Happy New Year

 Looking forward to 2021...

Boxing Day Pt. 3

Norma’s not going to be outdone by her brothers.
 

Boxing Day Pt. 2

Brother see, brother do...
 

Boxing Day pt 1

Trendsetter...
 

Happy Holidays

Somehow social distancing....

Sky is Falling

We got a blizzard yesterday. Really strong winds and around 10 inches of snow. Alias was enthralled.
 

Typical Feline

I bought this banana bed because it looked like it was big enough to allow Alias and Norma to nap in it together. Turns out Alias prefers the box it came in.
 

Vertical Norma

This is as tall as she can be... ears fully extended, tippy toes.
 

My Hero

2020 has been the worst year of Theo’s life with me. He craves routine and predictability. There’s been none of that this year. It occurred to me that when he joined our house Thompson and Diego-San had lived two years together and formed a unique bond. Now he’s joined by Alias and Norma who are siblings from the same litter and have bonded from all their time together at the beginning of their lives. Thus Theo has always had to figure out how he fits into things. And he always has. The past few days he finally is showing signs of being himself again. 

I’m not sure I would have figured out 2020 without him. He’s my hero. I’m hoping 2021 is a much better year for my little buddy.

Brotherly Love

Alias is discovering the benefits of having a big brother who has your back.
 

Comfy

I bought a new bed while I was buying food for the three. Norma apparently has claimed it as hers.   

Puddle of Joy

Just like every cat that’s ever walked the earth, Alias loves the sun. And the sun loves him back...
 

Toyland

Everything is a toy. She even bobbled my Hank Williams bobblehead.
 

The Three

Theo’s sweetness has returned full force. I stopped having Norma and Alias sleep in the basement overnight and both Saturday and Sunday the three of them slept at the foot of my bed. Yesterday Theo played with Norma. She was in a box with a flap and he kept pushing the flap down on her. She would reach her paw back at him. Today Alias was on his back pawing at Theo and Theo playfully pawed back... This is fun to see. 

Blah Blah Blah

I had to testify in a legislative hearing. Norma and Alias literally tried covering their ears while I was testifying.
 

Kitten Stew

Pot sitter.
 

Sanctuary

I think he believes the box will save him from the whirling dervishes...
 

Harmony

I think my winter just got a whole lot easier...
 

Siblings

Friday morning since Theo had stopped hissing at Norma and Alias for the past day, I finally let the two newcomers go upstairs to my bedroom for the first time. This had been Theo’s sanctuary since he has spent most of the summer napping up there. Norma and Alias immediately found the mouse in the ring toy that I’ve been playing along with Theo for the past month or so. He doesn’t really get that he’s supposed to swat the mouse around the ring but rather tries to pull it out with his claw. There’s a similar toy ring downstairs that Norma loves. She’ll play with it endlessly like it’s meditative. Alias sometimes joins in. Friday Norma and Alias swatted at the mouse and Theo kinda supervised the activity. Ever since that play date Theo has only hissed a couple of times at his siblings mostly when they surprised him by moving too quickly and getting in his face.

Later Friday morning I went upstairs to check on them and found Theo and Alias napping in my laundry bag, Theo’s latest favorite napping spot. It melted my 8>. I’m still having Norma and Alias sleep downstairs at night because I don’t want them to get into things unsupervised and I don’t think they’d let me sleep the entire night. But Saturday night the four of us were in the upstairs bedroom until bedtime and Alias made a point of joining his big brother for a nap.

Closer and Closer

Theo, Alias, and Norma spent their most time ever together in the same room- probably around 15 minutes. Theo now is curious enough to sniff his siblings. I have found one successful thing is to hold either Norma or Alias as Theo is checking out the other sibling. This way he doesn’t feel ganged up on. His hissing was minimal, but when he does, poor Norma in particular looks offended. Hopefully soon, all doors will be open to all housemates.
 

Family Ties

They’ve spent a lot of time in the basement where their food and water dishes are and there’s access to a couple of litter boxes. This means naps in the sun have been rare. Today they took one in the living room. And while they were napping, Theo came and sat on my lap as I was seated next to his new siblings. Eventually this led to Theo hissing at Norma in the kitchen, but for quite a while the four of us were together on the living room couch.
 

Scritches

Theo’s always loved chin scritches and he’s getting plenty of those these days. It’s the surest way to get the purring motor going...
 

One Small Leap

Alias is a little stockier and shorter than his sister. From the start, she’s been able to leap up onto my IKEA TV stand and he has not. This weekend he was finally able to make the jump up. Getting bigger and stronger every day even though it’s not noticeable to the visible eye...