Help, I'm so little...

Dear readers,

I would like to file a complaint against my dear brother, Hattori "Pocket Cougar" Blue Majesty, at the European Court of Cat Justice. The situation has become unbearable, so I believe there is no other option than to ask for a legal verdict. You must know that I am quite little compared to my big brother, as I only weigh 3.2kg, 800g less than Hattori. Mommy and daddy keep telling me that it is because I've probably inherited some American Russian Blue genes from my four-legged daddy, who is apprently one fourth American. American Russian Blues tend to be smaller and more slender than European ones. The interesting thing with us is that while Hattori's physique is more European, he is also the more confident and outgoing one, which is supposed to be an American Russian Blue character trait. Isn't it a little bit unfair, guys? The only thing I don't understand is how I can be an American Russian Blue if I am actually mostly Polish and a little bit German. Maybe our Omi, who is a geographer, can explain this to me when our parents are in Dubai next week and she's taking care of us.

Anyway, I am also really attached to my brother (and my parents, my Omi, most visitors... ok, I admit it, I am a bit clingy and needy, but I think it is ok since I am so adorable when I rubb my cheeks on people... I also try to reward petting with a lot of purring, which my brother usually doesn't do). Sometimes, I run around the apartment, but can't find my brother anywhere. I even meow (squeak) really loudly (ok, as loudly as I can) "brother, where are you?" but he doesn't answer. My parents have told me that he likes to hide from me, on top of shelves, the fridge, and the mirror cabinet, and that occiasionally, they've seen an evil grin on his face. I think my big brother is making fun of me. He obviously enjoys being able to jump anywhere he likes, while I don't think I am strong enough and also don't have the courage to try. This has to stop! My brother should not be allowed to hide from me when I need him!

Please support my cause,
your Hanzō "Squeaky" Blue Majesty

Box Surfing

Wait for it...

Confessions I

Dear readers,

we have a confession to make: we are secretly in charge of the household we live in. Please don't tell our parents because exposure of our behavior could get us in trouble. We are also not quite sure if they actually appreciate our "leadership," but we just couldn't remain inactive any longer. Without us, we are convinced, life would be very chaotic at home.

Let us give you a few examples:

A few weeks ago, our parents were arguing about where to go on vacation this year. It got really unbearable for us. Mom asked dad where he wanted to go. He responded he didn't want to think about it. Mom got upset and told dad that they could at least talk about possible options, like if they still wanted to visit their friend Andrea in New Zealand or if, perhaps, they should finally go to Asia. We thought we'd help them out by drawing their attention to possible destinations by jumping on their world map canvas in the living room. Since Hattori is much better at jumping high and long, we decided he should give it a try first: after all, he'd have to jump almost two meters from the back of the chair to the top of the canvas. He did great and landed on the same spot thrice and thus was hopefully able to make our suggestions heard. They are Spitsbergen, Greenland, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Libya. What's great about them is that they are quite exotic, while still not being too far from Austria. We understand that our parents have to take a vacation from time to time, but we don't want them to be gone for too long. Believe it or not, we really miss them when they're not home. Hanzō has even tried clinging to dad's legs in the morning to prevent him from going to work, but that's a different story.

When we need to clean up our parents' mess, it is Hanzō's turn. The other day, our parents had this smelly brown liquid they drink from minature cups, we've heard them call it espresso. The cups smelled so terrible, and it seems like they didn't even notice because they left them on the table and continued drinking them. So we decided to help out and get rid of the smell by covering up the cup. It was so frustrating for Hanzō because it didn't work, as you can see:

That's it for now. Hopefully, we'll be able to remember a few other examples of our leadership in this household, so you get a better sense of how much we're actually in charge here. It's time to take a nap now because otherwise we might not be able to get the 16 hours of sleep a day that we need ;).

Until next time,
your sleepy Samurai

Our World: The Bed

Dear readers,

since our parents abandoned us for a weekend at the beginning of the month, we'll dedicate this post to probably our favorite spot in the apartment: the bed, where we love to cuddle with our parents. We were not completely alone, of course, as our Omi took care of us, but she was busy studying for an exam that we were not the center of her attention. We tried so hard to distract her by playing with her pen, sleeping on her notes and practicing our climbing skills and then pretending to be stuck and needing her to rescue us. Life is fun, for us at least.

When mommy came back on Sunday night, we could barely believe it was her. We started sniffing on her legs, her shoes and her face, and were happy to confirm after a few minutes that it was indeed her. We got to cuddle with her a little bit, but it was already quite late, so mommy kicked us out of the bedroom and went to sleep. Sadly, we are not allowed to sleep in the bed with our parents yet because apparently, we are still too rumbunctious. It is not our fault that it is so much fun eating mommy's plants, uprooting daddy's bonsai and chasing each other a little bit during the night.

Long story short, we were so needy, we kept meowing in front of the door, hoping for mommy to let us back in. Sadly, our parents have started locking the door at night because we've figured out how to use the door handle (you should have seen mommy's face when we first let ourselves into the bedroom). It doesn't keep us from trying, in spite of this little "hurdle," though, especially since it makes a lot of noise and usually wakes our parents up. Mommy didn't get to sleep that night, and the night thereafter... Thank god we're so cute because otherwise, our parents might have already thrown us out the window. Haha.

