Natasha and Boris

Up until now we had been putting off the idea for a number of laudable reasons, but recently Ian and I have allowed ourselves to entertain the thought of having a pet. Fiona and I have been amusing ourselves by thinking of kitty color/name combinations for years now, since she is most definitely A Cat Person.

Jen: I think I'd like a big, round, yellow cat named Clementine. We could nickname it Tiny!
Fiona: Yeah... or Clemen.
Jen: Yes, but do you see that it's sort of funny to have a cat that's orange like a clementine and big and round, but called Tiny?
Fiona: Yes, but we could still call it Clemen.

Recently, I have had an overwhelming yearning for a blue cat. I have this idea that stray hairs would camouflage better on our clothes and sofa (LOL!) and I like the name Sliding Delta like the song by Missisippi John Hurt. We could call her Delta. My Grandma always used to gush whenever one of her barn cats bore a blue kitten-- enough so that it made me love them because I loved to see her so tickled.

So I started looking around at blue cats, and discovered an entire breed of blue cats with amazing temperament and short, lustrous, silvery blue fur: Russian Blues. Their personality is just about as alluring as their looks, so I began searching for them in animal shelters.

Sure enough, I found a gorgeous pair of them-- Natasha and Boris-- in Chicago. Ian is not thrilled about the prospect of TWO cats, nor does he want us to drive out of town to get them. The point is probably moot, however, because they are six months old, and have been there since before July 4th, so I can't imagine they're still there. What's worse, the Chicago Animal Care and Control WILL NOT tell anyone on the phone whether an animal is still there or not, so we'd have to go there in-person to find out. Bummer.

Well, if we're meant to have a cat, it will be sweet serendipity if and when we find one. Or two.