After weeks of researching local kitten providers, I selected a Brooklyn-based breeder via Instagram referral [[ thank you: ten-year high school reunion, lols ]]

 

The buying process consisted of 1) coordinating times available to view, 2) visiting the alien-resemblant litter for pre-sale, 3) spending a month of swapping voice-messages via Instagram DM with selected breeder, 4) hashing out payment terms/methods on the fly, and 5) prepping the basic necessities to house a kitten [[ liiike, I went ALL-IN to baby-proof my apartment for this little ChiChi - thank you: Amazon, Chewy, & Pandemic Paranoia ]].

 

Of course upon first visit, I took two people with me to embark on this new adventure (one was a lifetime cat lover/owner ~because~ experience and insight is invaluable). Admittedly, I was quite awkward while getting acquainted with the kitten litter as I grew up in a family whom resided dogs. There were three Scottish Folds and three Scottish Straights; I was torn between one female fold, and two straights [[ tip: price increases for folds ]].  I can confidently say I made the correct decision resulting in waiting the eight-week minimum age to take home la fur-baby. [[ All good because this created ample time to go through my three-pages of brainstormed names for kitty ]]

 

Although Chia didn't let her big personality shine bright at first, she quickly became acclimated to our new forever home together.... she continues to exceed all preconceptions I had towards cats before being converted to kitty-mama!