Is there anything cuter than a sleeping kitten? Raven’s been getting a lot of face time lately, but the kittens have been largely ignored here, so I’d promised Mom I’d do a post on them. Part of that is because Raven will come on walks, and the kittens are strictly indoor cats (much as I imagine they’d love to wander around outside). We’ve also had Raven longer. The kittens arrived a couple weeks ago, but have settled in well in that time. They’re both very friendly, though the stripy one more so than the other. They get along well with Raven, as much as can be expected; they’ll still run the other way if she comes bounding up with that puppy exuberance, but if she approaches quietly they’ll sit and let her lick them and even tolerate her gently grasping their neck in her mouth – perhaps it reminds them of what their mother would do when carrying them? I have no doubt that if Raven hurt them they’d be quick to let her know, but I keep an eye on their interactions nonetheless.
Merlin
The dark one is named Merlin, the stripy one is Oliver. He’d come with the name Ziggy, and I toyed with calling him Ziggy Stardust (at least on his vet records; that’s too much of a mouthful to call him around the house) but he just seemed much more like an Oliver, a name that popped into my head for him – that’s when you know a name really suits the animal, it just comes to you. So far they’re working hard at eliminating the vicious wasp population in the house; they’ve eaten at least three that we know of, before we could get to the wasp to remove it ourselves. Raven tried to help out, and got stung for her efforts. Her face swelled up like a French Bulldog, her eyes so swollen she could barely see out. I wish I’d gotten a photo, it was hilarious. I took her to the vet, but fortunately there was no swelling of her tongue or anything else that would potentially cause breathing or other problems, and the swelling went down within a couple hours.
This evening I’m off to visit my sister. She got tickets for the “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions, which we’re going to see, and I’m excited. I hope they’ll let you bring cameras!
Oliver
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They are adorable! I hope you enjoyed the Lipizzaners.
“Oliver” is a lovely name for a cat; it lends more dignity than “Ziggy” does, and matches “Merlin” much better. That’s great that Raven sees the boys as siblings, and not chew toys. Congratulations on gathering such a happy family into your new quarters!
Thanks, Beth! The Lipizzaners were a treat to see, something I’d known about since childhood but had never seen in person.
I think Raven would still prefer a canine sibling to play with, Lavenderbay, the cats just don’t seem to want to play back, but it is a relief that they’re getting along as well as they are!