Jo vs. the Kitties

Jo-jo got lots and lots of lessons in being kind to animals during our vacation. He got to meet and play with (read: torment) lots of extremely patient and well-behaved kitties belonging to various family members (who I hope will still speak to us).

Here he is making friends with the friendliest of the lot, one belonging to my cousin Emily.


I suspect the cat had never met a small person before, and didn't know what to expect.

The other cat was wise, though, and kept out of sight, only viewing the small intruder through safety glass.
(Their names escape me now, but they were really cool African names. Sorry, only so much room in the gray matter!)


Then we visited my brother's place, and set him loose on their cats. They're the ones who just had the baby boy, so I told them this will be a good experience for their cats, to know what to expect. :) Isis was amazingly long-suffering.

Hm, what does this thing do?

Simply Fascinating!

Mmm-wah! I love kitties!

Hey, how come the kitty doesn't like my hugses?

Bastet wasn't having any. She spent our entire visit on top of the fridge. Most of the time she was actually squished under the cupboards.

Joseph pretty much left this kitty alone. (WHY would anyone put this at the end of a dark hallway? I'd give myself a heart attack every time I walked down it at night!)

Finally, this is my parents' cat, Mau.

Mau is actually Egyptian for "cat," in addition to being the sound she makes. Mau is a very polite, unobtrusive kitty. The last time we were here, she spend the entire time hiding in my parent's bedroom, and nearly starved herself rather than come out to the kitchen where all the PEOPLE were. This visit, however, she consented to acknowledge our existence, and even allowed us the privilege of offering her an occasional scritch. (I found her happy spot at the base of her tail.) She figured Joseph out pretty quick -- she learned that she could keep a couple steps ahead of him without too much effort, and so the two of them would slowly follow each other around in figure eights around the coffee table and entry way, Joseph chortling the whole time. I wish I'd thought to take a video! It was pretty funny to watch.

When Mau tired of leading Jo-jo on a merry dance, she would retreat to her safe place on my parents' bed, above -- she figured out that even if he walked all around the bed, he couldn't reach the middle of it. So she would plant herself right in the very middle of it and watch him from under one half-closed eye. Jo didn't like that too well. :)

He just loves animals -- our gerbils, relatives' cats, neighborhood dogs -- I'm hoping we'll be able to continue keeping pets throughout our kids' childhoods. NO dogs until the kids are able to help take care of it though -- I've got enough babies to watch over right now! :)