Even after three years (yep – the kitties turn three today!), they still surprise me. Their personalities continue to grow and evolve, and it’s so much fun to witness.
Case in point: I walked into the living room the other day and was greeted by Diego staring at me, while sitting on the couch like this – with his arms all spread out – for the first time.
I immediately burst out laughing, took some pictures, and then gave him a kiss on the top of his little furry head.
Despite being a pretty pretty princess, she still has her awkward days.
Whenever we move a piece of furniture around, it becomes unrecognizable to the cats. Despite the fact that it’s the same thing in a slightly different spot, they have to smell it all over again, rub their little faces on it, and conduct all other types of little cat investigations.
So when we moved this shelving unit into the living room (to sell it), it was like an amusement park had cropped up in the middle of the house. They inspected the furniture, climbing over it, under it, and through it – giving me plenty of dramatic photo opportunities.
Per usual, Diego doesn’t waste any time getting into, under or on top of items of clothing. I accidentally dropped this hat on the floor while packing the other day, and before I could turn around and pick it back up, he was already trying it on for size. This kitty’s ready for summer fashions!
And picking right up where we left off in the last post … very sleepy cats often also get in the funniest positions …
… and become little yogis.
Look at that. What technique!
It’s always funny when the cats are completely sound asleep for two reasons: (1) They’re such jittery animals, always stirring at the tiniest sound, that it’s sweet and rare that they truly relax and get some deep sleep; and (2) All they do is lounge and sleep all day, so the idea that they would be exhausted enough for deep sleep is hard to fathom.
Oh but it’s the cutest thing, especially when Diego is so tired that his little face squishes against the mattress. He’s not technically asleep here, because I woke him up by taking pictures, but you get the idea.
I was cleaning out a desk drawer the other day. I took it out, turned my back for what could not have been more than 5 seconds, and then saw this:
she wasted no time squeezing herself into that space.
I can’t even imagine that it would be comfortable.
But she stayed put for as long as I kept that drawer out.
She was a content little kitty in a confined space.
Sometimes the kitties try to blend in with the furniture. Without much success.
Every night (with very few exceptions for when we’re truly exhausted), we let the kittens into our room to sleep. They almost always start out as little fur balls curled up at the foot of the bed. I often end up sleeping in weird diagonal lines across the bed, with my legs positioned so as not to disturb Dora or Diego from their warm little spots.
But I’m not always so accommodating. On the nights when they decide to channel Satan and behave like wild, possessed cats, I have to put my foot down.
It usually starts precisely at 6:20 a.m., when Diego begins his exercise circuit. First, he jumps down from the bed and back up onto to my nightstand, knocking the lamp with his tail in the process. Then he takes aim and lands up on our headboard, teeter-tottering above our heads as he paces the length of the board back and forth. When he’s done with that, he lands right next to my face – always a great way to be startled awake from sleep. And when all that’s done, he climbs under our bed, and begins wildly scratching at the underside of the box spring – managing to shake the entire bed in the process.
In the alternative, some nights he simply brings over his toy goat – which baahs loudly when pressed — or decides to give himself a very loud bath. In these instances, I begin to get out of bed to kick him out. Thinking I want to play (and he falls for this every time), he promptly begins running out of the bedroom and down the hallway.
This gives me 5 seconds to locate Dora in the dark, and try to grab her and put her outside before she smartens up to my plan – because otherwise it’s over. If she realizes what’s happening, she will promptly jump down and run under the bed, where she will stay until she’s certain we’re done looking for her.
If she’s in a deep sleep, however, I can usually scoop her up with no trouble. This is where she’ll make this little whimper, like “hey, i was sleeping and i’m so comfy and why do you have to kick me out just because my brother’s a butthead please let me stay i love you.”
So, right after my heart is broken into pieces by this tiny little kitteh plea, I gently place her just outside the room, close the door and try to remind myself that cats do not have short-term memories and will most likely forget that I kicked them out in the first place in a few hours.
