- Joined
- Feb 3, 2016
- Messages
- 19
- Purraise
- 3
Hey guys.
I'm the underling of three (soon to be five) cats. Not a single entity in this household has had it easy, but we do our best to make each others' lives easier. Mostly.
This is Azuma and Lily. We refer to them as "the black team," as they've been together the longest and both have black fur.
Azuma, the big fluffy Norwegian Forest cat... was found in a tree as a kitten around a college. The kids there were throwing things at him, so my partner's brother took him away. Unfortunately, his asshole friend kept intentionally scaring him. He's skittish around people as a result, but a sweetheart once you get to know him. He's 8 years old, gigantic, and we're still not entirely certain he's done growing.
Lily is a squawky mackerel tabby. She is a cheese and starch enthusiast, and despite her size also the stealthiest cat of all. Azuma's human adopted her from the local shelter in 2007 to keep Azuma company. Lily had been tossed in a dog pen when they found her, and for years was obsessively pursuing attention. She's calmed down a lot since, especially after this household became two-human. There was one (ONE) incident where a fellow extrovert was able to give her all the patting she needed and more. She turns 9 either in late February or March.
Dorian Gray was the most recent addition. We bought a house. He came screaming down the street as a kitten. Poor guy had a cigarette burn on his neck. After frantically looking for something to feed the then-stunted skin and bones kitten, it only dawned on me that we'd been adopted after he finished... and just stared up expectantly. He looks skinny, but he weighs a ton. He turns 2 in July.
Last (and certainly not least) is Pandora, this account's namesake. She was a spitfire cat through and through - by far one of the most graceful and spacial-gifted cats I've ever witnessed. There was no learning period: she was just born flying. She's also the tiniest cat we've ever known - I suspect she was the "runt" of the litter.
The other cats often tried to imitate her: she was the softest, most well groomed, and a trendsetter. Dorian has flung himself accidentally off many a narrow ledge; Azuma tried to imitate her Olympic catbox-ridge balancing act (she slapped him and he knocked the entire box over); Lily flings her leg up in the air now when she cleans; they all clean much more frequently now. Azuma and Lily didn't really jump before her: I remember Azuma deliberating for a solid two minutes whether to jump over the recycling or not, and then spending another 20 seconds amping himself up to the decision. He can now jump onto a desk.
She was keen and wise... and also enjoyed frightening the living **** out of the others. When she chased them, Azuma would make the "I'm going to puke" meow. It took five vets to hold her down for an exam.
She taught Dorian how to clean his butt after terrifying him by doing it for him. Dorian has never been that still before or since. We are forever grateful.
She enjoyed being a cat gymnast, keeping everyone else in line, being the Meow Queen, eating ham and cold cuts out of the other end of your sandwich, angel food cake (seriously, first time I had some in the same house of her she came RUNNING a floor up, screaming for it), and being around people on her terms.
Unfortunately, her origins were from an indoor smoking household - and like every single other cat in that household, met her end with cancer. She would have been 15 in April.
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We're still grieving Pandora's loss. We planned to save one cat from the shelter after her passing (getting the proper vaccinations this weekend)... but, seeing that said cat has a friend (and that those cats seriously need adopting), we're going with the buddy system and bringing two to their forever homes. Their need is urgent, and one of those cats I'm pretty sure Pandora would approve of - she's tiny, graceful, and has an impossibly high voice.
I'm the underling of three (soon to be five) cats. Not a single entity in this household has had it easy, but we do our best to make each others' lives easier. Mostly.
This is Azuma and Lily. We refer to them as "the black team," as they've been together the longest and both have black fur.
Azuma, the big fluffy Norwegian Forest cat... was found in a tree as a kitten around a college. The kids there were throwing things at him, so my partner's brother took him away. Unfortunately, his asshole friend kept intentionally scaring him. He's skittish around people as a result, but a sweetheart once you get to know him. He's 8 years old, gigantic, and we're still not entirely certain he's done growing.
Lily is a squawky mackerel tabby. She is a cheese and starch enthusiast, and despite her size also the stealthiest cat of all. Azuma's human adopted her from the local shelter in 2007 to keep Azuma company. Lily had been tossed in a dog pen when they found her, and for years was obsessively pursuing attention. She's calmed down a lot since, especially after this household became two-human. There was one (ONE) incident where a fellow extrovert was able to give her all the patting she needed and more. She turns 9 either in late February or March.
Dorian Gray was the most recent addition. We bought a house. He came screaming down the street as a kitten. Poor guy had a cigarette burn on his neck. After frantically looking for something to feed the then-stunted skin and bones kitten, it only dawned on me that we'd been adopted after he finished... and just stared up expectantly. He looks skinny, but he weighs a ton. He turns 2 in July.
Last (and certainly not least) is Pandora, this account's namesake. She was a spitfire cat through and through - by far one of the most graceful and spacial-gifted cats I've ever witnessed. There was no learning period: she was just born flying. She's also the tiniest cat we've ever known - I suspect she was the "runt" of the litter.
The other cats often tried to imitate her: she was the softest, most well groomed, and a trendsetter. Dorian has flung himself accidentally off many a narrow ledge; Azuma tried to imitate her Olympic catbox-ridge balancing act (she slapped him and he knocked the entire box over); Lily flings her leg up in the air now when she cleans; they all clean much more frequently now. Azuma and Lily didn't really jump before her: I remember Azuma deliberating for a solid two minutes whether to jump over the recycling or not, and then spending another 20 seconds amping himself up to the decision. He can now jump onto a desk.
She was keen and wise... and also enjoyed frightening the living **** out of the others. When she chased them, Azuma would make the "I'm going to puke" meow. It took five vets to hold her down for an exam.
She taught Dorian how to clean his butt after terrifying him by doing it for him. Dorian has never been that still before or since. We are forever grateful.
She enjoyed being a cat gymnast, keeping everyone else in line, being the Meow Queen, eating ham and cold cuts out of the other end of your sandwich, angel food cake (seriously, first time I had some in the same house of her she came RUNNING a floor up, screaming for it), and being around people on her terms.
Unfortunately, her origins were from an indoor smoking household - and like every single other cat in that household, met her end with cancer. She would have been 15 in April.
________________
We're still grieving Pandora's loss. We planned to save one cat from the shelter after her passing (getting the proper vaccinations this weekend)... but, seeing that said cat has a friend (and that those cats seriously need adopting), we're going with the buddy system and bringing two to their forever homes. Their need is urgent, and one of those cats I'm pretty sure Pandora would approve of - she's tiny, graceful, and has an impossibly high voice.