Cats out of the bag
So, uh, wow, yeah, I haven't posted to my Live Journal in over a year. It's not that there hasn't been anything interesting happening, but I've just never gotten around to posting about anything. Maybe I'll gradually update with what fun things I've been up to, so for now, I'll start off with an overload of cuteness.
So this story kinda starts about 2 years ago, when Josh and I moved into our condo. Up until that point, our cat Leopold had been an indoor-outdoor cat, free to come and go as he pleased. However, since our new neighborhood wasn't quite as nice as the previous ones we had lived in, we decided to make him an indoor only cat. He was not pleased. He would often go pounding on the doors, begging to be let outside with mournful meows, but we resisted his efforts to break us down. Since he was no longer allowed outside, we thought he might like it if we got another cat as a companion. Still, even though we talked about it, we never quite got around to it.
About a year ago, around the time of my birthday, my mother-in-law said she was coming over with a birthday present for me. Wondering what type of present she would need to bring to me, I put two and two together and figured out that she had gotten me a cat. When she arrived, I was introduced to this precious ball of white fluff:
I present to the world, Yuki! (Her name means snow in Japanese....yes, I feel like a weeaboo giving her a name like that :P) Show those lovely blue eyes, gorgeous:
I don't know very much about cat breeds, so I'm not exactly sure what type she is, but from what little I've researched (as in, watched an episode of Animal Planet's "Cats 101" show :P) she seems similar to a Ragdoll. Though she doesn't have the coloring (she's pure white), the temperament matches perfectly, since she is certainly "docile and floppy":
Compare that to Leopold, a wild and crazy cat who will most likely shred you if you attempt to pick him up:
Yuki is also an aggressive lap cat. If she sees a lap, she will want to have it, and once she has it, she will proclaim her victory for the world to hear (meaning, she's quite the talker once she gets on top of someone. She'll usually meow a few times before she settles in).
So, since Yuki was obtained as a companion for Leopold, how would the relationship between the two of them play out? Well, it was tough at first. You see, Yuki is a princess. She has pink 'princess' food and water bowls to prove it (though Leopold has recently taken to drinking from her water dish, even though, you know, it's the exact same water that fills his dish, he has not yet become a princess). With her royal status, she did not appreciate sharing living space with a pauper (the first time they met, she let out the longest cat scream/growl I've ever heard). Though he seemed interested in her, she didn't want to have anything to do with him, leading to many scenes like the one below where he would look longingly at her as she ignored him:
As the months went by, though, the two cats gradually grew closer. At first, they would often fight when they were together, but they learned to play together (though one feeling playful and the other one not can still lead to fights these days). A few months ago, when we were having some record cold weather, I even saw them snuggling up and sleeping right next to each other:
So precious. The above scenario even sometimes plays out on my own lap, though for entirely different reasons. See, Leopold never used to be a lap cat, but since we got Yuki, he has started to become a lap cat, too (probably out of jealousy). Well, Yuki, the aggressive dominator of laps, doesn't care if Leopold's already on my lap, since she must claim all laps within her domain. She will jump up and try to force Leopold off my lap, and usually he gets annoyed and leaves. Sometimes, though, he stands his ground, and Yuki doesn't back off, either, so I end up with two cats on my lap. It's super cute, even though I know they're both just being stubborn, rather than snuggling up together because they want to.
So, that's all the squee-worthiness I have for today. Maybe soon I'll write an update detailing the vacations I've taken recently (I went to the Caribbean last year....twice!)
So this story kinda starts about 2 years ago, when Josh and I moved into our condo. Up until that point, our cat Leopold had been an indoor-outdoor cat, free to come and go as he pleased. However, since our new neighborhood wasn't quite as nice as the previous ones we had lived in, we decided to make him an indoor only cat. He was not pleased. He would often go pounding on the doors, begging to be let outside with mournful meows, but we resisted his efforts to break us down. Since he was no longer allowed outside, we thought he might like it if we got another cat as a companion. Still, even though we talked about it, we never quite got around to it.
About a year ago, around the time of my birthday, my mother-in-law said she was coming over with a birthday present for me. Wondering what type of present she would need to bring to me, I put two and two together and figured out that she had gotten me a cat. When she arrived, I was introduced to this precious ball of white fluff:
I present to the world, Yuki! (Her name means snow in Japanese....yes, I feel like a weeaboo giving her a name like that :P) Show those lovely blue eyes, gorgeous:
I don't know very much about cat breeds, so I'm not exactly sure what type she is, but from what little I've researched (as in, watched an episode of Animal Planet's "Cats 101" show :P) she seems similar to a Ragdoll. Though she doesn't have the coloring (she's pure white), the temperament matches perfectly, since she is certainly "docile and floppy":
Compare that to Leopold, a wild and crazy cat who will most likely shred you if you attempt to pick him up:
Yuki is also an aggressive lap cat. If she sees a lap, she will want to have it, and once she has it, she will proclaim her victory for the world to hear (meaning, she's quite the talker once she gets on top of someone. She'll usually meow a few times before she settles in).
So, since Yuki was obtained as a companion for Leopold, how would the relationship between the two of them play out? Well, it was tough at first. You see, Yuki is a princess. She has pink 'princess' food and water bowls to prove it (though Leopold has recently taken to drinking from her water dish, even though, you know, it's the exact same water that fills his dish, he has not yet become a princess). With her royal status, she did not appreciate sharing living space with a pauper (the first time they met, she let out the longest cat scream/growl I've ever heard). Though he seemed interested in her, she didn't want to have anything to do with him, leading to many scenes like the one below where he would look longingly at her as she ignored him:
As the months went by, though, the two cats gradually grew closer. At first, they would often fight when they were together, but they learned to play together (though one feeling playful and the other one not can still lead to fights these days). A few months ago, when we were having some record cold weather, I even saw them snuggling up and sleeping right next to each other:
So precious. The above scenario even sometimes plays out on my own lap, though for entirely different reasons. See, Leopold never used to be a lap cat, but since we got Yuki, he has started to become a lap cat, too (probably out of jealousy). Well, Yuki, the aggressive dominator of laps, doesn't care if Leopold's already on my lap, since she must claim all laps within her domain. She will jump up and try to force Leopold off my lap, and usually he gets annoyed and leaves. Sometimes, though, he stands his ground, and Yuki doesn't back off, either, so I end up with two cats on my lap. It's super cute, even though I know they're both just being stubborn, rather than snuggling up together because they want to.
So, that's all the squee-worthiness I have for today. Maybe soon I'll write an update detailing the vacations I've taken recently (I went to the Caribbean last year....twice!)