Watch where you sit

This week has been filled with transitions.   Tuesday was the comprehensive exam, Wednesday kicked off our summer affiliations (to describe via simile, affiliations : PT school :: rotations : med school), and Thursday two kittehs [sic] became a part of the family.   Merus is the larger of the two, with a solid tabby coloring on her back, and Sadie is the smaller one and has half a white stripe transversing half her waist.  For the first hour they made haste to sniff every corner and scurry across every possible area regardless of height.  Sadie then started asking for attention while Merus started looking out the window during calmer moments or snuggling away under my bed comforter if things picked up, as is each of their normal personality.  They were still a bit out of sorts, but I expected them to hide for at least a day or two.  Instead they kept me up until 1:30 this morning by knocking things onto the floor.

Miss Sadie

Where did the names come from?  The origins are rather nerdy, to be honest (but what else is new...).  Merus is taken from the latter half of Brontomerus, a dinosaur whose name stands for "thunder thighs" and has a particularly good kick.  Sadie is from the latter half of Palisades, my local forested refuge just across the Hudson River where I often take my long runs.

I found out their back story -- their mom was feral when they were born 3 years ago, and Anjellicle Cats adopted out the litter while spaying and releasing the mom.  A woman gave them a good home for two and a half years, but then got a boyfriend who was allergic enough that she gave them back to the shelter.

Merus (the blob beneath the covers on the left) and Sadie, as they are often found.

The volunteer in charge of their account at the shelter is going to email me a copy of their medical records.  They got a full medical workup and have been spayed.  Tests have shown nothing is wrong with their eyes except for frequent tearing, hence the slight discoloration extending from the nasal portion of their eyes.  But I wonder, because there is a reddish tint to the tears, as you can tell by the little bit of tear goop on Merus (see below).  I'm cleaning them as needed, and I'm keeping an eye on their progress, but I'm going to look into vets to make sure there's no greater reason.  Not sure if it started before or after they entered the shelter, so not sure if its a byproduct of stress.

Better watch where you sit.... (photo taken by Nathan)

They are acclimating rather well.  Just need to figure out what kind of toys they like.  Kittehs!  Yea!