Peepers the Cat

So, I've already mentioned my two older cats, Loki and Razzy, but 6 months ago we became the parents of a 6 week old kitten.  My daughter's boyfriend has a friend in the service who has a Savanna female cat.  If you aren't familiar with them, they are a hybrid cross between and African serval and a Bengal.  They have a very exotic look, with spots and stripes, very slender with long legs and are supposed to have a personality akin to a dog.  Their cat wasn't fixed, so unfortunately a stray tom had his way with her and as a result, she had a litter of kittens.  Because the friend had to go back to his base without the kittens, he gave them away early.  My daughter brought one home.

She was so tiny, she fit in the palm of my hand.  She made the most pitiful peeping noises, hence, the name Peepers.  I had wanted a more exotic name for her, but nothing fit. For the first few weeks she was my baby.  I held her when she slept, and when she was hungry, she'd make that pitiful sound and run out to the kitchen to be fed.  Because of the other 2 cats and our dog Lily, I had to feed her on the kitchen table, and she would reach up with her front paws for me to pick her up.  As soon as her belly was full, she was ready to sleep and I would hold her in the crook of my arm and just gazed at her sweet face, often taking her into the bedroom, and while still holding her, taking a nap myself.

At first, the two older cats were pretty tolerant of her, Loki actually let her crawl up with him on the chair to nap together.

But that didn't last too long.  Pretty soon Peepers was tearing around the house terrorizing everyone, chasing the two older cats. Razzy is the timid one, but she manages to stand up to Peepers most of the time and Peeps will back down.  Loki, on the other hand, for all his size and demeanor as king of the house, is really a wus.  He screams, runs, hisses and huffs and heads for the door.  He's an indoor/outdoor cat and when he's had enough he's at the door yowling to be let out.

Nandy, one of my daughter's rabbits, comes out occasionally to 'play' with Peepers, however, it mostly consists of sitting patiently while Peepers mauls him.  No bunnies were hurt in the taking of these pictures:

Lily, on the other hand, has been a perfect nursmaid and playmate.  Although a little rambunctious herself, most of the time they manage to play well together. And even enjoy some naptime together.

Unfortunately, Peepers has a habit of grabbing my hand with her front paws to play bite, I've taught her "no" and usually she'll stop and then lick me, but she often gets those back paws to shredding.  My hands are full of scratches from her.  One of her favorite things to do is lay on one of the kitchen chair cushions, hidden by the table cloth and swat at you when you walk by.

I confess, I've spoiled her rotten.  She came at a time when I was very depressed and she helped me so much by giving me something else to focus on.  She sleeps with me, both for naps and at night, whether I fall asleep on the couch or I'm in bed. Often she'll crawl under the blanket to snuggle.  I love all my cats, but she is something special.

How could you not love that face?

For Christmas I bought a cat tree.  It's 6 ft high with 3 perches, and a platform with a covered condo.  Peepers uses it the most, but they all take turns lounging on it.  Usually not all at the same time though.  Just this past weekend, we had a cold but very sunny day, and the cat tree is in front of a Southern Exposure window and I found Loki and Peepers lounging on it.

Even though the platforms are a pretty good size, Loki kind of drapes over it, but he doesn't really seem to mind;

Peepers, on the other hand, reigns supreme on the top perch:

Razzy, who was not about to be left out, perched prettily on the chair observing the sunshine from a distance"

So, I think I caught up with the latest pictures now.  I will continue to add posts as time goes on, after all, I'm such a good cat mom.

Loki

I should probably start with Raz, our other cat, since we got her first, but finding Loki in one of his typical poses with a camera handy was the determining factor in who got blogged about first.

We got Loki as a kitten from a friend of my daughter's.  She brought him home late one night after a graduation party.  Mind you, we already had a dog, a rabbit and another cat and my husband was vehemently opposed to adding another animal to our zoo.  Since we only had Raz for a short time, and they are both black, we actually got away with my husband not noticing we actually had 2 cats for awhile.  One evening after dinner, both cats happend to run into the kitchen while the hubs was sitting at the table.  The jig was up!  He picked Loki up, gave me that look, sighed and said "I guess we have another cat?".    For all his gruff and bluster, the hubs is really a softy when it comes to cute little animals, so Loki was officially made a member of the family.

Loki is a polydactyl, meaning he has 6 toes on each front paw.  His front feet look like catcher's mitts. 

Loki is Lord of the House.  There is no place that he doesn't belong and he insists that we accommodate him no matter what we are doing.

 In fact, he can be downright stubborn even if I am trying to work.

And this is probably his favorite pass-time..... playing dead.

I actually had to look very closely to make sure he was still breathing.  And of course, he can't do this after I've vacuumed.

He also likes to monitor my computer activities.  I have a side table that was supposed to be used for working on projects while I surf, but Loki figured it was for him and makes darn sure that anything I put on that table is pushed off onto the floor and therefore in the dog's domain.  Sometimes I think he jumps on the kitchen table just to push stuff off for the dog to chew.  You'd think I'd have learned,  but no...my sterling silver omega chain had it's clasps mysteriously chewed off, and just last night Lily walked past me reeking of Little Black Dress perfume.  I later found the bottle, intact with the plastic top chewed to bits under the table.

Anyway, here is Loki monitoring my computer activities:

Did I mention I love this cat to bits?  He's just so self assured and regal.  Even our vet called him handsome.  And lovable, and so good natured.

Now if I can just get the elusive Razzy to pose for some pictures, I'll tell you all about her next!