MEET ALBUS AND PIPPIN
Hello friends! We are Kim and Ryan and our furbabies are named Albus and Pippin. They are both roughly 1.5 years of age. Ryan and I both finished our undergraduate in Wildlife Biology. I am currently working at a veterinary office while Ryan is completing his final semester in his master’s program.
When Ryan moved to eastern North Carolina to pursue his master’s degree, I was not able to move in with him right away, so we wanted to adopt a cat to keep him company. On the day that we adopted Albus, we spent all day looking through each of the local pet stores for a potential companion only to reach the end of the day without feeling a connection with any of the available adoptees. Only an hour following our departure from the last pet store, we received a call from one of the rescue organizations who informed us that one more kitten had become available. We returned to the pet store to see the new kitty in the arms of another couple and thought that we had lost our chance. Minutes later, as we waited patiently, the couple placed him back in the kennel and left. As Ryan scooped Albus up into his arms, Albus started to pluff and purr, and we were instantly sold. We were told that Albus (then Pearl) was a female that was recently spayed. It wasn’t until later that night, after we brought “Pearl” home, that we discovered our evening spent picking out girl names should have been spent picking out boy names!
Pippin came from a litter of stray kittens that Ryan’s mother was fostering for the local Humane Society. On a weekend visit back home, we found ourselves unable to pass up the opportunity to play with the litter of fluffy nuggets, so we passed by his mother’s house with no intentions of bringing one home with us. As I was sitting in the floor with them, the largest and smallest kittens climbed into my lap and snuggled up to me while we watched their siblings play. As a joke, I told Ryan, “If I still have a kitten on my lap by the time we were ready to head home then it is coming with us.” After an hour had passed by, the same two kittens were still on my lap. Ryan approached the baby gate to inform me that it was time to leave; the smallest kitten jumped off my lap, leaving our beloved Pippin, at which point Ryan and I realized just how serious my previous inclination was. Pippin was meant to come with us.
Albus is a sherpa blanket connoisseur that has perfected the pluff to purr ratio. Our evenings after dinner end with cuddles on our favorite blanket on the couch where we’ll watch tv and I’ll brush his coat as he naps. As I finish getting ready for bed he typically waits at the end of the bed for me until I enter the bedroom where he will meet me at my side of the bed to say goodnight. Pippin, who lives up to his namesake of always hungry and looking for mischief, loves to fetch his favorite mouse toy and play hide-and-seek with us around the apartment. Pippin will typically wake us up in the morning by licking our nose/ears or pawing at our backs to let us know that it is time to feed him. Once he wakes us up he purrs loudly with satisfaction.
Ryan and I enjoy spending our time outdoors when we have the chance. We wanted to start training the boys to hike with us because we wanted them to have a more enriched life outside of the apartment walls. Pippin prefers to walk while Albus is typically riding in the cat backpack. Our biggest obstacle when starting out on any adventure is the motion sickness. We’ve learned to keep both of them seated in front with us with the windows rolled down. If we know we are going to be driving on any curvy roads then we typically medicate them with an anti-nausea medication a few hours before the drive. Hiking with the boys has taught me to have more patience. While outside with your cat, it should be about them and making sure that they are comfortable.
Our next big adventure that we are looking forward to is our move to New Brunswick, Canada later this winter so that Ryan can complete his PhD at the University of New Brunswick. We are currently awaiting our Visa approval, but are so excited to explore new trails and see our first moose! We are thankful that Albus has a gray smudge on top of his head so that we don’t lose him in the all of the snow.
You can follow us along on our adventures on Instagram at @tailsofhillhouse.
