Bigger Babies

Purrdy and Charley are getting so big now. Just three months ago I could sit one kitten in each hand, but now it's almost impossible to pick them up single-handedly without them wriggling free and running to hide under the bed. That's their favourite hiding place at the moment - since Will and I moved the double bed into our room after Pook's departure (yay!), they like to run about between the storage boxes in the morning and wake us up with their chirruping - not meowing, not purring, but that in-betweeny noise they make.



Recently, Charley has taken to mewing "good morning". Well, not necessarily in the morning, but whenever he wakes up. He'll blink sleepily, have a big stretch, meow twice, and demand affection for a few minutes before reverting to his usual skittish, nervous self. It's a big development for a little guy who's usually so quiet and people-shy. Up until just last week, the only regular sort of affection he ever wanted from us was to cuddle up to us when he wanted a nap.

Purrdy, on the other hand, mews more frequently, but for a different reason - she answers back when she's being told off. At least once a day she'll be found up on the kitchen worktops, where she knows she's not allowed - we'll yell "PURRDY!" and she'll turn around and mew back at us before jumping down. Purrdy knows she's the queen of the castle around here, and like all little princesses she's given to backchat when she's being naughty.



(That's right. Purrdy surfs with Firefox.)

Purrdy's usually the first to seek attention, to jump up on laps and take a look at new people, but both cats get jealous when they see the other getting fussed over. If Charley is sat on my tummy first thing in the morning getting tickled, Purrdy will jump onto my chest and get right in my face until she gets some tickles too. If they're in a super-cute mood, Charley will clean Purrdy's ears for her while they're being fussed over. Squee!

Most of the time, though, they're too busy for affection. They're still kittens (and still intact at the moment, although next week's trip to the vee-ee-tee will change all that), and they still run around playfighting, exploring the already-familiar house, poking their noses into everything and chirruping to wake us up. Like all kittens, they like to chase little objects, attack dangly things, and run so fast that their paws skid all over our hardwood floors.



Yet they've got their quirks too. Purrdy has the habit of raising one front paw off the ground when she wants to look innocent and cute, as if to say "who, me?", and Charley is a nibbler of fingers, toes, and most recently, Marv's girlfriend's knees. Riddle me that.

I'm going to miss them being so small when the grow up, but they're both going to be gorgeous cats, and well-trained to boot. Just the other day, Purrdy jumped up on my shoulder without being asked to, because she knows that we like her and Charley to sit on our shoulders. They're both learning when to sit on our laps and when not to, but Charley's still got to get the hang of not getting in the way at bedtime - he likes to sleep right in the middle of the bed, just to be awkward.

Heck, they're so adorable.