The Antics of Amos and Andy

, In June of 2006, my husband announced that he had seen two kittens in his workshop that appeared to be abandoned. He admitted that he had been watching the kittens play for several days and had not seen a mother cat. Being both a Cat person and a bleeding heart, I left his supper cooking on the stove and rushed out to see the kittens for myself. They were beautiful golden tiger kitties suffering malnutrition and a huge fear of people. I will never know if someone dumped these two precious kittens, helpless to feed themselves, or if something dreadful had happened to their mother. I put dishes of milk out for them and stepped away. When they felt sure I was no danger to them, they lapped up the milk as though they had not eaten since birth; which I felt was close to six weeks.

I went to town the next day and bought food, dishes, toys, flea collars, worm medication, and hairball remedy. Free kittens are never free, this we all know. I had to play the "get to know me" game. Each day I placed their food a little closer to my back door. I would sit a good distance from them, cooing and baby talking them into trusting me a little more each day. The day they ate next to the steps to the back porch deck, I was allowed to pet Andy. Andy was and is the more trusting of the brothers. Andy's coat is a little darker than his brother's and Amos has more white around his eyes and nose. I had to see them up close together to tell them apart at first.