Meet Audre & Wilhelm

WE GOT KITTENS!!!

In this post we introduce you to our new lovely kitties, Audre and Wilhelm – plus teach you what we learned about caring for new kittens.

We never expected to find these two on our road trip through Nebraska, but we are so glad we did. On the left is Wilhelm. Wilhelm was one of the smallest kitties, even though they are one of the oldest. Lea picked them up right away, then put them down on the grass to see if they ran away, but instead Wilhelm licked their foot until Lea picked them back up.

On the right is Audre, although she was a bit shy at first she has opened up and shown us an adventurous, cuddly, and quite regal kitty. She and Nastassja had an instant connection.

We did not anticipate getting TWO kittens, but honestly we could not resist. Plus this way they have a friend to play with when we are out, right?

All of this was possible because Lea saw a sign for free kittens at a gas station along the highway on our drive back to Colorado from Omaha. We had been talking about getting a cat, but all of a sudden it was so real. So we called the number and headed in the direction they told us.

A few miles into this dirt road with nothing but corn fields in sight, we found the tan house the voice on the phone described.

There we found Loren the farmer and his wife Sharon, who were so happy to have two less kittens. Their farm cats have been having litters even twice a year, and there are only so many households who want kitties in this neighborhood. These kittens actually already had two moms! On the left is the older mother who gave birth to Audre 7 weeks before we arrived, and on the right is Wilhelm’s mother who gave birth 8 weeks before we arrived. Here you can also see some of their 8 siblings.Sharon made us this box for the road with some food, water, and the quintessential farm blanket. 

With that we put the kitties in the box and were back on the road. They were so cute, they kept cuddling and kissing / cleaning each other. We closed the box, and almost didn’t believe they were real. It was sort of a literal schrodinger’s cat situation, we kept opening the box to confirm we weren’t just imagining them.

We let them out to get to know us, and they were pretty calm on the drive.

Kisses! Here Wilhelm is grooming their younger cousin Audre. They liked the view from the dashboard while we were pulled over at the rest stop.

We brought them out at the rest stop to go to the bathroom, we weren’t really sure if it worked like that but it was a long ride and we definitely didn’t want them to go in the car. Here Wilhelm is peeking out of the box.

We weren’t sure how to keep track of them. They were so scared, and Wilhelm ran under the car! But they came back out to cuddle soon after.

In the car we discovered that Wilhelm likes to perch on your shoulder… and often even lick your ear. Kisses!

On the road we also discovered the kitties lullaby and anthem because we were listening to Chance the Rapper’s new CD. Check out his song – D.R.A.M. Sings Special 

And just like that we drove into the Nebraska sunset living in a kitten-filled dream.

When we first arrived we didn’t have any kitten supplies or food, and they had finished the bit that Loren and Sharon gave us. But we read online that kittens could eat eggs, so we made them some scrambled eggs, added some of our clothes from that day to the box and put them in the tub to sleep for the night.

The next day we went to petco to get some kitty basics. Here’s some of what we got.

• Grain free kitten food
• Scratch toy to keep them fit
• Large litter box and cover
• Walnut based multicat clumping litter
• Heavy food bowl (that they cant knock over)
• Water bowl – with extra water! No dehydration
• Cushy bed big enough for both of them when they get bigger
• Some toys 🙂

We thought they were super tiny, but by day two they could already jump out of the bathtub so we brought them in our room.

They continued to love their box despite a perfectly nice bed, and we found them cuddling like this when we got back to the apartment the next day.

Audre was scared of this at first- definitely more cautious than Wilhelm, but finally she stepped out and tackled the ball.

We were so happy when we finally got them to sleep in the extra comfy dog bed we got.

…but they both still prefer our bed

They like the bonding time we get, and that they get to fall asleep on us.

and we like to play with their little paws – so cute right!

stahp. Audre is always lifestyle modeling.

We took the kitties to the vet for their first check up. Luckily through VCA Animal Hospitals, your first vet visit is free.

All good! We did start the deworming process though, pretty much all kittens and other small animals have intestinal parasites… kind of gross.

But we’re not gross!

If you know us, then you know that we love bow ties and make them. Bringing these babies into our lives inspired us to make them some special little bow ties from some of our fabric.

They surprisingly took to it very quickly and looked so dignified and adorable!

And thus, the #dappercats were born. 

We have also gotten to know them much better. For example we learned that they enjoy playing on Nastassja’s head.

As does Audre – I assume that would be pretty comfy! They are the perfect size.

LEVEL UP! They have gotten much stronger, and become masters of their environment.

The apartment is their jungle gym and they love to climb. This is the highest point they have been able to find, and they just sit up there for hours purring and looking over their territory.

But… they havent been able to figure out how to get down, so they ask us to help them get out. They will stand or sit at the edge and meow for us to come, and then they’ll climb onto our hands or shoulders and purr.

We also got little ferret harnesses so we can take them outside for even more adventures.

We are so glad that we got two kittens because they play and cuddle so much. They are very independent but also social.

And they learn from each other too – now Audre likes to sit on shoulders too.

I think they’re learning from us too – Audre LOVES watching TV – she will just sit completely attuned to the screen.

Her secret treat is Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kylie is really an icon to her. She hopes that the @DapperPaws IG account is as popular as Kylie’s dogs IG @normieandbambijenner some day.

Photo thanks to Sam Buchl

 

Nastassja was actually allergic to cats for most of their life, and just recently was able to interact with cats without breaking out into hives or their sinuses going out of control. As a result, Wilhelm and Audre are actually the first kittens Nastassja has ever held.

Photo thanks to Sam Buchl

So this is our family, and we are so blessed and happy to have Audre & Wilhelm in our lives.

Photo thank to Sam Buchl

They have grown from adorable kitties into dapper cats. Ok they are still kitties, but they are really maturing quickly!

They are wise, adventurous, loving…

and they are stepping out into the world with style!

Photo thanks to Sam Buchl