When I became a reporter for The Science Survey, I made an oath to bring the truth to the citizens of Bronx Science and the world at large. I swore to myself that I would say what needed to be said and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I wanted to write real stories, important news that would enlighten and educate my readers. Today, I will cover one of the most pressing topics to date: my cats. 

I have always been a cat lover. My mother lived the majority of her life with cats by her side, and has shared her love of them with me. I grew up alongside my childhood cat, Oliver (Ollie), who was a part of my family before I was even conceived. He was my brother in everything besides blood and, despite not being the most personable or affectionate cat, I loved him with everything I had. Unfortunately, this summer Ollie’s life came to an end. After 18 beautiful years, Ollie passed away and left a cat sized hole in our family.

His loss was a huge hit on the entire family, including my uncle and grandfather. Although it hurt to see him go, I think in some way we were all at peace in that he lived a long and love-filled life. For a while my mother and I grieved together, but as time went on it was undeniable that the house felt empty without a feline running around. 

We began our search for new cats towards the end of August. One thing we were set on was getting two cats rather than one. One of my mother’s biggest regrets when it came to Ollie was not adopting one of his siblings. In fact, most shelters will not let you adopt a kitten unless you have another cat at home or if you take two. 

I asked Kimberly Brooks, an English teacher here at Bronx Science who spends a lot of her time outside of teaching volunteering at For Animals Inc., why this is. According to her, “there is a misconception that cats are solitary creatures. Cats can get bored and lonely at home, especially if their guardians are not home often. Two cats can entertain each other and provide great company, too.” She also said that kittens need to be able to play with another cat, not just to let out their energy, but to better learn physical boundaries. Although it may seem like more work having two cats, having a friend will keep your cats entertained and happy.

Another thing my mom was looking for was a gray cat. Although it wasn’t a deal breaker, my mom has had a gray cat since she was a child and wanted to continue the tradition. 

We took our search to Petfinder, the largest pet adoption site in North America. The website has a large network of shelters on it, allowing you to see all available pets in your area. Scrolling through all the adorable kittens it was almost impossible not to put in an application for every single one. 

My mother and I fell in love with several kittens and inquired about several pairs. Unfortunately, many were no longer available or the shelters took too long to get back to us. While searching through the gray kittens of Petfinder, we stumbled upon an adorable kitten under the name of Stormi, who we found out has a black sister named Waka (supposedly short for Wakanda). My mother and I loved the idea of adopting a black kitten, as they are unfortunately less likely to be adopted due to old superstitions.  

When showing my uncle Stormi’s picture during a family brunch he actually teared up from her cuteness, convincing me these kittens were made for us. Almost immediately after putting in our application we heard back from their organization, Purrfect Catpanion, and set up a zoom interview. We met with France and Alma, two of the organization’s founders, who after talking immediately approved our application. They told us that Stormi actually had another prospective adopter, but our application was preferred since we wanted to keep the sisters together. 

After reaching out to the kittens’ foster mother, we were able to meet them the very next day and take them home. In all honesty, neither my mother and I had expected to be taking any cats home so soon, but luckily we had brought our old cat carrier just in case. 

The two were born in the beginning of July and a few weeks later they were found in a puddle under a woman’s house. They were found alone, so we are unsure what happened to their mother or if they had any other siblings. The homeowner rescued them and kept them at home for a week before bringing them to Purrfect Catpanion. There, they were placed with a 16 year old foster mom who has been rescuing cats since she was 13. Along with their foster mom, the kittens lived with her mom and their two cats. 

We instantly fell in love with the girls. They were so tiny and adorable, they loved to play and the way they cuddled together melted our hearts. Before we knew it, we were phoning my uncle to get all the kitten essentials before we arrived home.   

My mother and I did struggle slightly over the perfect names for the two, but eventually we decided on Willow (black) and Ivy (gray), both of which are titles from Taylor Swift’s masterpiece and 9th studio album evermore.

 As any cat owner knows, your cat’s official name is just one of the many ways you will refer to them. Luckily I don’t think this causes too much confusion to my cats as they are yet to understand their name or anything that requires multiple brain cells. Both of them are often called cuties, or prettiest princesses of princess town, for example. Sometimes they are just known as ‘the babies’ due to their absolute babyish characteristics. Ivy in particular is often referred to as love bug, purr box, naughty, and stinky (affectionately). Willow’s aliases include  silly willy, chonkster, chunky monkey, and pillow. 

