Getting catty in the Year of the Horse

 

Introducing the two new members of our household - above is Moon on the left and Tiger on the right. For quite some time my wife and I had been discussing whether or not to adopt a cat to take up residence with us here in Guangzhou 广州. Regular readers of this blog will probably recall that we had adopted a Siamese (Timi, as in the "Ti" and "Mi" in "Tiramisu", a nod to his Seal Point coloring) in Beijing 北京, and that he became our daughter's roommate when she moved into her own apartment in the Pacific Northwest before the start of her sophomore year in college. Since then you could say Shu-E and I have been suffering from empty nest syndrome, after having both a child and a pet move out in successive years. Therefore we made the decision what our new home in Guangzhou needed was an animal companion.

The question came down to what kind of feline to get. I've always been partial to Siamese (see below), but it isn't often that you come across one in China in need of a new home (my wife and I were opposed to buying a cat from a pet shop). Shu-E wasn't so concerned about breeds (though she is partial to black cats as we used to have one when we lived in Fengyuan 豐原), but really wanted a kitten. After doing some research on WeChat she came across a woman who was looking for new homes for several cats she had temporarily adopted, including a Siamese. The latter, however, while still young at one-year-old had moved beyond kittenhood, so in the end we decided to adopt two cats (much in the same way we ended giving Amber two middle names after she was born, but that's a story for another day). And so not long after returning to China from our Lunar New Year trip to Chiang Mai we ended up with a pair of feline companions. 

Tiger was the first to arrive. He's around two months old and a proverbial ball of energy. Though I've grown up with cats I haven't lived with a kitten since I was a small child, so it's been taking some getting used to having a cat running through the apartment at high speeds. I also can't get over just how small Tiger is, as he isn't that much bigger than my hand. It's taken some time for him to be comfortable around me presumably due to my sheer size (though he's now curled up asleep in my lap as I'm reviewing this post before uploading), but he and Shu-E bonded almost from the very beginning:

Moon joined us the following weekend, after a week recuperating from being taken to the vet to be neutered and to have the tip of his tail removed. I came up with the moniker "Moon" after Googling names that Thai people commonly give to their native breed, being derived from the Thai word "Wichienmaat" วิเชียรมาศ, or "moon diamond", which I found on this website.

I've always been partial to Siamese cats going back to my childhood*. We had one named Nicky that my mother took in after she learned our nasty next-door neighbors in southern California were planning to take him out to a field and abandon him there. He ended up living with us for more than twenty years, and was a very good boy. Moon immediately made himself at home in our place, and as is typical of Siamese is in constant need of attention and affection. He's also a very good boy: 

The aforementioned tail tip amputation is related to an accident that happened to Moon earlier in his still-young life. We're not clear on the details, but he had an accident that has left his right hindleg shorter than the others. This has resulted in a noticeable limp, and a suggestion from the vet to have the leg x-rayed every six months. However, the doctor assured us that he isn't feeling any pain, and he appears able to run at full speed when playing with Tiger. One other obvious fact from his condition is the way the affected limb juts out whenever Moon sits, as can be seen in this photo. Cute, funny and sad all at the same time:

And how have the boys been getting along you may be thinking? Very well. Tiger started playing with Moon from almost the moment the latter arrived in his new home, and the two of them spend a lot of time chasing each other around the apartment. Tiger is also surprisingly quick and agile and has proven himself to be more than a match despite Moon being much larger. And when they're not playing they're often napping in close proximity to each other, though Moon is constantly being chastised by my wife for trying to eat his roommate's food:

The Internet was made for videos of cats acting like cats:

Having Moon and Tiger living with us has certainly changed the atmosphere at home, with the latter considering every item a possible toy to be played with, while the former forces my wife and I to keep our eyes always focused downward as he is constantly getting between our legs. We'll of course have to start researching local kennels and pet sitting services for when we travel for extended periods, though the two of them should be fine for short weekends away. And having them so young means we can look forward to them being with us for a long time to come, as we move eventually move on from Guangzhou and into retirement. 

And how is Timi doing these days? By all accounts just fine, thank you, though turning darker due to the relative lack of sunlight that comes with winter in Oregon:

*Upon further reflection it could be argued my preference for Siamese cats stems from my sister and I having watched the antics of D.C. in the Disney film That Darn Cat: