Feline Fiesta

Hooray! As of this monday, our kittens are now 6 MONTHS OLD!!!
(That's one year on a cat-to-schubert ratio!)
(Actually, it would technically be a schubert-to-cat ratio. But whatever.)
(Just wanted to point out how I edited out the initial flashy cat-to-mozart tangent for more accuracy!
Yay! We have had them for over 4 months. It feels like a very long time. Although I am very happy that my little muffins are maturing well, it's a bit tainted for two reasons. One, of course, is nostalgia. I get nostalgic easily, and even though Sasha and Maya are still just as frisky and playful and fun as they were two months ago, it's still sad that they are already half way through their official kitten-hood. The second reason is that it was also the birthday of my kittens' sisters and brothers.
This is sad because I know NOTHING ABOUT THEM. Not their new home, not their new names, not how they look at six months rather than two. I'm hopeful that I will eventually be able to contact their new families through Furkids.
Anyways, monday was our day of celebration! We presented the kittens with their first taste of wet food, some lactose free milk, a birthday ribbon and paper hat to destroy, and a new toy. The lactose free milk thing was weird. So, as I said in my electrons, most kittens (and cats) are lactose intolerant. We had given them lfm only one other time.
At first they were both very interested. When Maya lost the vibe, Sasha plowed on. I tried to get a cute picture, but no matter how fast I pressed the button, nor how many shots I would snap consecutively, I could never catch Sasha's tongue. It moved to fast. I did get a couple of this weird ghost tongue though, which I suppose was a shadow of where her tongue had been before it moved.

You can see her little tongue shadow...

While Maya played with a rug nearby, Sasha continued her guzzling until, randomly, something changed. She abruptly switched opinions, and immediately dove into a complex, orderly dance of scraping the floor by the bowl (an instinct cats have when they smell something bad - the motion intending to bury the stench with dirt). Sasha was bizarrely thorough, rotating calmly as she obsessively turned on her most recent treat. I have a chunk of this episode on camera.

Sorry for the bad camera skills.

Luckily, the wet food was met with a much more passionate reaction. Sasha and Maya devoured half a can of each of two flavors. "Salmon Surprise" and "Chef's Seafood Palate" or something. We have to more cans ready for the next couple Shabbots as a treat.

Sasha and Maya were very pleased with their new toy. Sasha got so worked up that she started panting! Cats are not supposed to pant. It means that they are overheated or overworked. Or stressed. I was taken aback. 

Benjamin: Mom, Sasha's panting.

Mom: Really? I didn't know cats could pant... (typing on email or facebook or work or whatever)

Me: I don't think they're supposed to (typing on skype or something)

Benjamin: Well she is. I think she's excited.

Mom: That's weird.

Me: Well, Sasha does sort of huff her breath a bit when she gets worked up. Maybe that's what he's hearing.

Benjamin: Do cats pant?

Mom: I am googling that right now!

(pause)

Mom: No, cats are not supposed to pant. 'If a cat pants, it means they are overheating or feeling stressed. Panting can also be a sign of liver problems blah blah blah..." Hmm. If a cat is panting, that's probably not good.

Me: She's probably just huffing a bit

Benjamin: Can you hear that?

Me: No.

Benjamin: It's pretty loud...

Me: *sigh* Fine (Logs off skype)

(walks to the living room)

Me: Benj, she's probably not really-

!

Sasha: PANTPANTPANTPANTPANT

Me: !!!

Sasha: GASPGASPGASPGASP

Me: OHMYGOD SHE"S PANTING OMG MOOOM AAAAAAAAH!!!!

Sasha: HUFFHUFFHUFFHUFFHUFF

It was scary. Like, she didn't seem in danger or blown out or anything. But her jaw was pumping and her sides were heaving and it's just like, not something cats do.

Then Sasha had to have some isolation to cool off.

I spent most of my morning at home following them around and paparazzing them, just because it's so hard to get good pictures of them when they move so fast, and often the lighting isn't good. I'm hoping to try to get a lot more better pictures before school starts.

Here are some of my better pictures....

So yeah. Pretty cute.

I wanted to post on their actual birthday, but I started feeling really sick, so didn't get around to starting it till today. Hopefully you can all enjoy it at you leisure later this week.

Now that our kittens are half a year old, they will probably get spayed around the beginning of August... I hope it goes okay! Furkids kitten season is still in full swing... Clarissa and I found the CUTEST pair! I think Clarissa should adopt them, cuz they are UNBELIEVABLY cute!

The one on the left is Lizzie and the one on the right is Lula. Lula has the cutest eyes! Huge and blue and adorable! They look and sound really fun.

That's all for now. I hope you guys can still appreciate this post, even if it's late!

I will see you arooooooooound....

~Julia