Kittens Are Hard Work: Minnie and Nara
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Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and Miki, the kitten who made me a cat person.
Kittens – the beautiful, gracious mini lions, really. Cutest things ever! At least when they’re asleep. It’s a whole different ballgame when they’re awake. And they’re awake quite often. Yes, they say cats sleep up to 18 hours a day, if not more. Not my two. They’re always awake at the wrong time. And I’m seriously rethinking my life decisions at the moment. Miki is just the perfect cat in every way, and these two kittens sometimes seem like they’re the very opposite.
Longing For the Time When Miki Was a Kitten
Miki was the best kitten ever. He loved playing with me, using various toys, but he was also spending time outside under my supervision, as it was the middle of the summer. He never scratched me. Even to this day, he has only scratched me a couple of times, when he got frightened by a dog and when he had his little mishap with the harness and a leash, getting stuck up on a tree. He is such a sweetheart. He gives me gentle love bites and that’s it. With Minnie and Nara, now counting four weeks, I am covered in scratches, on my hands and arms, as well as my thighs and even feet.
Not Sure Which Kitten Is Worse
Initially, I was convinced that Nara was the worst one. She was the latest to arrive and obviously I had already bonded with Minnie. But in truth, the two of them are having a close competition for the title of the most mischievous kitten that ever lived.
Minnie is my little love bug, at least she was for the first two weeks of living with me. Now, it is as if she has two personalities. One minute she loves me, she is purring, kneading, head-butting my face, and even giving me gentle licks, or lying on my neck (big mistake). The next minute, and it’s literally a question of minutes, she turns into a tiger and tries to scratch me and bite my fingers, my chin, ears, anything she can get a hold of. Sleeping has become a stressful time. I’ve become conditioned to wake up in fear to the sound of purring, as I know what’s next.
Nighttime Should Be For Sleeping
Well, not for these two. It’s 3 AM. Miki is trying to sleep on his bed high up where he can’t be disturbed, still looking quite annoyed, the dogs are on top of me, living in fear from the two kittens that see their tails as the most exquisite toys, despite the many toys laying around the room. And instead of silence and sweet dreams, there is the unpredictable loud ruckus of things falling over from all sorts of heights, hissing, toys being tossed around the floor in the loudest fashion, and more. And just as it all quiets down, and Miki, the dogs, and I finally fall asleep, there is another bang. In the last two weeks, Miki and the dogs have been sleeping a lot during the day, and now I understand why. It also explains the bags under my eyes.
Kittens Are a Full-Time Job
And the pay sucks. Now thinking about it, I would have gladly paid someone to socialize these two devils and return them to me in six months. But that’s not an option. And as soon as a few hours pass without Minnie climbing on storage shelves, and getting into every possible cardboard box, while not being able to come back down on her own, or trying to chew on my mobile charging cable, or Nara knocking down my washing, running around doing zoomies, spilling water from the dog’s water bowls, I start to think, maybe they are getting better. Only to realize they are asleep and this is the reason for their temporary goodness. And they are so cute when they sleep, they’re impossible not to love.
Tip Toeing Around the House
I have started walking on tiptoes, to avoid waking the cats, and sleeping when they sleep. Even the dogs are wagging their tails less, not to attract their attention. In all honesty, we are being terrorized by these two kittens. And you’d think they have no toys, no scratch posts, no shelves or perches, no windows to watch the outside. Well, they do, ungrateful little buggers. And they have me as their personal assistant, playing with one or the other, or both at the same time, in order to get them to like each other more, or at least not to kill each other. Will this kittenhood ever end?
- Read her previous article: Multi-Cat Household Dynamics: Miki, Minnie & Nara
- Read her next article: Cat Sleeping Poses & Choice of Beds: Miki, Minnie & Nara Explore
