Just over a month ago, a friend of ours shared some fun news, a stray kitty had babies under his house! We were delighted because he was the perfect person for this new momma cat to trust with her young. You're a great cat-dad Stephen!
He started sharing photos with my husband when momma cat felt safe enough to bring her babies out from hiding. The first photo I saw, I immediately wanted the little tiger.
As you can see in the text message with my husband. He had no chance in fighting me on this one! haha!
The baby looked just like Mrs Leo, of course I wanted him to come live with us!
We've had a bad few years with pets, losing 4 in 13 months from old age and illness. I was sort of set on not getting anymore furbabies for a long time. But when I saw those photos, I knew he was destined to be Mrs Leo's Number One! (Star Trek reference for all you nerds out there).
We figured out the babies were still a few weeks away from being old enough to leave their momma, so I set my mind to thinking of names. It actually didn't take too long. With this baby looking so much like Mrs Leonard Nimoy, I figured another Star Trek name was needed, and who better than a Number One! So I settled on Una for a girl and Riker for a boy. We're about 90% sure he's a boy, so Riker it is! But with my track record on miss-gendering kittens, we'll see in a few weeks if he really is a boy! He already answers to Riker, so just like Leo, names don't equal gender in this house.
Riker has been a part of our household for a month. He has almost doubled in size, he was 1lb 7oz when we brought him home. He's now a whopping 2lb 8oz! His legs are gangly, his tail short, he might be a middle to long hair, his teeth are like needles, his claws like daggers, but his heart is full of love, and he has no fear. We love him. He's crazy playful, an absolute snuggle bunny, and has chosen me as his person. He follows me around, naps on my desk while I work, flops down on my chest (he's a boob man) when I'm relaxing in the evenings, and he's decided Mrs Leo is his new mom. She likes him. She shares foods, cleans his face, smacks him when he plays too rough and watches him while he struggles to learn life lessons. Like climbing the cat tree and falling. Cats. They are truly masters of my heart.
