Letters

I have enjoyed seeing pictures of Akhie and Nyevie's siblings as they grow, and so have attached some updated photos of  A & K in their favorite forbidden spot, a kitchen counter with a big window on which they can bask in the morning sun and watch the birds in the bushes..  I should note, there are other windows to the garden in the sun with special shelves for them to hang out, but forbidden pleasures seem to rule their choice.

As predicted, Nyevie is the largest, weighing 12 lbs 5 oz as of a week ago, but Akhie at 11 lbs 6 ozs is more than a lapful, too.  Akhie is the more aggressively affectionate of the two.  As a kitten, he would jump to my shoulder if I patted it, but now that he is so big, is only allowed to do so if I am sitting down.  He then snuggles his face (it used to be his whole little self!) under my chin or gives me lots of cold kisses all over my face with his kitty nose.  He will also come and chirp and poke me with a paw to get my attention when I am working at the computer.  If I lean back and pat my shoulder, he jumps up. If I hold my hand out and say "no", he slinks away sometimes mewing reproachfully. He can send Nyevie bolting off my lap with one cold unrelenting stare.  I don't know how that dominance was established, but we only get to hold Nyevie when he is sure Akhie is asleep and he can wallowed, unbullied, in all the tummy rubs we can give him.  It is like having a forbidden love.

The cats often get on their hind legs and box each other for positions on the top shelf of the cat tree, and sometimes end up curling up together for a snooze anyway.  Nyevie is the eat anything cat, but Akhie is much more fastidious and prefers his cat lovers gold and innova evo mix to anything but the occasional canned tuna.  Interestingly enough, at least to me, is that Nyevie gets first choice of toy play, and will often hog them all, dropping whatever he is playing with to go get Akhie's, even if it is the same toy. Poor Akhie only plays with toys when Nyevie is napping.

We have enjoyed their company enormously.  On weekends, my husband gets up early and opens their playroom.  They bound up the stairs and wait for me to emerge, greeting me with chirps and warbles, grabbing my ankles and purring.  Akhie has a good morning "joy" greeting that is irresistible.  He will plant is nose in one spot and stretch and roll over and over and over, almost like a dolphin roll, ending with his white furry belly up for some serious tummy petting. Nothing beats reading staff reports and government documents (given that you have to read them anyway). with two snoozing purring eiderdown cats next to you.  Of course, occasionally, they think they belong sprawled on the papers.

The cats also "tattle", so we know that when one of them runs into the room talking, something has happened somewhere.  A couple of times it was because their food was full of ants, a problem we fixed without pesticides, thanks to  a wonder invention called an "Antser".  Other occasions for kitty tattle were when one of them had knocked over flowers, the books off the shelf, the cat sand container that spilled all over the carpet, the accident from not making it to the litter box,  the covers they removed from the shower drains, water all over from a basin full of washables, everything knocked off the shelves above the washing machine, etc etc.  They know how to complain when they have disrupted the order of the universe.

Again, we thank you for the delight these cats bring us, and I hope, if they could only learn to speak instead of warble and chirp, they would thank you too!

Alice