Player One Podcast

When Dana and I lost our beloved cat, Mia, a few weeks ago, we were understandably heartbroken. Of course, since we love cats, we also knew that it was a matter of time before our hearts had healed enough to allow us to bring another cat into our lives.

Apparently that time was today (well, yesterday, if you want to get technical).

The two of us were taking a walk around town when we found ourselves passing by a small, independently-owned pet shop. The store frequently gets cats from one of the local shelters to show off for adoption, and sure enough they had a few there today. We popped in to look, and we were immediately taken by the pair of kittens in the front window display. They were both extremely friendly and playful, and after holding them for a bit, Dana and I exchanged a “we’re going to do this, aren’t we?” glance.

After a brief discussion about how ready we were to adopt another cat, and we were walking out of the place with two new kittens.

You see, we had wanted to get another cat for a long time, but Mia was not a social animal. She had her people and that was enough for her. Anytime we exposed her to another cat, she made with the low, angry growls and the hissing (I only ever heard her do this around other cats). You’ll often hear that it’s good to get kittens in pairs, so we figured that this was the perfect opportunity.

The two kittens (one male, one female) aren’t technically siblings, but they’ve been living together their entire lives (three months), so they’re practically related. It was pretty clear seeing them together at the store that they wouldn’t appreciate being separated.

So names! The gray cat is the girl, and Dana wanted to name her Moxie after Penn Jillette’s daughter, Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette. How could I argue with that? I suggested that we name the boy Philo after Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the television. It also works as a reference to my name and the crazy engineer (and host of “Secrets of the Universe”) from UHF.

Because out new kitties love gender stereotypes, Moxie is a bit shy and demure and Philo is an energetic rascal. I couldn’t tell you how many times Philo charged at Moxie and pounced on her for a bit of wrestling. As you can see from the pictures, though, they really are good friends and will happily snuggle together when they’ve worn themselves out (when out they’ve worn themselves?).

Strangely enough, they seem to have taken to their new home rather well. Mia was quite skittish when we first got her and went to great lengths to hide from Dana and I for a week or so. These guys were just happy to do a little exploring, and they’ve been all up for cuddling up next to us for some petting. Perhaps it’s the age difference. Mia was about two years old when we got her.

Moxie and Philo certainly can’t replace Mia, but they’re pretty awesome kitties in their own right. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with them.

Phil Theobald Cats, Miscellany Cats, kitties, Moxie, Philo