Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Ones

Last Thanksgiving Day, the kittens that belong to these paws, Marigold and Poe Starling,  met their future fathers, David and Shawn, at our Holiday Feast.

David and Shawn will be joining us this year, along with a houseful of friends and family to share another meal. We're looking forward it and are scurrying around today to get everything prepared for the event. There's shopping to do, pies to bake, cleaning, crafting -- the list goes on and on!  

And while we're checking things off of the list, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about all that we have to be thankful for this Season.

You all are at the top this list. Thank you for being patient and supportive while we've been wading through all that happened this year.  Your kindness and love helped us tremendously.  We appreciate you so much.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, dear ones.  We hope you're spending tomorrow with a table full of good food and love. We hope you're happy, healthy, and feeling peace.  We wish the same for your critters and loved ones, too.  

Much, much love,

Laurie, Craig, Charlene Butterbean and Wylla.

What Do Ya Know? It's Marigold and Poe!

Last night we had the EXTREME pleasure of visiting Marigold and Poe ( and their dads)!

The second we arrived at their home, I scooped up Marigold and gave her a big dose of love, which she happily received.

I then handed her off to Craig so I could make a beeline for my boyfriend, Poe.  He was curled up and happy as can be in his heated bed.  I gave him lots of scritches, many kisses, and he rolled over on his back, stretched his arms my way, and showed me his sweet kitty belly.

They clearly remembered us, which touched my heart.

When we saw them last, it was just a week after their adoption, and the kittens have grown tremendously since that visit.  Shawn said that when they were weighed during their last appointment with the vet, they both were over five pounds!

Their paws are gigantic,  Poe's in particular,  and their bodies lean and very muscular.  Poe is a sleek panther.  Marigold smart and stunning creature.


We listened to David and Shawn excitedly share many funny stories of kitten antics, Poe's cross-eyedness and how he navigates the world,  Marigold's mad hunting skills,  all they games they play, and how they love watching squirrels, birds, and television.

It's quite clear they love their kittens, and their kittens love them. It was so sweet seeing them all together in their happy home.

I know you're all itching to see some kitten pictures, so without further delay, here are Marigold and Poe!!

Oh, and don't worry, the fireplace is fake!  

Thanks for a delightful visit, David and Shawn!

A Poe and Marigold Update!

Last night, Craig and I went to Poe and Marigold's new home for a holiday party. It had only been four days since they left our nest, but in this time, they both got a little bigger. They're doing really well. They're figuring out the floor plan, developing their routines,  finding the best windows for watching squirrels and birds and all of the warmest spots to nap. Shawn said that when the furnace kicks on, Marigold makes a dash for the closest heater vent. Smart girl!

It was great seeing them in their new setting and spending a little time with them last night. They seemed happy to see us, and when we held them,  we got lots of affection and purrs.  

You can tell Shawn and David are so happy with their babies -- they talked excitedly about the pair and shared many stories and anecdotes.

I have a few photos to share today -- not from last night's party, but a few I took before their adoption.    

We're missing these kittens, but so happy they're where they are!

Goodbye, But See You Soon!

Shawn and David, dear friends of ours, joined us at our home for Thanksgiving Dinner.

In my first conversation with David that day, we chatted about cats and Christmas. In the past few years, they had said goodbye to three sweet senior cats, the most recent, last summer, and this would be the first year in a very long that they would not have cats during the holiday season.  They had been talking about getting cats once again soon but thought they would wait until after the new year when things settled down.

David was looking forward to decorating the tree and hanging all of his favorite fragile ornaments instead of the usual more practical plastic ones -- the kind that can't be destroyed by cats.

But these plans to wait started shifting once Poe and Marigold entered the room.

Shawn blurted out "Oh my god, are they available?"  Followed with "It IS my birthday on Saturday."

We had someone, we thought, lined up for this pair, but it all fell through earlier that week, so Poe and Marigold were back on the market and looking for a home.

No decisions were made that day, we all just enjoyed our meal, the guests, and the kittens, and as they left that night, Shawn and David said they would talk about it and let us know their decision soon.

We were thrilled, to say the very least,  when Shawn called to say they wanted to adopt Poe and Marigold!

You know how we love these kittens and we were hoping to find some very special people to adopt them.  Well, we found them.  And these people are our people, so we'll be able to easily stay in touch with them and even see these two every now and again.

In fact, we're going to their house this weekend for a holiday gathering!   I'll give you the full report on Monday!

So, thank you, David and Shawn, for adopting this extra-special pair.  We know how you love and adore your cats, so we know their life will be a good one.








Before they left, I had a frank discussion with Poe and Marigold about Christmas trees, ornaments, and holiday hazards. Poe gave me a look that seemed to say "I have no impulse control."  So, good luck with that, guys!

Orange Kitty, Pink Nose.

Orange kitty with a pink nose -- it truly is one of the best color combos appearing on a cat, don't you think?
 






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Yep.



Oh, and BLEP!

Almost Time to Go, Poe! (Say It Ain't So)

Well, we're about to wrap up the Poe and Marigold chapter. They had surgery yesterday, came through just great,  tiny kitten suitcases have been packed, and in less than 48 hours, they will be gone.

It's time for them to go. They're big. They're really big, actually.  The Thanksgiving holiday through things off,  so though they made weight a couple of weeks back, we had to wait a bit to find them a slot on the surgery schedule.  That's fine. It gave us some extra days with these cuties.

I used to cry when kittens left, but these days, it's a pretty rare thing -- we're just used to goodbyes around here.

But this guy, oh, he got to me.  This is going to be one of the harder goodbyes.  I know I'm not alone, either.  I can tell you're feeling it, too.

Oh, Poe. Do you guys really have to go?