Here, by popular request, are recent photos of a little known group called The Animals. Some of you may recall that Munchkin (the runt) weighed 8 ounces when we took her in and started feeding her with a dropper. That was on the 4th of July. Earlier this week, Munchy and Pushy went to see the Neighborhood Animal Tormenter. He stuck a thermometer up their little behinds and told us they had no fever. He listened to their terrified hearts beat; he examined their ears for mites. Most important, he weighed them. Pushkin: 3 pounds, 5 ounces, with her socks on. Munchkin: surprisingly close at 3 pounds, 3 ounces. Since I last weighed in, Munchkin has made enormous progress for a special needs kitty. She has litter-box trained herself, with a little help from Pushkin, I think. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for a kitten with limited motor skills. I was frankly wondering how I could keep my day job and follow her around all day with a paper towel. She even knows how to cover her tracks. And the sweetest thing is that Pushkin watches her and then, once she has climbed out of the litter box, goes in and puts the finishing touches on. Sisters are doing it for themselves!
Here they are, post-litter box, playing in their favorite basket. I put the thesaurus in the basket in an attempt to offer a scale of comparison for their size. A July post shows Munchkin leaning on the thesaurus. In it, she is barely taller than the book lying on its side.
And Neko is Neko. Maddening and lovable. Wednesday night, I put on my friend Dahli's cashmere sweater (which I wore on the flight home from Paris) because it was close to hand and I was cold. I thought she was coming by to pick it up. When I donned it, Neko took this to mean we were going out. When that did not happen immediately, she started tugging at the bottom of the sweater (which comes down to my knees). Damned if she didn't tear a hole in it! In fact, her stupid owner is forced to admit, she tore two holes in it because her stupid owner did not take the sweater off immediately. Neko, not understanding the words "No!" and "You little bitch troll from hell!" came back for another game of tug-o-war. So that 200 dollar cashmere sweater from Barney's is now good for taking the trash out. But I find it impossible to stay angry at the little study in beige, brown and grey above. Speaking of Neko, her namesake is coming to Seattle. A long trek from Tacoma, I know. Neko Case will be at Bumbershoot tomorrow. I want to be there, for sure. I want my Neko to meet her match, at last.
