You've Got Mail...

Dear readers!

We must, again, apologize for not keeping you updated, but our parents were on vacation before Christmas and have been stressed out ever since they returned. While they were gone, we spent our computer-time sending our parents emails instead of blogging. I hope you understand :).

Here is a translation of the emails we sent our parents (thanks for all your help, Omi, our two-legged granny):

December 12:

Dear Mom and Dad!

We understand that you need to take a break and we are not upset about you being on vacation. Omi is taking very good care of us. She enjoys playing with us, and, what's even more important, she knows where you've hidden our food!

Even I (Hanzō) have stopped protesting and my eye inflammation is completely gone now. Omi didn't even recognize which eye was sick today. I was so hyped up and active that she didn't even get a chance to put eyedrops in my eye this morning. I am so proud that I was much faster than her and was able to escape. Moreover, I defended myself with all four legs when she tried to catch me. I don't need those stupid eyedrops any more. I am usually quite busy playing with my brother and I don't like being disturbed. Omi said that she had to administer another dose of eyedrops in the afternoon. Ok, I will think about it. I hope you will be well rested when you come home so you can bear us rioting non stop again after Christmas.

Omi has promised to clean the fur Hattori threw up on a few weeks ago. We can't wait. She'll spend the whole afternoon with us today. We'll see...

Many kisses!
Your sons,
Hattori and Hanzō

December 13: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

Hattori and I have decided to divide up the work of sending you emails. Today, it is my turn. Tomorrow, it will be Hattori's.

Omi came over at noon. That was fun. Hattori and I helped her clean the fur. Omi put the fur in the bathtub and filled it with a bit of water. We wanted to watch very closely, of course. As you know, Hattori is a go-getter, who is much less scared than me. He kept standing on the fur, until his paws were already quite wet. I preferred to play safe and remained on the side of the bathtub. When it got too wet, Hattori lost interest in the fur and started chasing me, which was so much fun. In the end, we were so exhausted that not even the vacuum cleaner could distub our peaceful nap on the couch. Later, Omi went home to cook dinner. We arranged for her to come feed us at 6pm. Hopefully, she'll play with us again after dinner!

Kisses! Hattori sends his regards!
Hanzō

December 14: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

Yesterday, I thought you were coming home. There was a loud noise in front of our front door. I started meowing "hello," but the door didn't open. In desperation, I also meowed a little bit in front of your bedroom door (Omi says it sounded quite pitiful)... without success. Hanzō then reminded me that you'd be gone a bit longer and that it was my turn to send you an email. Omi picked us up in front of your bedroom door and explained to us the we need to sleep nine more times until you return home.

Don't worry, though, I forgot my grief quite quickly when I started playing with Hanzō. The food was also good. In the morning, Omi spent a little bit more time with us, but we didn't want to cuddle with her because we were in play-mode. We didn't play with any of our toys, just with each other. It was sooooo much fun. I mohawked up and Hanzō slapped me. We even tried to fight with Omi's grey tights.

Now, Omi is off to buy us some yogurt at the farmers' market. The sun is shining and the carpet Hattori threw up on a while ago is drying on a stool. But where is our fur?

Lastly, I have to complain about one little thing: Hanzō got two treats, while I only got one. Oh well, to be honest, I only wanted one. Hanzō is currently craving vitamin B in the form of yeast tablets, it seems, and I don't really know why.

Hanzō says "hi." Kisses!
Your son Hattori

December 15: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

It's me again. I am extremely proud that I was able to hide behind the speakers and then ambush Hattori when he was walking by. Omi says I am very smart and can climb very fast. When Omi is playing whith us, I am always the first one at the top of our cat tree, but when Hattori is playing with the feathers, I prefer to watch. He is too rumbunctous for my taste and is really good at jumping really high. Omi says everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

When Omi came over at 8am (on a Sunday!), we ran out into the hallway, as usual. This time, however, she was able to lure us back into the apartment without having to catch us. You see, dear parents, we can also behave sometimes!!!!!

We're doing great. Omi is being really nice to us and is trying to be a good tremporary replacement for you. She is just not able to find the flannel pants we love so much. At least our fur is finally dry. We've told Omi to place it right next to our cat tree. However, when she comes over again in the evening, it might already be somewhere else. We'll see what mischief we can get up to.

We got treats today and almost forgot about our food. Don't worry, we'll eat it a little bit later. Omi left the food out, just in case we were still hungry. She was here for almost and hour and told us that she was then off to visit our great-granny in Wördern.

