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porch into Timi's room. We brought her food, water, and a litter box, along with the cardboard box that served as the temporary home for the cutest little critters I ever saw. To reflect our interest at the time, we named the kittens after NASCAR drivers: Ryan, Kenny, Junior, Kasey, and Rusty, in order of their birth. We had no idea they would all turn out to be females.

After 11 days, we lost Rusty, the last kitten to be born. She just stopped breathing one day. She was actually the most colorful of the five and would have been a beautiful cat, like her mother. We put her into a little box, said our goodbyes and buried her in the backyard in a grove of cedar trees.

Friends and family members offered to take a kitten or two. We quickly dismissed the idea of giving any of them away. They have been and remain a joy to us even though there are some trying times. It has been a delight to observe their behavior as they learned new things, and grew bigger each day. Despite their closeness, each of them is different, both in personality and appearance, except for Ryan and Kasey, who look alike. We call them the twins. Kenny is the most playful, but is also the biggest. Junior is the smallest.

We thought we would lose her, as we discovered she had a deformed left paw and some other health issues. She has a few bad days now and then, but mostly does very well. She walks on three paws and gets around as well as her litter mates. In fact, she is probably the toughest among them. We realize the importance of being responsible pet owners, so all of the kittens and their mother have been spayed.

Timi remains our inside/outside cat. The kittens are inside cats. Emily has finally realized that she might as well make the best of it because they aren't going away. She has even made friends with them, although she makes sure they know she is the elder. She commands their respect. Our family now consists of a dog and six cats. Some people think we are crazy, and sometimes we agree, but, this is our family and we love each of them.

Learn more about this author, Carol Henrichs.
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