People say that dog is man's best friend, and that may be so, but I have three furry family members that prove that cats can be man's (or should I say women's) best friend. Today I'm going to introduce my fuzzy four legged babies.
About three years ago, Ryan and I decided that getting an animal of some sort needed to happen. Birds were just too noisy, dogs were too much maintenance for our busy lives at the time, and I'm highly allergic to hamsters or any other rodent for that matter (learned that the hard way). I've always been a cat person, because I grew up with them. Never have I owned a dog, and would even know where to begin when it comes to caring for one. Cats get such a bad reputation for being stuck up, too skittish, or just downright mean. But the day we stepped into the pet store to find just the right cat, all those accusations went out the window.
Meet Jebidia
There were cages upon cages of kittens and older cats, some snoozing and some craving attention from the other soon to be cat owners. I looked down and upon my surprise there were too tiny all black kittens, one with green eyes and one with bright orange staring back at me, mewing. There was a sign taped to the cage stating the store was having a "black cat special" and the cats were "marked down" to a little bit cheaper than the cats surrounding them. As I was reading I overheard, a little girl pointing at the tiny black kittens and begging her dad for them. He looked her right in the eye and said that never would he ever have a black cat in his house and that bad luck would spread. I stared blankly at them as they walked away, and threw an eye roll in as well. Who really believes that junk anyway. I looked at Ryan and I said this is the one I want, pointing at the black kitten with yellow eyes. We wanted his twin brother so badly, but we're unsure about our ability to care for two animals in a tiny apartment that we shared with his two brothers at the time. So we toted Jebidia home.
Now that Jebidia is three years old, he is a whopping 17 pounds and he's very long so although he is hefty, it's pretty evenly distributing through his body. He is our panther and honestly THE sweetest and gentlest animal you will ever meet. When we come home from any of our daily adventures he meets us at the door with head nudges. He can be a bit goofy too like when he tries to fit into anything compact even though he is so large and when he licks our hair thinking we are cats too. He sleeps with me every single night, either on my head or literally spooning with me. He is our gentle giant.
Meet Zeus
We caved the next day. All I could think about when I brought Jeb home was his green eyed brother staring back at me when we scooped Jeb out of the cage. So the very next day we went back and brought home Zeus. And it was like a mini reunion. The brotherhood that they share is irreplaceable, it's absolutely adorable that still to this day they have each other's backs and they are the best of friends. The first few months were so hard because they were identical, but as time went by their personalities starting shining through and we always knew the difference. (Especially because Zeus is the slim one) yep, that's right Jeb is the fat twin :)
Zeus has a very peculiar personality, very very sweet, but polar opposites to Jeb. We always call Zeus "the intellectual one." He's just very sleek, and sly. He's extremely friendly, but I'm pretty sure if Zeus was a human being he would be like Albert Einstein or something. He's very territorial though of his surroundings and of us. Always marking his scent on everything and everybody.
Meet Wednesday
I think it was about a month or two later, that my friend and I were shopping at the pet store and it's like a ritual to us that every time we walk into a pet store we have to go admire the cats. We were walking down the line of cages when my eyes did a double take at the smallest little grey kitten in the entire world. Now, I have always always always wanted a solid grey cat. No clue why, but I always see them on products or commercials, but never in person. She was so tiny and after a phone call to Ryan begging him for this little creature, I was walking out the door with her. The first few days were rough, she didn't know what to do with these two black cats staring back at her. So she hid, and she hid, and she hid some more. Until Jeb and Zeus found all her hiding places and she was screwed. All they wanted to do was meet her and accept her as their little sister, but she wasn't too sure.
Now things have completely changed. Wednesday might as well have been from Jeb and Zeus's litter. They protect her and take care of her and she trusts them probably more than she trusts us. Ryan is her favorite though, she's a daddy's girl. She can be a bit prissy sometimes, but don't let her fool you she can hunt down a lizard in the house in a heartbeat, and won't give up until it's dead. Oh I forgot to mention that she is the size of a kitten still and she's three years old. How cute is that??
