, but she does like to choose to be held, whether you're available to hold her or not.  I've been working on their bios/collages to help them find a good home, and she's crawled into my arms every time I sit down at my computer to work.  Once, Nimbus got to me first- flopping into my arms with a purr.  I shoved him into my sweatshirt so I could continue working and got about 2 minutes of work done before Guenhwyvar joined us, crawling on top of him and purring even louder than he was.  

Guenhwyvar was so obsessed with Ed & Mee Deggi, then by Nimbus and my housecats that I thought she just loved other cats.  But I agreed to kitten sit 2 little bits during the weekend of Kitten Yoga, as their foster couldn't attend but wanted her kittens to be able to participate.  Guenhwyvar puffed up and hissed, keeping her distance from them!  She was easily defused with treats, and was eating next to them quickly, but would still react if the little bits would move too quickly and startle her.  When we went to Yoga, Guenhwyvar got a little stressed by the overwhelming number of strangers and squatted to poop on someone's yoga mat!!  I scoooped her and her poop up (in my hand... UGH!) and got her to the litter box, then put her back into her travel kennel where she calmed immediately.  I used copious amounts of hand sanitizer before returning to the yoga room where Drizzt was living his dreams! 

Confident Drizzt was one of the few kittens who felt completely at ease in this strange new setting with around 30 strangers and twice that many toys.  I got very few pictures of him because he was in nearly constant motion!!  True to his nature, he paid no attention to the "rules" or attempts at zen- ignoring the instructor's calming voice as she led the class through a gentle, cat friendly yoga routine.  Drizzt launched himself in upward-leaping cat pose after feather wands and struck a hunter's pose while stalking a plastic spring or yoga person's toe.  He zipped and zoomed over and under yoga bodies, entertaining the people around him with his energetic antics.  Drizzt slept for HOURS that night, a rare occurrence.  But even several hours at yoga didn't wear him out enough to skip shower snacks.  Most of my fosters learn to be comfortable in the bathroom, near the shower, as we have been trained by our housepets to keep cat treats in the shower and dole them out each night.  But Drizzt is absolutely obsessed and will try to herd us to the bathroom in the evenings if we don't head that way on our own fast enough.  When we turn the water on to warm up, he zips in and runs around the shower, playing in the water, meowing encouragement to us to finish getting undressed so we can grab the shower snacks.  After he gets his share of the treat, which is never as much as he wants, he will often enjoy being picked up and wrapped in a towel while I stand in the shower and tell him what a handsome boy he is and pat him on the head.  We now keep a cat towel in the shower to swaddle him and dry his wet kitten paws.  

Drizzt has two basic modes.  On. and Off.  There is no in between! He's either zooming around or eating with maximum zeal... or he's sleeping.  He meows so much he loses his voice often.  He loves people and we've learned to keep his claws trimmed well, as he will climb up to be part of whatever you're doing.  He's great entertainment and such a sweet boy.