Shopping in pet stores is nothing new for me, but setting up my home for the arrival of two new kittens hasn’t happened for many years. 

In 2010 when I moved into my own home for the first time, I bought two beautiful little Burmese sisters.  Sally’s coat was sable (dark brown, almost black) and Mindy’s coat was lilac.  They were both such beautiful cats.  Mindy, with her longer legs, was the elegant feline supermodel while Sally was the feisty little sister with the big personality. 

I made regular trips to my local Petstock for everything my girls would need – a cat carrier, bowls, toys, brushes, nail clippers, kitty litter, litter trays and food.  I also bought them a very fancy cat tree/scratching post from a company in Melbourne – more about that another time.  After all the basics were in place, I mostly shopped online at Pet Warehouse and Pet Circle so that items such as wet food, dry food, treats and the occasional new toy could be home delivered.

My lovely Mindy died some years ago, and I lost my beautiful Sally in September.  She had just turned thirteen years old.  She was my beloved companion and my adoring little friend.  She came to me whenever I called her name.  We shared a very close bond.

After Sally’s death, I knew I must get another cat.  The house just felt so empty without a feline resident.  I also knew it must be a Burmese cat as their affectionate, playful doglike personality suits me perfectly.  I was grieving, but I knew it may take some time to find the right little companion and therefore I needed to start looking.  There are no Burmese breeders anywhere near where I live.  I found a breeder three hours away in Melbourne who had a new litter of kittens, some of whom would be ready to adopt in January.  I went down to meet them in December when they were seven weeks old and completely adorable.  I decided to get two little boys so they will be company for each other when I’m at work.  They’re pictured above.  Oskar is the cream-coloured one on the left and Harley, on the right, has a lilac coat.

My new baby boys have inherited many of Sally’s possessions.  However, a few new purchases were required.  The principal one was a new cat bed.

There are two reasons why Sally slept in my bed for years, rather than her own.  The first was for company.  She was terribly anxious and upset when Mindy died.  I watched her sniff her way through the house desperately searching for her sister, and then come meowing to me as though she was explaining the problem and demanding a speedy resolution.  The girls had always slept together in the laundry and now Sally was alone. 

I left the laundry and bedroom doors open one night, just to see what would happen.  It took her less than five minutes to come and join me in my bed.  After that night, that was where she always slept – under the doona and either snuggling next to my back or curled up behind my knees.  I would put my hand down under the covers and stroke her gently, and she would lick my hand.  Occasionally I would wake up in the morning wearing a furry halo.  On those occasions, she’d obviously decided she needed to be closer to me.

The second reason why Sally slept in my bed was that the girls had pretty much destroyed theirs.  By the end, it was a shell of its former self.  They’d scratched and torn their way through the fabric into the foam rubber underneath, and after ripping this apart, they ate bits of it.  My vet clinic was the beneficiary of this behaviour.  Even delightful cats do strange things sometimes.

On Christmas Eve, I visited Petstock to buy a toy for a friend’s puppy and to stock up on essentials for my boys.  Number one item on the list was a new cat bed.  This turned out not to be as straightforward as I imagined.  The smorgasbord of different options was overwhelming.  I could choose from cat caves, cat cubes, cat cocoons, cat igloos, cat sleeping bags, cat hammocks – you name it and it was there.  I’m a bit of a self-confessed crazy cat lady and even I found it faintly ridiculous.  Talk about spoiled for choice!

In the end, I found an appropriate bed online.  It’s a sandstone-coloured cubby with a double-sided pillow inside – plush on one side for winter and cotton on the other side for summer.  Nice and cosy.

What more could two gorgeous little boys want?