Need a kitten?

If anyone is interested, I have three adorable kittens that need a good home. No charge -- just give them a good home. One is black, one is kinda tiger striped and one is black and white. And believe it or not, at 7 weeks old, they have been trained to a litter box! Call me (Erma) at the newspaper and I'll arrange for you to take one or two or three home with you.

They have really been fun to watch and I'm going to miss watching them play, but around our house, one cat is enough.

The mama cat adopted us a few years ago. She had been seen around but she wouldn't come near anyone. Finally, one night, she must have been starving, because she jumped up on the kitchen window ledge mewing and I had to feed her, so of course, she stayed. It took her a long time to be friendly, but slowly she has assumed her place in our life and it appears she likes her new home.

She's been a great mama, but she'll be taking a trip to the vet soon. No more kittens.

I've never been a big cat lover and this is only the second cat we have ever had. Our first cat was named Adolph as in Adolph Hitler. It had a tiny black mustache that made you think of Hitler when you looked at her, so our son, who was about 10 at the time, named her Hitler. I called her the devil cat. She seemed to have no natural instincts when it came to taking care of her kittens. No matter what we tried, I think we only had two kittens survive from several litters. She made a visit to the vet, also.

She became a permanent fixture around our house and lived to be about 18 years old, which I think is pretty good for an outside cat. She was a great mouser and often left "presents" at our door. We always knew when she had a mouse from the tone of her mewing. It was a different sound and she would make it until we went to the door and acknowledged her "kill." Then she was happy and went on with her regular routine of sleeping -- mostly. Has anyone else ever experienced this with your cat?

Although I called her the devil cat, I missed her after she died. She had been around a long time and she did her mousing job until the end.

We said we weren't going to get another cat and we didn't until this new one adopted us. By the time she showed up, I was ready for her. We had never had mice in our house until the devil cat died and then we captured two -- that was enough!

The new cat doesn't really have a name. We just call her kitty. The mice disappeared shortly after she arrived so she must be doing her job. But, so far, she doesn't make that same strange mewing or bring the kill to the door for us to see, like the devil cat did.

I guess cats have their individual personalities just like dogs do. I know the kittens do. I've had hours of enjoyment watching them play. The little black and white one seems to be the one to start all the wrestling matches and it usually takes two to pen her/him down. One likes to stalk the others. It will hunker down and creep slowly toward the other kittens. Most of the time, the other kittens have moved to another area before it finishes it stalk. That doesn't seem to bother it much -- it still makes the final jump whether there's anything to catch or not.

So, if you're in need of a mouser, call me at the newspaper. I'll fix you up with a dandy one.