Everyone loves a new kitten. Whether it's your kitten or not, most people like to think of newly born kittens as a symbol of cuteness, love, and playfulness. But, every kitty has a story, right?
One kind-of-gloomy Wednesday morning in the last week of April, I walked home from my bus stop. My usual plans when I get home are homework, talk to friends, and Whyville. But today was different.
I was just beginning my math homework when I noticed my mom wasn't home. I remembered that it was the day after her birthday and she planned to go to a friend's house to visit.
When the door opened, and my mom was grasping her belly. My first thought was, "She's pregnant?!" But then I saw her belly wasn't the normal pregnant belly. It was lumpy and moving around.
The, a 9 week-old kitten came out from under her sweatshirt. Tears welled up in my eyes. She was beautiful, and she was ours.
I always cry when we get a new pet, because it's like getting a sister or brother. It's the new member of our family. But she didn't have a name yet.
Her old name was Marshmallow, because she looked like a burnt marshmallow. We kind of shrugged off that name, because we wanted to name her something unique. I threw my homework aside and played with the new kitten. She was definitely athletic, healthy, and instantly happy in her new home.
My other cats, Daisy and Beavis, didn't really welcome her so nicely. Daisy would hiss from the corner, and Beavis was just mad at the world. Even though they are used to her now, it seemed like the new kitty and the other two would be forever enemies.
Soon my mom had to go to work, and we still didn't have a name for her yet. I went across hundreds of names -- Giddy, Marie, Jonie . . . all of them didn't seem to fit.
But then, it came to me. At 8pm, she had her official name . . . Tawny.
She had some of the colors from a tawny owl, as shown here.
She is gray, brown, black, and white. Even though she has more blotches than detailed-like designs on this owl, it seemed to fit her perfectly.
I immediately called my mom.
"I got it!"
"What?"
"The name! For the kitten!"
"What is it?"
"Tawny. She has colors like a tawny owl!"
"I like that name! Keep it!"
I went and played with Tawny. Her new name rang in my ears. I loved it.
Oh, and for those of you dying to see a picture of her, here's when she first arrived at our house. She hid in the closet and under the dresser at first, and she seemed to like my laptop box quite a bit.
