Prologue: Monday, April 14th

I went into the cat room at the Animal Welfare Association, looking for the long-haired kittens I had seen listed on Petfinder the day before.

Instead, I found two cages of adorable short-haired kittens...

Walking out to ask someone at the front desk which of these friendly and playful grey kitties was available for adoption, I finally spotted the long-haired trio I had been looking for in the first place, in a crate that had been partially obscured by the door.

The artists formerly known as Whispers, Buttons, & Pugsly

Two of the three 10-week-old black kittens - one male, one female - were still available. Yay! A cell phone call later, my husband and daughters were there...although I was already hooked, we needed a consensus.

No convincing was necessary. All agreed that we would adopt "Whispers" and "Buttons." And that we would be changing their names as soon as possible.