We hope you have a great cruise. Bring us some presents!

Kisses from both of us!
Hanzō

December 16: 

Mom, Dad!

Are you already on the plane? Hanzō and I just fell asleep in Omi's lap. We both purred. I turned around at least 5 times so she could pet me from all sides. Only Hanzō was in my way sometimes. What I really don't understand is that it is still light outstide where you are. Here, it is already completely dark.

We can't wait to hear all about your trip!
Kisses from both of us!
Hattori

December 16: 

Mom, Dad!

How can we join the cat union? We have to complain. Omi locked us in the living room, even though it would be been so much more fun in the other part of the apartment. A woman came over and cleaned the bathroom and toilet and, instead of petting us, Omi vaccum-cleaned the bedroom. Finally, she came in and gave us a treat. She also explained to us that you'll be able to spend more time with us when you get back, as you won't have to clean the apartment again before Christmas. Ok, we forgive her. It didn't take long before we managed to escape. We had to examine if the woman did a good job in the bathroom. It is really, really clean. Hopefully, Omi will let us spend a little bit of time in there and won't be afraid of us making everything dirty again. We'll behave! We promise! We only left our paw-prints on the cooktop in the kitchen. You can see everything on there... unfair! It really isn't cat-proof!

I (Hattori) have to confess one little mishap: when Omi was playing with me with my favorite feather toy, I accidentally landed in the water bow. My paws and the area around the bowl were completely wet and I was puzzled. Omi laughed at me...

Enjoy your cruise...

We've already gotten used to Omi taking care of us... except from today: she mustn't lock us up. Protest!!

Hanzō and Hattori

Stay tuned for (approximately) the other half of our emails!!
Thanks for reading,
H&H

Riot-Kitties

Hi guys,

sorry we haven't posted anything in a while, but we've been busy annoying our parents. We're already very grown-up, but let us individually tell you a few annecdotes from the past few weeks.

Hanzō:
We have been extremely hungry lately, probably because we're growing. This is what our days look like: sleeping, begging for food, sleeping, playing with each other, begging for food (if our parents are home), sleeping, begging for food, playing some more, sleeping, begging for food, sleeping. We have found out that meowing in front of our parents' door very early in the morning is very successful in getting us food earlier. I've become a little bit more vocal, but Hattori is still a lot louder than me. He "talks" way too much in general.

I've discovered my passion for sleeping on my nose. At first, I just let my nose rest on my parents' legs, for example, even though daddy kept making fun of the whistling sound this maneuver makes, but then I got so addicted that I had to start lying on the floor by myself nose-down when nobody was home. If anyone can perhaps explain my new addiction, I would be very grateful, as I am at least as confused as you are. Maybe it is due to the fact that I've had a stuffy nose for a while. My parents think it is because I am spending too much time on the cat toilet, inhaling cat litter. It is not my fault if I have to clean up after my brother all the time. In any case, I really enjoy it when mommy rubbs my nose. I can't get enough of it because it clears up my nose.

Lastly, I have been very needy lately. I keep having "dirty" dreams involving cat ladies, but when I wake up and they're gone, I am so upset I need to be pet as soon as possible. If nobody is looking, I am also cuddling intensely with my brother. I won't admit it though because I am already a very big, 2.1kg heavy, boy.

Hattori:
Mommy is job hunting and we are enjoying hunting dried beef these days. First we make sure it has been chased until it is so exhausted we can easily kill it by salivating on it. Only when it is as dead as it can get, we chew on it as long as possible in order to enjoy the delicate taste.

Last Monday, our guests accidentally left the door to the office/ guest room open, and I could not resist the temptation to eat half of mommy's jalapeño plant. I was punished for not obeying my parents a few hours later though because I had to throw up very badly. We are also suffering a bit from hair loss, as daddy has discovered ten hairs on his speaker stand. I know you might think this is noting, but you have to judge each breed by its own standards. Haha. We are proud to be hypo-allergenic, especially since daddy thinks he is allergic to other cats. This is good for us though so he can only love us... and mommy, that's also ok... as long as he doesn't neglect us. Yeah, we are very high-maintenance!

Here are a few pictures taken in the past two weeks or so. Sorry they are not as good as usual, but:
1) Mommy forgot to charge her Nikon SLR camera, so most of them were taken with her phone.
2) It is already dark when our parents get home from work, so lighting is not ideal.
3) We can't sit still.

Love,
Your rioting Samurai