Being Butenhoff: Hello Kitty!

Grandma's cat Buttons died 2 years ago. Although she was a "farm" cat & only came into the mudroom, she had a good life & our kids enjoyed getting to see her.

Melanie & Buttons Oct. 2007

Grandma has talked about getting another cat but said she'd wait until we were living down here & could help take care of it if they were out of town. Then last fall, a stray came on the scene who won Grandma's heart. He was a little "scuffy" looking, so he became known to us as Scuffy.

He is sweet & friendly & we have all enjoyed having Scuffy around. He occasionally goes away for a day or two, but so far he has always come back... & after some consistent food, deworming & a little loving, he is less "scuffy" than when he first came on the scene.

As our move to the farm became more of a reality, the kids were eager to remind us all that Grandma was going to get a cat. Somewhere in there... CAT became CATS & each kid would get to help Grandma pick one. They talked about it all summer & as soon as we moved down here, they couldn't wait for Grandma & Grandpa to get back from their trip because "Grandma says we're getting the cats when they get back." In their mind, they literally thought the day they got back, we'd go out & get them! Grandpa kept his eye on the ads in the paper for kittens & eventually we made a trip to the humane society to check out their group of kitties as well as stopping at one house to see some kittens advertised. It was a tough decision... but eventually the choice was made & the kitties were picked! While we waited out the humane society's red tape, the kids eagerly made up their list of names. Finally we got to bring the kitties home...

Pearly May
(named by the humane society & after mulling over her extensive list of names, Melanie kept it)

Wicket

(named after Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi)

Pearly May LOVES being outside & exploring Grandma's gardens. She is super friendly & loves attention.

Wicket was a little more skittish at first, but still friendly & lovable... it just needed to be on his terms. He has an instant purr that the kids all his little motor. He's getting braver about exploring outside. His favorite game is to dart out of the mudroom door & make a run for it in the house. Most of the time he runs to the same spot, stops & lets you pick him right up... other times he darts around as if to extend the game longer.

Pearly May likes to be around people, so often she'll follow us outside to different spots. One day she followed the kids up to the new house & followed them right upstairs!

Both cats get along with Scuffy & he seems to be fine with the new additions to the farm! We have had a lot of fun having the cats around... it will certainly be different when we are in our house as the kids enjoy getting to say good morning & good night to them... & NO, we won't be getting any of our own!