While I Was Away....

... one of my assistants had a birthday! Now, you might think that this little milestone needn't be revisited for the blog, but you would be wrong. Firstly, what sort of self-respecting crazy cat lady would I be if I didn't? Secondly, we did a post for the other assistant's birthday, so it's only fair.

Now that we've got that cleared up, let's commence with the cute kitten photos, shall we?

Here we are on the night he came to live with us:

It's a cute story.

2007-2008 were tough years. During that time I experienced a lot of loss, including both a very close friend and my Mom. By the time 2009 rolled around, I was feeling a little worse for wear. Mr. Modiste wanted to do something to make me happy. Back then he was working for a small regional airline, and they sometimes shipped kittens for the SPCA. One day, he came to work and his plane was full of kittens. Most were all bundled together in group crates, but there was this one little scruffy, wire-haired, broken-tailed white-and-ginger guy in a crate all by himself. He was a frisky little thing, taking swipes at people who walked by. Something about his attitude won my Mister over.

(Little did he know that this ragamuffin would grow up to be the quietest, sweetest, softest cat we've ever met. But I digress...)

So, he brought the little guy home and surprised me. Let me tell you - best present I have EVER received.

Okay, I know I probably seem a little too attached to my cats. The thing is, they came into my life at a dark time and made it brighter. It might sound silly, but this little cat was sure to make me smile every day, even on bad days. He kept me company when my Mister had to be away for work. He was someone for me to take care of. I'm not even sure my Mister realizes exactly how big of a success his gift was.

Hobbes is the kind of cat that likes to sleep on your lap, but only between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Otherwise, you'll usually find him sprawled fast asleep, belly-up. He loves to sniff anything, no matter how gross, especially your breath. He will try to cram himself into any empty box, Maru-style, and prefers to drink only from the bathroom faucet. His sole mission in life is to eat human food. When you touch him, his motor instantly turns on and he still purrs at that loud kitten volume. When he's frisky, he likes to chase wine corks and rebounds off the walls at alarming heights.

When he made it clear that he was lonely, we adopted Johnny Cash. Then Hobbes became the kind of cat that's always trying to take care of everyone. Well, always trying to bathe everyone, anyway.

(He still does this to Johnny Cash every day. Actually, he does this to us, too.)

He's also very handsome.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hobbes!