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BIRTHDAY LETTER FROM "LEO"
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
Hi First Mommy
Karen,
It's Leo!
Kitten #4 from Loocie and Hunter! Maxx and I thought you might want to
hear from us since it has been so very long since our new Mommie
(Elizabeth) has emailed you! Can you believe how grown-up we are that
we can work a computer now? I'm sure you already know, but today,
September 19th, is our ONE YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY! "Our"
little girls have a big surprise planned for us---we heard them talking
this morning before the school bus came!
Since you last
heard from us, boy have we GROWN! I,
(Leo-Kitten #4), weigh 19 pounds and my brother, Maxx (Kitten #5) is a
little pip squeak and only is 18 pounds! Everyone who sees us says we
are SO GORGEOUS (we try to stay humble, though). No
one can believe we are only baby kittens! Our big brother, Little Guy,
just turned 19 years old in May and we are now way bigger than
him--but he is still the Big Boss around here (although I, Leo, am the
second Alpha kitty).
I have turned
out to be the real friendly silly kitten and Maxx, well, he likes
attention on his own terms. Me, I'll take attention and petting
whenever I can get it and where ever I am laying. I love new people,
too. But, Maxx...that's a different story. If one of our
family approaches him to pet him, he gets up right away, saunters about
6 feet away, looks back to make sure he is still the center of attention
and then plops down on his back with his feet in the air and waits for
them to come over to him! He's so controlling! I think that is
kind of weird, but everyone JUST LOVES HIM and they always go over and
coo all over Mr. Independent! He drools, too, when people love on him,
but I don't.
Maxx still has
his HUGE round eyes and they are always on "the look out" for something
to happen....the girls call him a secret agent, because he is ready at
all times and aware of everything. Me....an elephant could walk in and
I would probably just stay right where I was. I still have those
slightly crossed eyes, but my ear tufts are MAGNIFICENT, if I do
say so myself! Maxx's ear tufts are not so fancy, but they are finally
coming in---they are MUCH smaller than mine. Maxx always seems to do
things about two weeks after me. He's such a copy cat!
Also, great
news!.... I'm not so afraid of the vacuum anymore! Little Guy is SO
COOL that he walks right through the room when it is on. So one day, I
tried to copy him, but quickly realized that I am still a bit more
afraid than I thought! I like to watch it from the top of the couch
where I feel safer! Mr. Maxx is terrified of
the vacuum and so he gets to go in a locked room when it is on--special
treatment---he is SO spoiled! My Mom thinks that Maxx can hear things
very "acutely" and that is why he is a bit skittish and scared of sudden
noise....I just think he is trying to get attention, that's all!
Everyone talks really softly to him because he likes it that way....oh,
boy! They even sing a special little song to him and he closes his eyes
and falls asleep! Can you believe that! We both sleep in the bed with
our Mom and Dad now because I like to wake up at 4 am. I was crawling
on top of Alexandra's head and waking her up with my paws pushing her
head---she has really long pretty hair and I just love to snuggle in it!
Also, Maxx is a
real neat freak! He cleans his coat about 10 times a day and won't play
with me too much because he is soooo busy getting beautiful! (He is
very very beautiful!) He has this HUGE tail that could be in a shampoo
commercial (that's what Alex and Angela always say). It just sways to
and fro when he walks and it is jet black! He is just so prim and
proper. I, on the other hand, am usually quite a mess and have to be
brushed and groomed every day. We are kind of like the "Odd Couple!"
Over three days, my Mom had to carefully remove two big mats
I was hiding in my hind quarters under my back legs! I squirmed and
squirmed and it took two humans to get the job done! But, the treats I
got were kind of worth the trouble! Getting brushed is not my favorite
thing and I get in trouble for trying to bite the brush/comb/and nail
clippers!
But I am a
great helper to Little Guy because I groom his head and ears every
day--and guess what?---he doesn't even hiss at me anymore! I just LOVE
Little Guy and like to hang around napping with him on the TV Room
sofa. Sometimes, I forget how big I am and when I lay down my back
end falls over him and I wake him up. Sometimes I still get confused
and try to press his tummy for milk...he does look like Mommie Loocie.
Little Guy does NOT like that at all, but I am learning! If he gets
up....so do I...if he goes to the litter box...I go in right after him!
Alexandra says I am his "shadow." Oh..by the way, Little Guy has not
been sick again since December and he is just back to his normal self!
He really has turned out to be a very nice Big Brother to us.
Here in our
new home, we have a screened in sun porch that Marty fixed up after we
arrived. It is our favorite place to curl up. They say, "Wanna
go outside?" and Maxx and I go tearing down the steps skipping two at a
time until we land at the door! There are chairs and couches with
striped cushions out there and we have a grand afternoon each day
listening to the sounds of the woods, watching the birds, and chasing
the chipmunks that run outside along side the brick threshold. There is
also a porch swing that hangs from the ceiling--I can't get up there by
myself, but Maxx can! Darn!
Maxx still loves
to play more than anything else on earth--besides grooming himself, of
course! He would rather chase a mouse on a string than eat! I still
love to eat more than anything on earth! Everyone is "on to me"
now, though, and I have to eat to the side of Little Guy and Maxx
otherwise I will steal their food---I just cannot help myself! The
girls take turns keeping an eye on me while I eat...no privacy for me!
