Wanna Come?

The battle kittens were doing well when I got a call from another foster asking if I'd take her kittens, known as Munchkin (the grey tabby that was described as a Munchkin female on intake) and Taz (the gray/white). She has a young, kitten loving son who loved the kittens a little too aggressively. Taz, in particular, was terrified. If they pet him while he was in his kennel, he could be a sweetie.. but out of the kennel in the "unknown" he just hid. They couldn't get him to play or interact with anyone outside of his kennel. But they were both very food motivated and my very smelly, high preference kitten treats brought them to me. The "munchkin" would always come first, but Taz would watch him nibble on the good stuff and come darting forward to get some treats himself.

My new babies were settling in so rapidly I decided to bring in my battle kittens for a visit. Any loyal blog readers won't be surprised that Sergeant Sassy Pants was very vocal in her displeasure at these intruders into her home. Even if you're new... come on... her name is Sergeant SASSY PANTS. She has an opinion about EVERYTHING... and her opinions about anything new is GRRRRRRRRRRR. After they enjoyed a snack together (with Sassy on one side of me and the others out of her line of sight on my other side), Captain Oblivious taught my new babies the joy of play time while Sergeant Sassy Pants casually told them off.

Unfortunately after the first two nights with them, I picked up 2 more kittens from another foster going on vacation. I was hoping for a 6 kitten free for all, but within an hour of arrival, Frankie (her tabby) plopped a bloody poop in the litter box. So they had to be quarantined as well as I could. The munchkin also had a little watery eyes- nothing very unusual, but since I had to mix antibiotic for Frankie, I gave some to the munchkin as well. After the first 24 hours, they all felt 100% and wanted to play, which made giving them enough play time in shifts after I got off work very challenging. I guess it's lucky that I'm dealing with a shoulder injury that has kept me from the gym all week, so I could do more play sessions in the morning before work.

But I was also waiting for vaccine clinic- which was the week after I got them. I didn't think the Munchkin was really a munchkin and there were different opinions about its gender. My suspicions were confirmed, so I knew it was time to change Munchkin's name to something more appropriate. I considered keeping Taz's name and coming up with a matching name for the former munchkin... "Taz" and Munchkin's kennel would be destroyed in the morning... water spilled, food dish upside down, litter everywhere... while the visiting kittens, Frankie & Chucky were pretty tidy. But I didn't want to name them after destructive forces when they're both a little on the shy side, which makes it harder to find good homes.
While waiting to find out if Munchkin was a munchkin, I started thinking about name ideas... and I considered food names- because I LOVE food and they're both food hounds... but one night I decided Taz needed to be Neville Longbottom if I was going to change his name. Neville (Harry Potter... if you're one of THOSE people who don't recognize the name!) begins his journey in the books as a befuddled and scared first year- a little out of his element in the magical world though he grew up in a magical family. But he becomes a HERO. Neville Longbottom, aka Nevs, Nevvie, Longbottoms, and Bumbums is still pretty nervous. He'll dart off whenever I stand up or move too suddenly. He often runs if I reach for him the wrong way. But he's getting bolder each day. I don't think I'll have him long enough to see him completely shed his fear, but my heart's desire for him is to become the hero of his own story some day... and I think Neville Longbottom is a great inspiration.

Of course that meant I had to get pictures of him in my lion hat. If you don't know why.. I'm sorry, maybe we just can't be friends!

But then it was time to think of what name fit Munchkin. Before I discovered she was actually a he... the obvious choice was Luna Lovegood. BUt as a boy, Korg, aky KorgyPorgy, became my choice. Sometimes in books or movies.. the supporting characters are some of the most beloved characters. Neville and Korg are two of my favorites. If you don't know Korg by name, you may know him by picture.