By Dana Davis

My family is fostering Harpo and Zippo, two sweet and healthy kittens. We brought them into our home after we ‘discovered’ them at Wal-Mart. Two little girls were sitting outside the store on a very hot August day, and a tiny box with the words “Free Kittens” written on the outside was seated between them. The little girl’s cheeks were bright pink from being in the sun, and the box between them was closed and still. I could not just drive by. I offered to take the kittens to the Humane Society for them, and they were relieved to surrender their charges. Without even looking in the box, we loaded the kittens into our car and prepared to head to the Humane Society. Ironically, we had been on our way there anyway to pick up a humane trap for a feral cat that had been coming around our house for food. We intended to trap him, and then take him up to be neutered, and then re-released. As it turned out, stopping for the kittens had delayed our trip time, and we got there after they had already closed. We turned towards home, and as we did, we opened to box to see what we had picked up.

The kittens were very tiny, stinky, and covered in fleas. My youngest son wanted to hold one, and when he did he commented on all of the moving bugs in her fur. Not good.

When we got home, the first thing we did was give them several gentle baths. They really didn’t seem to mind – and the boy (Harpo) actually enjoyed it. He recently got another bath for stepping in wet paint, and ended up walking around in the bath water for several minutes after the paint had been removed. We have come to find out that he is super mellow. They have both settled in to a busy household very nicely. Harpo, the black boy, is also called baby bear. He loves to hug ankles, and stand on his hind legs looking out windows, and asks to be picked up and carried around. He trills for us when he can’t see us, and then comes running when called. He is a big boy and getting bigger, and has velvety black and gray fur. His sister, Zippo, is half his size and dainty. The most striking things about the way she looks are the gold tips on her toes and tail, and the white rim of eyelashes around her eyes. She looks like a girl, through and through. She is the adventuress, and is very bouncy and saucy. If cats could prance, then Zippo does. She also likes to be near us, and snuggle up for naps. She likes to be carried around, too, and will reach for your face with her paws and give kisses. Super sweet girl. Her fur is soft and medium length, and she has gentle and loving disposition.

We would love for them to stay together. We have 4 other cats in our home, and while everyone gets along, these two are peas in a pod, and would be so happy to have each other for company. Fostering was not what we expected to do but we are glad we could help these two become ready for their forever homes.  If you know someone looking to adopt or maybe your home could use a pair like Zippo and Harpo, please consider being their forever home or passing this to a friend.