Missing my girls

I haven't posted about this because I thought I'd give it some time in hopes that I wouldn't be too emotional. We decided to find new homes for our cats. It was an impossible decision because we love our girls. Ultimately, we chose to do what was best for our son and for the cats. I know some will judge our choice and that is fine, but honestly no one can say what they would do unless they were in the exact same situation.

We had both cats confined to our master bedroom and bathroom for more than two months. It definitely cut down on the cat dander in our home but it was not fair to them or to us. The cats weren't getting as much attention. It was sad to see their sweet little faces waiting for us to come pet them or play with them each time we went in our bedroom. Ethan continued to suffer from his allergy to them. Continuing the medication was not an option because of the issues it caused with his eating. He wouldn't allow anything near his mouth because he thought we were forcing the medicine in again. It was awful. We were also concerned about the potential for other issues, such as asthma, to develop with continued exposure.

We knew that Ellie would do well on her own but Kylie would need to go to a home with another cat. She did well with a companion. She was the one who initiated play with Ellie and like to follow Ellie around. We are so thankful that our friends helped us find perfect new homes for them.

My dear friend Charlene asked her sister to take one of the girls. She chose Ellie.

{Ellie was the princess of our house. Here she is on Christmas Day 2008. So pretty!}

We hear she is doing very well. She made herself at home on the sofa during her first day with her new family.

A friend of Matt's took Kylie.

{Here she is loving on me and Ethan just a few weeks before he was born. Kylie was my baby and loved to cuddle. I miss that.}

Kylie has a new kitty friend, Jack, at her new home. They are learning to live with each other. We have heard that Kylie began cuddling with her new family within a week of her move.

I never posted about how WELL the cat's adjusted to Ethan because I was afraid of jinxing it. I was terrified that one or both of them would have a difficult time with such a big life change but they did amazingly well, just as they have with their adjustment to new homes.

Before we arrived home from the hospital with Ethan we plugged in one of these. We didn't know if they would help but we read positive reviews about them. About 6 weeks later we noticed Kylie was more uneasy than usual. We ordered a refill and she was relaxed again.

As soon as we arrived home from the hospital Ellie walked up to Ethan's carseat, nearly stepped on him in it, smelled him, and walked away. It was very funny. She acted like she couldn't have cared less about the addition as long as she was fed and had attention. That is Ellie's way. She loves you but doesn't want you to know.

{Ethan was one month old here. I caught the two of them staring at each other just before taking this photo.}


{Kylie asking if she could come cuddle too. Ethan was 7 weeks old here.}


{Ethan was fascinated by Kylie. He loved to watch her. Before we had to separate them he started reaching out for her and screeched when he saw her.}


{Ellie joining the fun on the play mat.}


I know we made the right decision for all of us but I still miss them.