The Story of Nathan Feline and Summer Meow.

Saturday morning I woke up and thought I heard a kitten. We don't have kittens so it seemed odd I would hear one, until I realised the sound came from outside. I looked out the window and right on our front porch with its back turned to me, sat a white and red kitten.

We were quite alright with having four cats, after years of five.

I went outside and the kitten was gone. I looked and looked and listened ... nothing. Maybe I was imagining things. When the Beloved came home I told him and he said he had heard it too. Not consciously, but when I said 'kitten' he realised that that's what it had been.  

We agreed we'd keep ears and eyes open, which is really all we could do at that point.

Yesterday we were both home after work when he came upstairs to tell me that the neighbour kids were fascinated by the black and white kitten in the basement window. 'A kitten? In OUR basement window?'
Apparently so.
I looked outside and saw the pink dress of the youngest girl rooting around in the shrubbery underneath the window.
'Maybe you should go outside', I said.
He did. 
So did I.

Everybody was there. ALL five kids, their sitter, the dog and the new puppy, all running around trying to catch the kitten. A white and red one, this time.
AHA! So it was their kitten?
It was not. Neither was the black and white one; they had found them in their garage.
I asked the oldest girl if they were going to keep it. And if not ...
Well, we can all see where this is going.
I gave them food for the kittens, two of the little people came inside and gave treats to our bewildered cats.

We went downstairs and ten minutes (or less) later they were back. With the black and white one. 'Do you want this one too?', I was asked.
Well ... uhm ...
Then the Beloved helped catch the white and red one. Then we had two kittens in a carrier.

I called some rescue organisations but it was after five so I could only leave messages. The kittens needed to not be in the carrier so we arranged the guest room for them.
Once out of the carrier the Beloved said we should call the boy Nathan Feline. I said: 'Okay, that means we're keeping them?' 'It makes it more personal when they have a name', he said. 'For adoption.'
'Right', I said. 'Except then you wouldn't have given him the name we had reserved for our boy cat whenever that would happen.'

The little girl became Summer Meow, after Summer Glau who was in Firefly as well, with Nathan Fillion.

This afternoon they went to the vet to be cleared of All Evil.

Now we have six.

Yes, I could have been more determined to get them into a rescue, but here's the thing: rescues are filled to the brim with kittens and older cats so, so ready to be adopted. By saving these two, we are not only saving rescues from having to turn away other kittens - we are also saving two other cats that now have the chance to be adopted.
I don't believe that you are always part of the problem if you are not part of the solution - but I do believe you should always, ALWAYS try to be part of the solution.