I have trimmed-down and am now very healthy weight-wise. We have both
been VERY healthy this year...we have not had to go to see Dr. VanHusan
at all except for those first boosters back in December. And also the
time when I was resting my head on the water bowl all day and Mom got
worried that I was sick----I was fine, though. Back then, we could both
fit in the carrier, but now, we each have our own carrier.
We have SO many
toys that they had to buy us a Rubbermaid Toy Box! We have a tent, a
tunnel, a ball in a circle, mice, balls, crunchy things, and tons of
chasing string toys. I think that "our girls" are going to get us some
new toys for our BIG BIRTHDAY----We also have collars with a little
heart tag that shows our names, telephones numbers, and addresses on
them. Just in case we ever find a way to "escape" through the
doors----- although they have it pretty locked-up around here and they
always know exactly where we are! My tag and collar is red and Maxx's
is royal blue....we won't keep them on and we drive our mom crazy
because we pull them off and then hide them--she can't find them
anywhere for days.....I like to hide mine under different furniture and
Maxx hides his behind toys in the playroom.
Guess what? The
girls have taught us two new tricks! They read in a book they
checked out at the library about Maine Coon Cats that we are very smart
felines (!)-- so they thought they'd give it a try! We both now know
what to do when they say "SIT" and then the girls give us a
treat! It makes them so happy! Last week, we learned how to shake!
Yes, we really can shake---Maxx was the first to learn because he is so
studious.....I am more of a big silly goof ball and make everyone
laugh! But, I finally learned it and the girls were jumping and jumping
and gave me a treat, too! it took us about 2 weeks to learn this.
Oh, by the way,
---we hate baths! Our mom cannot get us into 2 inches of water, so we
have never ever had a bath! Maxx seems ok because he is so clean, but I
am another story! She is thinking of taking me to get groomed by this
mobile place that drives to your house and you go out into their fancy
grooming van in the driveway......I don't think I will like this at
all! And Maxx doesn't like anyone except his 4 humans...if
anyone new comes into the house, he goes to our Mom and she has to pick
him up and he won't get down.....he is a pistol! The other night the
girls' grandmother came to sleep over and Maxx was very leery of
her...Maxx was in my Mom's arms and the grandma would come over and say
"Hi there little kitty!" and Maxx would scoot his big head underneath my
Mom's chin and leave it there just peering out from the corner of his
eyes to look at this new person. On the other hand, I crawled up her
pant leg when she was standing at the counter and not talking to me! By
the end of the night, Maxx was the one curled up at the grandma's feet
as she lay in bed! Go figure! So I followed him and she had a good 37
pounds of cat on her two little feet----Our Mom came down and we had to
get kicked out, unfortunately, because she is allergic to us.
We still don't
know how to purr, really. We kind of snort a bit, but we just can't
seem to get that really loud purr and 'trill' that Little Guy does. He
even purrs if someone walks into the room or even just looks at him! He
has the LOUDEST purr and Maxx and I are very jealous! Angela and
Alexandra have to put their ears to our tummies to see if there is
even any "purr sound" coming out---it's so embarrassing for us---they
say they hear a little hum, but it just won't come out of our mouths! I
think maybe when I get to my 2nd birthday, Maxx and I will be much
better "purrers!"
Oh...here's
something I like to do everyday. If my Mom is standing at the kitchen
counter and she is doing bills, slicing food, or just plain not paying
attention to me, I jump up on her leg to let her know that I am there.
She will usually reach down to pet me because I am SO TALL I reach above
her hips, but sometimes she just keeps on doing what she wants
(!) to do and that makes me upset! So, I grab on to her slacks and
start to crawl up....she can't even stop me either because I am a very
strong kitty and by the time she realizes what is going on I am either
up on her shoulder or hanging from her bra strap and she can't get to
me! I think this is SO FUNNY---but, I don't think she thinks
that it is as funny as I do and she always calls to Marty to get me
off---either way, I get the attention that I am so deserving of! Maybe
I am a pistol, too!
We are sending
some newer photos of us for your website. You won't believe how big we
are! They take pictures of us so much! We really love it here in the
Detroit area and are so glad you let us come. It will be getting very
cold in Michigan soon, so I think we will be missing our sun porch days
in a few months.
Well, we just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
US and send you some new photos. We love it here and are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO
loved and spoiled. We even have nicknames. Maxx is Maxx-i-Doodle or
just Doodle and I am Noodle (because I can contort myself in many
different shapes--I sleep upside down and am all curled about with my
head going one direction and my torso another). Angela also calls me
"Sugar" and we both get called Jealous Jim ("Oh...here comes Jealous
Jim...) because if one of us is getting talked to and loved in one
room....the other one of us will run in to see what's going on and get
our fair share. Little Guy's nickname has always been "Puppy"---don't
ask me why!
Well, we hope
you enjoyed hearing from us and how we have been doing.....We miss our
first home and hope Mommie Loocie, Daddy Hunter, Reeses, and our other
litter mates are happy in their new forever homes. I heard that there
were even more babies since we left you and our Mom was looking at your
website to check out their little faces----I have a funny feeling that
one day we will be visiting you again to adopt another brother (or
sister) from you. I hope the pictures come out and that you can see how
beautiful we are becoming. Oh.....I am also supposed to tell you how
well-behaved and good we are----they say we are just the BEST!
Love,
Leo
and Maxx
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