How do you spell J O Y ???

♥ I spell it Nip and Tuck ♥
Tuck is a snowshoe sealpoint Siamese and Nip is a tortie point Siamese.

We had 2 dogs and 2 cats for so many years and one by one, through illness, we had to say goodbye to each one. That was over 10 years ago and after the last cat went down, our hearts were broken and we just couldn't even think of adopting again. So over the last year or so, hubs and I have been kicking around the idea of getting another cat. We were ready to open our home and our hearts and bring a sweet little someone into our lives.

We finally committed wholeheartedly to the notion and started going to the rescues to see who was going to speak to our heart....we figured we would know the minute we met them! What we weren't expecting was to hear from 2 cats - but that is exactly how Nip and Tuck came into our lives.

They came from the same Siamese rescue but lived in different parts of the city and had never seen each other before.

Tuck (the boy) was in a foster home and from watching his dispostion, I believe he's been treated better than most of the abondoned kitties out there.

Nip is another story. She came with scratches and bald spots where she has licked the fur bare. She had a terrible case of ear mites, witnessed by her raw and red left ear. She was scared and very vocal, but there was something about her that touched Darrell's heart the minute he saw her and he knew she was the one. He drove home to pick me up and take me back to meet her. It was late in the afternoon and the cats were being loaded up for a long and lonely trip back to the shelter. I heard a cat clear across the store parking lot - even over the roar of our motorcycle engines - but thinking it as someone else's cat ready to call it a day and go home, gave it no thought at all. Instead, I headed into the store with my girlfriend - anxious to meet this sweet girl that stole my husbands heart. As I rounded the line of cages, my eyes met Tuck and my heart melted. He was sitting alone all curled up in the corner of a huge cage, not too interested in anything that was going on around him. Not a peep came from him and he barely lifted his head to show interest in the fingers that continually poked through the cage as folks were trying to rouse his interest. When I finally heard Darrell calling my name, I turned around and heard first what my eyes focused on later ... there was Nip - screaming for attention and someone to let her out of this bloody cage immediately!

Sooooo... this was the girl that was causing the scene!

I should have known, after all - Darrell married ME! :)

We picked them up a week later - Tuck on Friday morning and Nip on Saturday morning. Its been a weekend full of "settling in" ... and with Nip, that consists of alot of hissing, swiping Tuck in the face when he passes too closely to her, and an overall disdain for any other 4 legged creature that happens to be in the same room. I knew it would be a matter of time before she caved and decided that maybe he wasnt so bad after all. Last night we had a housefull of company and they had free access of the house, but chose to stay in the upstairs bedroom. So we each went to them to make sure they were doing ok, and not scratching each others eyes out. It's been a big big transition for each of them and I could see slowly that she was warming up to him. It might take a village to raise a child, but it takes baby steps for Nip to warm up to Tuck.

To my delight and great great surprise this afternoon, I returned from church to find them sprawled out on the same chair!

The ice has broken... the bonds of healing and trust and love have begun to show through.

By the way, it's killing hubs that no one wants to spend long leisurly hours in his lap each night!

Remember ... baby steps, baby steps....