Tinhuviel Artanis

There was a brief period of time when I thought I might be a dog person, but that was when Henry was around. I was a Henry person, really, not a dog person. In my heart for as long as I can remember, I have truly been a cat person. Their beauty, grace, and otherworldliness never cease to amaze and humble me. Now, there are some cats that I'm fonder of than others. A perfect example of this is Smidgen. She's such a unique feline individual. When she wants attention, usually from Aunt Tudi, she'll sit up and rub her ears. What made her decide that this would get attention is beyond me. I was lucky to finally capture this strange behaviour on film.



Now Motley is a cat that needs no human affection. She was born feral and forced into domesticity because of her being so ill when she was a young kitten. She never quite got over being an independent wild cat. Her disdain for humanity is easily shown on her face, which isn't nearly as pleasant as Smidgen's. Smidgen has an angel face whereas Motley has a bulldogish face with strangely reptilian eyes. When she looks at you, if she finds you vaguely interesting enough to merit her attention, you can almost feel her cold gaze upon you. When I came home, I spied her nestled under the canopy of the contorted filbert, certain in her catly summations that she was well-hidden from any and everything. I took a picture of her hunkered under the filbert, then I called her name. When she looked at me with those green reptile eyes, I took another picture.

( Motley Dot - Ferocious Feline )

Of all our cats of the Indoor Pride, Smidgen is my favourite and Motley is my least favourite. That doesn't mean I don't adore Motley. It's just that Smidgen has been incredibly special to me from the moment I scooped her up with two fingers. My affections for the Indoor Pride are allotted thusly:

Smidgen
Shmoop
Steve
Aloysius
Motley

This doesn't mean that I'd send Steve to the pound before I would send Shmoop; rather, it just means that I'm more prone gush on Shmoop than I am Steve. It might not be the most fair position, but at least I'm honest about it. I love all the cats that grace my home, both the Indoor and Backyard Prides. Each cat is wonderful in his or her own right and I acknowledge that.

Thanks to luminita, I have registered with Catster. Over the next few days I'll be working on creating a webpage for Smidgen, Shmoop, and Motley. They deserve all the publicity they can get because they're the coolest cats around.

I stepped out to the front porch to get a breath of fresh air and spied Smidgen and Shmoop playing tag in the front yard. Of course, I wobbled back into the house to get my camera.

( at play )

I came back in and Smidgen came with me. As I sat in my sinus-y stupour, Smidgen jumped up on the couch arm to say "howdy!"

( Smidgen )

Everyone is in and snuggled for the evening. I'm waiting on Aunt Tudi to wake up from her nap so we can tend to Motley's needs and let her explore the house a little. She's still a little sick baby and, BOY, does she stink! Her poop is the worst smelling thing I've had the misfortune to encounter in a very long time.

She's feeling much better today, although she's giving me harsh glances after I pour that icky goo down her throat. After pretty much ignoring me all day long 'cos she was too busy being a teenage cat on the loose, Shmoop suddenly decided it was cuddlin' time when I drug out my computer. I would have made this update some time ago, but Shmoop was lying on the keyboard, vibrating with Power Purr. How can I compete with that?

Speaking of Shmoop, I bought her her very own Kennel Cab yesterday. She was not amused. I'm planning on getting some sticky letters that look really cartoonish and spelling her name out on top of the case so it can be ID'd at Dr. Patch's when Shmoop is staying with them. Again, she's not amused. Both Shmoop and Smidgen prefer staying at home and lording it over the rest of us. Isn't that cat nature?

Shmoop has gone and gotten herself into a feline bar room brawl. She came back home with a tear in her right ear and a few tufts of fur gone. Smidgen was around Shmoop's age when she came home with a bite on her toe. With Smidgen, I lean in the direction of her being the victim in her fight, because Smidge is simply a sweet-natured little lady. Shmoop, on the other hand, most likely deserved the ass-kicking she came home with because Shmoop is a little loud-mouthed brat.

I've washed her ear thoroughly, dried it gently, and applied polysporin. I'm also on high alert for the next couple of days to see if any of those missing tufts become abscessed bites. I'm hoping that's not the case. The entire time I doctored Shmoop, she talked to me, not in an "ow you're hurting me" way; rather, in a "fake animal doctors make for such iiiiiinteresting people" way. Just very conversational, like she was at that beauty shop in Steel Magnolias. I adore that kitten, even if she is a little smartass.

I expect her to come home with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in her arm fur and sporting a "MOM" tattoo.

I'm about half-watching the movie Speed. The thrill is gone, since I've seen the movie a quarter of a million times. But the first time...whoa! My ass chewed a hole in the set at the movie theatre. Thanks to Eddie Izzard, neither clumsycake nor myself can say Speed without saying it with a French accent.

It's been a blah sort of day so far. I slept late, really late, and have basically just lain around and bled all day. My home is the closest thing to a menstrual hut I can get. I have all the doors and windows closed and the A/C going strong. It's still hot in here because I live on the fucking sun. It's just not this hot in Western North Carolina. The mountains make it to where there's almost a constant breeze and the higher elevations make the air cooler. I'm just really missing home today.

Now that Shmoop has had her boosters, she can now go outside if she so desires. She doesn't. I've let her out twice today and she ran right back in when she realised she'd left he nest. Unlike Smidgen, Shmoop is quite timid it seems. So we may have a true blue house cat on our hands. That's okay. I don't mind. In many ways, it's a relief, because I always worry about my cat friends getting into trouble out of doors. I won't hold any cat hostage though. They can all come and go as they please, as is their cat nature. It's just hard to see them walking off and wonder if you're ever going to see them again.

They just pulled Keanu out from under the bus. Yay for action flicks!

Only because it's a major breakthrough. Tonight is the first time Smidgen and Shmoop have actually slept together. They've been bonding on all other levels, including cleaning each other and eating together, but they'd never snoozed together until tonight. As far as I'm concerned, they have completely bonded now and will always be true sisters in Bastet.

Despite the horror of the last few days, this makes me so happy I could pop. For the first time in days I am glad.

( sisters in bastet )