my mom's cats

I have always grown up with a menagerie of animals.  At the peak of pet occupancy we had 3 dogs and 2 cats.  As a little girl, I vividly remember hollering from my bedroom for my mom to bring me a cat or a dog or a whatever.  She would always oblige with the warning that they probably wouldn’t stay very long to which I would reply, “Can you shut the door?”.  By morning the door would be open and my bedroom would be cat and dog free; undoubtedly, my mom released them from my room the moment I fell asleep.

Today, she has 4 cats. Kobe, Nabi, Mukka and Winky.

Kobe is an original; meaning we got him when I still lived at home full time.  He never liked me much, most likely due to my penchant for wanting to hug him 24/7.  Now he is an old crotchety boy.  He keeps the other 3 in order and is affectionate when he wants to be.  Because he grew up with dogs, nothing seems to phaze him.  When the house gets rambunctious with toddlers and a fumbling Doberman puppy, he holds his ground while the other 3 seek out refuge in the basement.

Nabi was originally intended as a first cat for me.  My Imo does  a lot of work for a Cat Rescue in California and was fostering Nabi.  My mom brought her back, but never brought her up to Minneapolis.  I might have been more upset, but she had just recently lost 2 dogs and a cat, so she really did need Nabi.  I also never would have gotten Box Spring, and he truly needed to be rescued.  She is a half Siamese mix.  I sometimes think her other half might be dog.  She comes when you call and likes to jump right onto your lap.  Her favorite past time is fetching stuffed animals from the basement and carrying them upstairs in her mouth.  Sometimes she picks a stuffed animal too big to drag upstairs and my mom will find it later halfway up the steps with tufts of fur pulled out.

Mukka is another kitty originally intended for me.  I gave her the name Mukka which means cow in Italian.  She is a bright playful girl and is Kobe’s right hand cat.  They are often found together snuggling or cleaning each other.

Winky.  I am so glad my mom rescued Winky.  He is an insanely shy cat and due to his physical appearance and his shy demeanor he would have been hard to find a family to adopt him. Only coming out at night and for food, he spends the bulk of this time in the basement crawlspace.  He actually is a very beautiful cat, with rich brown markings and white paws.