{"id":51,"date":"2008-09-16T19:41:26","date_gmt":"2008-09-16T19:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/2008\/09\/16\/whats-new-pussycats\/"},"modified":"2008-09-16T20:24:37","modified_gmt":"2008-09-16T20:24:37","slug":"whats-new-pussycats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/2008\/09\/16\/whats-new-pussycats\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s New? Pussycats!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone!<\/p>\n

First, I’d like to\u00a0thank the uniquely loony Ron Ball, who put down his cocktail shaker long enough to be a guest-blogger for me when I was on vacation.\u00a0He did a\u00a0fabulous job\u00a0and was as deliciously politically incorrect as\u00a0you would expect from the man who — if you were casting the role of “saucy salesman” — would get a first call back.<\/p>\n

Next,\u00a0as\u00a0was mentioned on the ASI Radio Show<\/em><\/a> this morning, I became the pet mom of two kittens\u00a0on Sunday.\u00a0I’ve always\u00a0loved animals (which also explains my affinity for many of you!) considerably more than most people — as my mother is quick to point out — and have always been a cat person. I get their independent nature and world-weary haughtiness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I decided that this would be the perfect time to adopt two kittens, as my travel schedule isn’t so crazy. So I went to a cat shelter near my home with the intent of walking in with checkbook\u00a0in hand and walking out with two new pets. Oh,\u00a0how things have changed since I last adopted nearly two decades ago.<\/p>\n

For starters, I had to fill out a four-page\u00a0application, in which I had to provide three character references, agree to no major lifestyle changes (a move, a baby, a stint in rehab…) and allow a representative of the shelter to inspect my home (time to stash the Grey Goose bottles!). Additionally, if I rented a home or lived with someone, both the owner of the property and my\u00a0husband\/roommate would each have to sign a notarized letter\u00a0saying they approved of the kittens moving in. I then had to take a test, proving that I was capable of being a good pet “guardian.” Seriously, I\u00a0think\u00a0I’m only one physical and a set of\u00a0financials short of being able to get a child from China — the process was that<\/em> extensive.<\/p>\n

After a week’s wait I learned I was “approved” and that I could pick the kittens up on\u00a0Sunday. Realizing I had nothing prepared and fearing that KPS (Kitten Protective Services) would come throw the net over me, I headed to\u00a0PetSmart, where I promptly spent $300 on every sort of\u00a0toy, plush bed, gourmet food and luxe kitty litter\u00a0you can imagine. My\u00a0mother spoiled me, so of course\u00a0this is learned behavior\u00a0(which would account for my unyielding sense of\u00a0entitlement and inability to process the word “no”) I intend to pass along.\u00a0In a\u00a0day, these kittens went from shelter life to living in the lap of luxury at the\u00a0feline Four Seasons.<\/p>\n

What I have not given them\u00a0yet is names,\u00a0because I’m hoping for something more clever than what I’ve named previous pets: Frisky, Spunky, Snuggles, Cuddles, Sprinkles and Muppet. (That sound you hear is Joe Haley sighing deeply and rolling his eyes…)<\/p>\n

So, I’m asking for your help: Please send me suggestions to name my kittens! At eight weeks old, the male is 5 lbs. and the female is 4 lbs. — they’re so little they don’t meow yet … they squeak! If I select the names you enter, you’ll win a $100 American Express gift card. Some suggestions so far: Starbuck & Apollo (from Battlestar Galactica<\/em>), Sawyer & Sayid (from Lost<\/em>) and Buffy & Angel (from Joss Whedon’s fabulous shows). As Joe Haley just said, my “Nerd Herd” is certainly chiming in! ; )<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Also, since it’s been a while since I’ve been a cat parent, please do\u00a0send me any and all cool and cute\u00a0ad specialties you’ve\u00a0come across for kitties. I’m now one of those<\/em> people again — who show pictures\u00a0of their cats when others produce shots of their\u00a0children.<\/p>\n

My name is Michele, and I’m a crazy cat lady.<\/p>\n

Cheers! \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone! First, I’d like to\u00a0thank the uniquely loony Ron Ball, who put down his cocktail shaker long enough to be a guest-blogger for me when I was on vacation.\u00a0He did a\u00a0fabulous job\u00a0and was as deliciously politically incorrect as\u00a0you would expect from the man who — if you were casting the role of “saucy salesman” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun","category-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}