I wish I had a video camera

K from Michigan commented that she would like to see some video of our animals. Well, so would I. Every day in our house one of the animals does something that makes us laugh, and many of those moments would make great video. Like Maya and Smokey playing. Maya is still a kitten herself, although she looks like a cat because she is full-grown and big, and just a little tubby.

Maya runs like a little pony - her feet thump on the tile floor and her back even has a sway in the middle like she's been hauling a heavy load over hill and dale. I think it's the weight of her stomach pulling it down.

Smokey, at just 3 months old, is full of kitten energy, and she has decided that Maya is a lot of fun. And so the two of them play and chase each other and fight and bite and scratch and generally have a great time.

One of the most comical things the cats do is leap straight up in the air like they've been shot out of the floor. It's not just when they are startled (oh - it's so much fun to wait for a cat to walk by and then quickly move a foot and make them jump) - but it is the same type of jump. Maya will do that little jump and then run off with Smokey in pursuit, or Smokey will make that jump and then land on Maya to rumble and tumble. That is something I would love to get on video, because as cats get older they don't seem to play the same way.

Maya thinks I'm her mother; I guess because neither of the other cats in the house (Luna and Minina) gave her the love she needed when she was tiny. Maya still comes to me every morning and evening for a cuddle, and a nuzzle against my bare skin around the inner elbow area, on the right arm (the left arm doesn't smell the same to her). As she buries her head into the crook of my arm, she kneads the pillow behind me (it's one of those soft artic fleece ones, must feel like a mother's body to Maya).

Smokey thinks Maya is her mother; she greets her every morning with a rub under the belly and then she grabs at her and tries to get a reaction. Maya often reaches a paw out in what looks like an embrace of her child, and then she proceeds to ignore Smokey unless Smokey starts chewing on Maya's legs or tail.

The two cats play rough. Maya learned how to play from Loco, the dog, and so she plays like a dog would play, and it's too much for Smokey. Maya bites too hard, and flattens Smokey and then sits on top of her, and Maya is heavy and that crushes poor Smokey, who is lying underneath yelling and wiggling to get away (which she always does). Sometimes Smokey gets away and just as she tries to jump up on the couch, Maya reaches out a paw and knocks her down. They roll around on the floor, and then chase each other around, until one is too tired to continue (usually Maya, as her stoutness causes her to be out of breath first).

The other morning I found them like this, after a good session of rough play...



They had been sleeping snuggled up together, but it's hard to sneak up on a cat to take a picture, and so they both spotted me and I did not get the picture I really wanted. Hopefully there will be a 'next time'.