Cats of Character

When My Sweet Baboo and I first got together, we joined not only our stuff and our lives, but also our cats and their lives. At that time I had two, Jeckyll and Hyde, and he had five: Belleek, Molly, Bradley, Mom Kitty, and Michael T. Don't get nervous - it's a big house, and we had four litter boxes. Of the original family, the only one we still have is Michael T.

Michael (aka MT or Mikey) is a very big boy, a gray and white longhair, and the only one we have who's an indoor/outdoor cat. MSB insists that Mikey is "not full grow'd yet", even though he'll be thirteen this year and pretty much beyond any major growth spurt. He patrols the yard (and frankly the neighbors’ yards too) regularly, and we've been told by our mailman that MT is in fact an attack cat - apparently he can be a little vigorous in defense of his territory and has chased the mailman across the yard. As a kitten, he was called Zoey by his original owners, our former next-door neighbors. His first trip to the vet was an enlightening one, to say the least!


He’s not quite as fond of winter as he used to be, but loves to make us get up and let him out several times a night, even if he's only outside long enough to feel the wind in his whiskers and come right back in. He’s not very interested in birds, fortunately, as we have several feeders and birdhouses in the garden. A couple of nights ago, he brought a bat into the house – which MSB was able to get away from everyone and put back outside while it was still in one piece.

Next in line we have Galway Bay and Fenway Park- a brother and sister pair that our vet says bear a striking family resemblance. I'm not sure if she thinks that because they always go to the vet together, in the same carrier, or if they really do look alike to the trained eye. In reality, they look nothing alike. Galway's our 'black Irish' boy, a tuxedo cat, and Fenway -- well, put it this way. When she was little, the girl we adopted her from called her 'Messy Face', which I never thought was nice, but was true. She's a gray, white, and tan calico, but that's doesn't really do her justice. Galway's favorite place to be is on the back porch, sitting on the open step ladder looking at the birds. Fen - her favorite place is my right shoulder, with her head and front legs hanging down my back, purring up a storm. We had the names picked out before we found the cats, and I think we found the perfect pair. They'll turn four in May.

The last of the brood is StellaBella Valentine, an admittedly huge name for a tiny kitten we adopted when she was six weeks old to the day - and yes, her middle name is in honor of her birthday, February 14th. Stella's goal in life seems to be making as much noise as possible, announcing her presence every time she enters a room with a loud and long meow as if to say "here I am, did you miss me?" She'll continue meowing until she's acknowledged, which sometimes we'll put off until we can't stand it anymore, laughing all the while at her persistence. Her other noteworthy talent, if that’s what it’s called, is staring – intently staring – at things only she can see. We call this ‘lookiting’, after the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown’s little sister was jumping rope or something and trying to get his attention by saying “Lookit, Charlie Brown, lookit, Charlie Brown” over and over until he finally yelled, “I’m lookiting!” That’s our StellaBella – she’s always lookiting at something.

Different in every way, they're each great kids and life would be very boring without them. Enjoy their photos!


Sue

Cats of Character