The Year of the Cat

Since Miss Patches adopted me in July of last year, and then proceeded to give birth to kittens just a month later, our lives have been full of cats. There's cats underfoot, cats on the bed, cats on any lap that sits still, and cat hair everywhere. Patches has become "my dog", following me everywhere (including when I ride off on my bicycle and see her galloping down the street behind me, so that now I have to make sure she's safely in the house before I take off). Every time I turn around, there she is, and nothing upsets her more than to see me packing my suitcase (so she usually sits on top of it whenever I get it out).

Each of the kids kept one of the kittens, and those kittens are strangely enough very similar to their respective kid. Bandit, Asa's cat is extremely gregarious, meowing loudly and rubbing against you repeatedly if enough attention has not been paid. He's very funny and is always keeping us laughing by doing oddball things like tightrope walking across the upstairs railing or drinking from the faucet. The one way he differs from Asa is that he's so fastidious that he not only keeps himself clean, but he frequently tackles his slovenly brother in order to groom him up to appropriate standards.

Mackenzie's cat Garfield eats everything in sight (not unlike a certain soon-to-be-12-year-old boy we know). He's a bit of a loner and can be seen crawling to the back of the closet behind the hanging clothes just to get a bit of privacy, especially from his "let's play now" sibling. Huh, sounds just like Mackenzie going to his room for "alone time" vs. Asa who would play non-stop from sunup to sundown. Garfield is not a very needy cat, and will pretty much only sit on Mackenzie's lap. Pick him up and pretty soon he'll be wanting to get down, whereas Asa can tote Bandit around all day.

And then of course, my old guy Noggin has turned 16 this year. Despite his advancing years, he still rules the household (and the block). He's still the loviest cat of the bunch, always finding a lap or legs to sit on. And lately he's been turning up in the funniest positions and locations, like this: "Waiter, there's a dead cat on my table!"

Here's a few more cat pics from our cat-filled family, starting with the kittens just a year ago today: