Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Cats in the Cabinet

Let's be honest, cats are curious animals. They chase each other around, fall asleep in the most interesting positions, and are crazy for catnip and tuna. It is even more fun when you get them when they are kittens because you watch them grow up and see how their personalities develop. Your assumptions, when they are kittens about their adult behaviors, can be spot on or the complete opposite.

We adopted Harley and Benny about three and half years ago. They are brothers from the same litter and act just as that. Surprisingly, Harley was the smallest of the bunch, but if you saw him today, you would be none the wiser. He must of learned the scrappy behaviors before we got him, because he can definitely hold his own. We chose Benny out of the lot because we wanted the calmest of the bunch and he fell asleep in Justin's hands when we visited them around 6 weeks old. From this we assumed Benny would love to be held and sleep in our laps, but only part of that was true. Benny doesn't mind being held and up until recently, was not a lap cat. About a month ago, out of the blue, Benny decided to test Justin's lap out and was happy to stand on his lap while being petted. A few weeks later, Justin reported that not only did Benny lay in his lap, but fell asleep as well.

Another odd change that has occurred is what I call "anything-you-can-do-I-can-do." This pertains to actions as well as following behaviors. Harley must be the big brother between the two, because Benny has become prone to mimicking Harley's behavior, no matter how naughty it is. I believe that the Christmas Tree murder was a team effort.

Last weekend, I was digging through recipes for our New Year's Eve party and in effect left the cupboard door open. So, what does my frisky feline do? He peeks in and decides to test out the cupboard's weight limit. Fortunately, his husky 15 pounds didn't tear it down, but it was funny seeing him jump in face first and smash his head into the back of the cupboard while his rump was not all the way up yet.


And, in the competitive brotherly spirit, Benny was quick to replace him as soon as Harley dismounted his post.


A clear example of the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do mentality of my fur babies.

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