Proof of how cute we are:

Our World: The Hammock

Dear readers,

once again, we must apologize for not posting regularly in the past few weeks. Our mommy just returned to university at the beginning of the month, so it has been hard to steal her computer in order to even post a few pictures. We haven't been lazy though, as we have been quite busy spending time eating, growing, rioting, scratching things, climbing places we're not supposed to, opening doors, waking mommy up from her morning coma, and so on.

It is getting quite cold outside, but thankfully we've discovered how nice it is to sleep on the various radiators in the apartment. Occasionally, we even sit in the oven or on the cooktop, although we have to admit that it sometimes gets really hot. Mhhhhh, warmth! It is also nice sleeping in our parents' laps, even though we are rebellious teenagers at the moment, who are reluctant to make such confessions. We are also really glad we have each other. One of our favorite "hobbies" is documented in the pictures below: sleeping in our hammock, preferably together. We also have a little surprise for you at the bottom of the page!

Enjoy,
Your Samurai

                                           

You've Got Mail #2

December 17: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

Last night was great! We slept on daddy's red flannel pants, which Omi found in your bedroom yesterday. We enjoyed it so much that we didn't even mind Omi coming over a bit later this morning. She told us that she saw Adamah's (an organic farm that delivers vegetable baskets) delivery truck. They make deliveries on Tuesdays in this district, it seems, and Omi thinks it's great because it is her day off. But what does Tuesday mean?

We're doing good overall. I just discovered how much fun it is to play with Omi's left foot. I have started attacking it just like Hattori does. Haha!

Now I have to continue eating because otherwise Hattori might eat my portion as well.

Omi and Hattori send their regards!
Kisses, Hanzō

December 18: 

Dear Parents!

We'll admit it upfront: we were very rambunctuous today. Omi says she's already sent you photos in order for you to have some evidence. Later, we slept very peacefully, but when Omi wanted to leave for her choir christmas party, we played a game with her. When she opened the entrance door, we ran as quickly as we could and escaped into the building's hallway. It was so much fun, especially because we were able to trick her three times. She carried us back into the apartment every single time, and we always managed to escape again. We're so proud of how fast we are! The fourth attempt wasn't as successful because she dropped us off in the kitchen and closed the door. By the time we were able to run a full circle through the living room (kitchen and living room are connected and both have a door into the apartment's hallway), the entrance door was already closed. Bummer!

Omi came over again after her party though. We were so happy that we didn't even dare to riot. Hanzō enjoys fighting with Omi's legs much more than Hattori now, can you believe it?

Kisses,
your furry sons!

December 19: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

I hope you're not mad, but I really enjoy cuddling with Omi. Today, she cuddled with us on our big fur, which was really nice! The rest of the day, I played with Hattori. Today, I even caught the feathers (of the feather toy). Hattori wasn't interested because he was already in cuddle-mode.

We also still enjoy escaping the apartment at any possible occasion. Omi always then carries us inside, but we're dying to find out what's behind the blue door (Note by cat mommy: it leads to the building's staircase)! Omi brough us funny slippers, with which we've already conducted the first tests if it is suitable as a toy. It ended up in the kitchen! Tomorrow, our other grandparents are coming over to deliver a new shower screen. We hope that they will also play with us!

Omi promised to show us Haiti and Jamaica on the map. Hopefully, you'll bring us toys from there! They also have cats there, right?

Kisses from both of us,
Hanzō

December 20: 

Dear Mom and Dad!

We haven't watched TV in over a week! We suspect that Omi hasn't figured out how to turn the TV on. In any case, we already miss it a little bit.

In the afternoon, Omi and Opa from Traisen came over, but we are a little bit dissatisfied because they only briefly pet us and didn't play with us!

When Omi came came over to feed us in the evening, we were quite sad. Meooow :(. Mom and Dad were still not back. Meeow :(. They've been gone for so long. Meeeeeeooooowwww! We were not even in the mood to play. Instead, we cuddled up to Omi and daddy's flannel plants. We also enjoy sleeping on the big fur. It feels so good! I also love kneading the big fur now, not just the small one.

When Omi cleaned our cat toilet, I had to take the opportunity to take care of very important business. Hanzō had the same glorious idea though and very soon kicked me out of the box because he said I didn't clean up after myself properly. After cleaning the toilet, he also wanted to lick me clean, but I didn't let him. Omi finally showed us Hatiti and Jamaica on the map. It's not that far from here. I attempted to bridge the distance once on the map, but, unfortunately, I slid off the map.

We're signing off now because it is time for a nap! The sun only has to rise three more times before your're back! YAY!

Kisses from both of us,
Your son, Hattori

Mom! Mom! Dad! Dad!

Can we make a wish for Christmas? Yeah? We would love to have a garden! We just discovered how much fun it is to play with soil. The only thing we don't quite understand is why Omi doesn't think it's funny!

Kisses from both of your furry sons!

December 21:

Dear Parents!

Omi promised that we'd have to write for the very last time today because you're FINALLY coming home tomorrow! We're soooooooo excited already!!

We helped Omi clean the apartment today and we really hope we can keep it clean until tomorrow! We don't have a lot to report today, except that we are desperate for you to cuddle with us! We miss you sooooo much!

Have a safe flight!

The two of us :)