Like people, each cat has a distinct personality… I say as I step away because Zuko is getting into something he shouldn’t. Kittens are a bundle of fun and defensive actions. However, as the youngest member of the house, he’s the last on my list to talk about. Unless he commandeers the keyboard, of course… he jumped me from round 1 to round 5 of a workout yesterday.
Diane, our oldest, is generally the calmest cat in the house. She hasn’t really warmed up to Arwen over the past couple years, so we were surprised at how well she received Zuko. Diane is the slowest eater, and likely to stare at the other cats as they push into her food bowl rather than stopping them. She’s smart enough to figure out the hunt & feed toys, but doesn’t like competing with the other cats for food, so I end up putting out multiple toys when I feed them dry food. She only climbs on the counter looking for human food when she thinks nobody is watching, and will guiltily slink off when spotted.
June was a young mother when we adopted her and has always been interested in bathing everybody. Note that I didn’t say “every cat” – she’ll bathe anybody who will let her (which does not include me!), and habitually licks furniture and walls too. She’s still a bit unsettled about Zuko’s arrival, but I expect that she’ll eventually bathe him too. She will occasionally paw at my bedroom rug, purring loud enough to be heard across the room. On the rare occasion we find her on the counter, it’s because nobody was in the room and Diane was already up there cleaning a tray or pan. An expert at hiding, she will flee to her nearest hiding spot when caught on the counter.
Arwen, with a hunter’s metabolism, has always been food-oriented, to the point where she gets locked into my room before we even start preparing food. She spent the last couple years trying to convince Diane to play with her, and now thinks it’s annoying when Zuko does the same to her. Kitty karma, especially the lurking outside the litter box while it’s in use part. Particularly in the winter, she sleeps on my arm, purring me to sleep. She likes heights, frequently jumping to the top of a bookshelf to loom over the room like a gargoyle. When found on the counter, she will rapidly look for something to eat, or eat whatever she thinks she found before she gets removed. No guilt there at all.
Zuko is unquestionably a kitten. He demands attention, pawing and nipping at ankles, or jumping up on me during work and purring loudly while he settles down for a nap. Once he’s settled, I’m allowed to set him on the sofa. By the time he’s too heavy to climb curtains, I suspect I will need new curtains. Zuko’s counter exploration is mostly just exploring – he tends to jump up outside of meal time, then wander or sit down comfortably until he’s removed. I realize he has Arwen as a bad example, but hopefully I can teach him that the kitchen counters and dining room table are off limits.