.png "Cat_Mom_Jen"){kind=avatar}
Good morning everyone!
It has been a while since I posted, so I wanted to give you all an update.
Hope is fully recovered. She is back to her energetic self. Cheddar missed playing with her, and Holden missed sleeping by her.
I have been smoke free for 91 days. Recent events have kept me very busy while being in No Man's Land.
I am not sure if I have talked about Hope's background. I will fill you all in:
Back on March 31, Hope's mother had a total of five kittens, four black and white and one solid black. One of the black and white kittens passed away April 1/April 2, and another black and white kitten passed away after Mama Small moved the three black and white kittens for the second and final time on April 22, which happened to be my husband's birthday. She had carried them back to our house April 17. It had snowed that day.
Back on April 10, Mama Small moved her kittens for the first time from the petbarn that was on our front porch. My coworker and very good friend April had given me the petbarn. April knew that Mama Small was pregnant and had been coming to our house for food. Mama Small moved the first three kittens fairly quickly, but left the solid black kitten behind, or so we thought.
I called April. She offered to bring her mother with her to the house. April wanted to take the solid black kitten so her mother could feed it and care for it. She told me that her mother had raised a newborn kitten up to the time it was 18 years of age! I trusted April, and I trusted her mother.
Two and a half hours passed from the time Mama Small moved the first kitten to the time April and her mother arrived.
Before April and her mother arrived, White (the father of the kittens) came back after being gone for a few hours. He was shocked to see Mama Small and the three black and white kittens gone. He walked into the petbarn and wrapped himself around the solid black kitten to keep it warm. Shortly after April and her mother arrived, April opened a small carrier stuffed with a very fluffy blanket. White hissed, but stepped aside so she could grab the kitten and place it in the carrier. Her mother showed me that it was a girl. The kitten could fit in one hand, from the tips of my fingers to my wrist.
Minutes after the three left, Mama Small returned. I reassured her that her kitten was safe. She and White started to rub up against each other and purr, so all was well again.
April suggested the name Hope for the little kitten shortly before they drove away. My husband and I decided to name the kitten Hope because we wanted to honor April for being such a good friend.
On May 22, while I was leaving for work, I noticed that Mama Small and White were sitting under the pine tree in front of our house. Mama Small and White had continued to come by for breakfast and supper. I suddenly saw two more sets of eyes. I bent down and saw two of the three black and white kittens. One black and white kitten was missing. That evening, April and her mom brought Hope home.
Since they returned, the kittens got to know me and felt comfortable around me. One looks like Mama Small, so we named her (we think it's a girl) Small Jr., and the other has more black than white on his face (we know it's a boy), so we named him Blackface. I would feed them (and Mama Small and White) every morning and every evening.
A short time ago, Mama Small and White left Small Jr. and Blackface behind. The parents only come to the house now for meals. The kittens never left our property.
I felt bad that Hope's siblings were outside, knowing that the weather would get colder.
With the help of Pounce treats, I got both kittens inside this past weekend. Hope and her birth siblings are reunited.
Holden, Cheddar, and Hope already knew Small Jr. and Blackface. My husband and I would open the front door just a little bit so the outside cat family could see the inside cat family.
Everyone is getting along. It has been fun to watch all of the fur babies get to know each other better.
I am grateful to be smoke free today. The money that I would have spent on cigarettes can now be spent on my fur babies.
Jen 
Pictured is Mama Small (eating), Small Jr. (watching Mama Small), and Blackface (looking at the camera) together for breakfast. 9/9/20