I wouldn’t describe the sisters as ‘bonded’ as they are both pretty independent and live their lives on their own. The moment we let them out in our apartment they went their separate ways, exploring everything around them. This isn’t to say they don’t have any bond at all, the two always groom and play with each other, and are often found sleeping together. They most likely would have been fine if separated, but I’m glad they have each other.

The two now live lavishly, with three cat beds, a cat tower (built by yours truly), and more toys than ever needed.

Ivy  

Out of the two, Ivy is the trouble maker. She is constantly climbing to new heights, whether it is a sink, table, desk, shelf, piano, or drawer. My grandfather, who tries to spend time with them when my mother and I are both out, swears she is going to hurt herself one day by tipping over our television. No matter how many times we discourage her from climbing certain things, she refuses to end her chaotic ways. After a while we gave up keeping her off the table when there’s no food, and she will often sit atop all my mom’s papers while she works on her computer. As of right now, one of her favorite spots is on top of my mom’s dresser, where she can keep the higher ground against her sister.  

Ivy has always been like this. When we first met her, she had a tiny brown streak in her gray fur. Her foster’s mother was a hairstylist and, being the troublemaker that she is, Ivy spilled some bleach on herself. 

As mentioned before, Ivy is sometimes called ‘purr box.’ This nickname stems from her frequent and loud purring. Ivy purrs day to night, when she’s happy, when she’s upset, she will purr if she’s pet, kissed or even just sat next to. My favorite is when she begins purring as I pet her sister. These purrs are loud and proud, heard from miles away. 

Ivy is the more affectionate cat, craving more pets and cuddles. Often, when she wants attention, Ivy will go on my chest and aggressively force me to pet her before settling down. She gets really fascinated by whatever is happening on my computer, and I often have to stop her from stepping on my keyboard or pawing at the screen.

Ivy enjoys my family’s company and is more likely to actively seek us out than Willow. Half the time when I’m in the bathroom, Ivy pushes her way in and sits next to me. She will even sit through my showers, often sticking her head through the curtain to watch the water. She wants to be with us even when she isn’t in the mood to be affectionate.  She hates to be left out, and often if both my mother and I are with her sister, she will shortly join us. 

Ivy also definitely fits the definition of a curious cat. Whenever something enters the apartment or if food is served, Ivy must go and investigate, smelling everything she can, whether it is mac and cheese or sweaty socks. 

Willow

When we adopted Willow, we were told she was somewhat mute. Aside from a few meows, her foster mom barely heard a peep out of the kitten. This is mostly true as Willow rarely purrs when pet or meows when picked up like her sister. Willow does occasionally get into these moods where she desires affection, but unfortunately for us, this is usually in the middle of the night. It is in these moments when she’s locked out of our rooms that she chooses to meow and whine nonstop, until I eventually give up and let her into my bedroom. But overall, Willow is much more reclusive than Ivy. She usually prefers to be left alone and doesn’t always want to be petted.

As implied by some of her nicknames, Willow is larger than her sister. When we got them, Willow already had about half a pound on her sister and has now amassed to being around four pounds heavier. Ivy is pretty skinny, so while Willow is not overweight, she is quite rounder. Even though she is less than eight months old, she is almost the size of a full-grown cat. My mother always said she’d be a large cat as she has large paws, but we have no idea of how big she will get to be. 

One of Willow’s favorite pastimes is looking out the window. I will often find her perched up on a heater, watching all the cars drive by outside. Many mornings as I head off to school, I look up from the street and can see her tiny little black head in my window. 

Willow’s favorite items in our households are our soft and fluffy blankets. Something a lot of cats do is ‘make biscuits.’ This is when they knead into something, almost as if they were making dough. Willow will ‘make biscuits’ while also suckling on the blanket. 

Watching these cats grow before my eyes has been such a wonderful experience. I feel like a parent, wondering when they got so big and asking where the time has gone. Even when they are reluctant to show me affection, their presence improves my days. It pains me that I will have to leave them when I head off to college, but I know they will be surrounded my love no matter what.

We instantly fell in love with the girls. They were so tiny and adorable, they loved to play, and the way they cuddled together melted our hearts.