Vito and Rocket and the Ronens: Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail

“My daughter Grace and I adopted two kitten brothers: Vito and Victor,” explains Jeanne. “Although Vito loved his name, Victor didn’t look like a Victor. Because he resembled Rocket from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ we renamed him Rocket.

“We had had two outdoors orange tabbies who adopted us, but sadly died of old age a number of years ago. We felt that we were finally over the sadness and ready to adopt. We knew we wanted tabbies again, and so when we saw Vito on Furry Friends, we decided to apply for him. We also knew that we wanted to adopt siblings so that they wouldn’t be lonely when we were at work and at school, but thought we’d wait awhile. Then, my dad passed away suddenly, and since Vito’s siblings all had Italian names like my dad, I took it as a sign to apply for a second one.

 “Both kittens, who were about 3.5 months old, adjusted immediately. Their foster mom did a wonderful job with them. They started using the kitty litter right away, and they were so incredibly cuddly. Because we had experienced so much loss that year, in addition to my father’s passing, Vito and Rocket brought so much joy and fun back into our house. Now we can’t imagine life without them!

 “Rocket and Vito have unique interests. Rocket loves to play with pens (with the caps on) and chess pieces. If you throw them, he will bring them back to you. When he settles down to rest, he takes a pen with him like a teddy bear. If we give Rocket a new toy, he hides it from everyone for a while. Vito has a favorite stuffed animal that for the first month he took with him everywhere, and if Rocket tried to take it, he would growl a little. They both like to play in a hammock that my daughter made from a large scarf. They like to swing in it when they’re relaxing, and when they’re more playful, they like to put toys in it. They also love football. They climb on the table and play soccer with the football. They love to wrestle with each other, and they still nap next to each other sometimes.

“They both love to be petted and cuddled. Rocket likes to climb into Grace’s hoodie and peaks out over her shoulder while she’s working. Vito is shier and will let you know when he wants to be petted. In the morning, they both enjoy cuddle time with Grace, but unfortunately, it’s often when she has to get up for school. They sometimes sleep on her bed and Vito likes to burrow under the covers.

 “Rocket loves to be part of any action! If we’re doing housework, he follows us everywhere. Once, when we had an electrician over to the house, Rocket followed him everywhere, and watched intently while he changed an outlet. If we’re in a room with the door closed, both Rocket and Vito put their paws under the door and wave them at us until we let them in.

“They usually play together when we go to sleep. We hear the zoomies in the hallway. Later, they join Grace on her bed or sleep in boxes or under the couch in the living room. I keep my door closed because I’m a light sleeper.”
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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.