Henry And Pip

I've already written a little about Henry and his unintended adventure, but I haven't told you about how he and his sister Pip came to be with us here.

Of all the kitties here, only Henry and Pip were found at the front door of a nice lady's home. She advertised on one of the Internet sites, trying to find them a good home. Ma saw the listing on her computer and called the lady up. The next day Pa brought Henry and Pip home.

I know how scary coming to a new home can be, particularly when there are already other kitties living there. But Henry and Pip were scaredy for a long time, hiding out under the big round-headed cat's bed. (Hilda is referring to our son, who has somehow been identified by the cats residing here as just a weird looking cat. Don't ask me how that came to be because I really don't know. - Hilda's Pa)

Eventually they warmed up, with Pip becoming best friends with Cole, and Henry becoming a strapping example of a bruiser – strong and solid. For his size he weighs a lot more than you'd think.

Pip is still easily startled and will run off at the slightest provocation, except when Pa is around. She really likes Pa and lets him pet her and scratch her behind her ears. Pa is the only one that can pick up Pip without her making a big fuss. (He usually does that when Pip has been unable to hop up onto the island in the middle of the kitchen during Wonderful Food Time because it's too crowded.)

Both of them are kind of funny when it comes to making trips to the veterinarian. (Hey, I spelled that right!) They have to go at the same time in the same carrier otherwise Henry gets really upset and gets really scared. As long as they're together everything's fine.

Here's a picture of Henry and Pip in the hammock, one of their favorite places. Pip is on the left and Henry is on the right.

Pip is a little unusual in a number of ways. For one thing she has thumbs! That means she can play the Nintendo Game Boy better than Bagheera, and he's not too happy about that. She also has spots rather than stripes, and a short tail. She's also kinda roundy-round (but we don't talk about that).

Minnie

It's time for me to continue introducing you to the members of our family, so let's get to it.

The next one I have to tell you about is Minnie. She's a shelter kitty just like me and Cole, but she came from a different shelter. Ma an' Pa found her a long way from here. She was only a few months old when she arrived at the shelter, being a kitty of divorce. At first Ma wasn't to sure about her but Pa was the one who convinced Ma to take her home.

She was skinny, with long legs, a long tail, big ears, and not a lot of fur. But she fit right in. Even though she's now fully grown she's still a bit wee, earning her the nickname of “Minnie-ature”, among others.

The one thing that everyone says about her is “She's nice!” because she is. Even Charlotte and Bagheera think so.

There are a couple of things that set her apart from the rest of us.

First, she flops. I mean she'll be walking along and then decide, for no reason I can figure out, to flop over on her side, waiting for someone to scratch her back or tummy. She does that a lot.

She's the only one of us that drinks out of the faucet. She doesn't like the water bowl or the magic water fountain. She has to drink from Ma an' Pa's bathroom faucet. Nothing else will do.

On cold nights she'll crawl under the covers of Ma an' Pa's bed and snuggle up to Pa's tummy or Ma's feet. She also likes to crawl on top of Ma's computer monitor when it's on to stay warm.

She's also the best of us at riding on Pa's shoulder. I'm pretty good, too, but she's the best at it. Cole likes to do it too, but doesn't do it very well and sometimes Pa has to help him stay in place.

See what I mean? Doesn't she look nice?

A Bionic Cat?

Now I've seen it all: a cat with bionic feet!

(I don't know what “bionic” means, but Pa said it had something to some silly TV show he used to watch as a teenager. Somehow I don't think Pa was ever a teenager!)

Understanding Us - Cat Physics

This is something Pa found that will help all of you out there to understand just how we felines interact with something Pa calls “the laws of physics.”

Law of Cat Inertia
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force – such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.

Law of Cat Motion
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

Law of Cat Magnetism
All dark clothing attracts cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric and lightness of the cat.

Law of Cat Thermodynamics
Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

Law of Cat Stretching
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.

Law of Cat Sleeping
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.

Law of Cat Elongation
A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.

Law of Cat Obstruction
A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum amount of human foot traffic.

Law of Cat Acceleration
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.

Law of Dinner Table Attendance
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.

Law of Rug Configuration
No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

Law of Obedience Resistance
A cat’s resistance varies in proportion to a human’s desire for her to do something.

First Law of Energy Conservation
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

Second Law of Energy Conservation
Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.

Law of Refrigerator Observation
If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.

Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.

Law of Random Comfort Seeking
A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.

Law of Bag/Box Occupancy
All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

Law of Cat Embarrassment
A cat’s irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.

Law of Milk Consumption
A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.

Law of Furniture Replacement
A cat’s desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.

Law of Cat Landing
A cat will always land in the softest place possible; often the mid- section of an unsuspecting, reclining human.

Law of Fluid Displacement
A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus the amount of milk consumed.

Law of Cat Disinterest
A cat’s interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.

Law of Pill Rejection
Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.

Law of Cat Composition
A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn’t Matter

I'd say that about sums it up.

Pa said he got this from someone called Bogie. From what he says she' a good sort because she has cats living with her. But she also has dogs, so I have to wonder if that's really so....