Paprika (a.k.a. Luna) is a black female that my oldest daughter adopted as a kitten while she was in college. As the familiar story goes, Mom and Dad inherited Miss Paprika. My youngest daughter, being the Sailor Moon fan that she is, renamed her Luna.

Paprika is quite regal and very much the nurturer. She was our "Buddy's" best friend, but "Buddy" died about a year ago. We all mourn him still, but the memories of those two together can really bring a smile to our faces.

Luna has always been able to leap to the top of the highest object in the room and "Buddy" was so bottom heavy that that was an impossible feat for him. They would run through the house and she would fly up the back of the chair and land on top of the draperies. He would be fast behind, but he could never make it past the chair. The contortions he would get into were hilarious.

Buddy's area of expertise came in opening things - doors, cabinets, marshmallow and potato chip bags and even the lid on his cat treats. The marshmallows were toys to play with, but oh, the potato chips were another story. He could hear that bag opening from 10 miles away and he demanded his fair share.

After "Buddy" died, a co-worker at Jim's (my husband) office told him about a little black female kitten that his wife had found abandoned. They were bottle feeding her around the clock and she was smaller than our cellular phone. She really "needed" me and I "needed" her to help me with my grieving. You could say we both comforted each other.

We named her Molly (Sailor Moon influenced us again) and she has grown into the "typical teenager". She wants to be left alone, unless she needs or wants something, and she really enjoys her speed. She's playful and loves to wrestle, even if she has to steal a glove or sock when no one will accomodate her. You can often find her looking out one of the windows, since she is particularily fond of the dormers. She makes a charming picture there, especially on a snowy day.

As time went on, the other two never became as loving as "Buddy" had been and Molly had claimed Jim and Luna had claimed Liz. I needed a cat of my own, didn't I? The vets where we had adopted "Buddy" had a litter of little grey kittens and you can guess the rest of the story.

Diana (named yet after another Sailor Moon character) came to live with us when she was 6 weeks old. She was almost as tiny as Molly, but she's definately NOT now. We call her "No Fear", because even as the new kid on the block and the youngest, she had no qualms about pushing her way up to the food dishes. Now she acts like the 3 dishes are "an all you can eat buffet", so we have to feed her separately because the other two were getting so slender and she is "bulking up".

Diana is our talker, and she lets you know when she wants food, or when it is time for us to go to bed or to get up in the morning. She has been the kitten that Luna never had and the playmate that Molly loves so much.

On August 25th. while Samantha and I were sitting on the front porch, we heard this faint little ~ meow. Soon this little grey striped kitten made "his" way from behind a pine tree and came up to us purring and caressing us with his fluffy fur. He has extra digits on his front paws, tufts of hair in his ears, and a very long plume of a tail. No one in the neighborhood claims him and the police are not aware of any lost kittens ~ So, what's a grandmother to do? Dana was thrilled and spent the rest of her visit very near Bob (to her because he looked like a Bobcat). We couldn't get over how friendly he was to the baby, since she is only 11 mos. old and a little unpredictable according to "the girls", who have had nothing to do with anybody since Gregg, Jen and the 2 grand-daughters came for a visit. Dana has wanted a kitten for so long. Jim didn't think we needed another cat, but I think he is weakening. Keep your fingers crossed, because I have fallen in love with Tama-chan ( yes, another Japanese animation cat name courtesy of Liz). He is so loving and has a purr that you can hear a state away. The vet tested him for contagious diseases and he checked out fine, except for some ear mites and a few fleas. He has medicine now for the mites and he, against his will, had a flea bath. "The girls" are still hissing at him, but although cautious he wanders anywhere he wants. We tried to contain him in Liz's room initially, especially when no one was home and Liz has moved out to the guest room because he keeps her awake loving on her at night. We really are enjoying him and I hope Dana gets to move down here so she can be with "her kitten" that I am keeping for her. ;)

UPDATE: Bob has not only won over all the girls, but Mr. Patterson also. Jim admits that Bob is "something else". He is the cock of the roost and loves the girls. He snuggled up to them long enough and they finally gave in. Luna will lick his head for him, Diana lets him wrestle with her and Molly and Bob like to race each other up and down the stairs. He is a real delight and I am enjoying keeping him for Samantha and Dana :)
My love of our cats has had me surfing the web for all kinds of interesting information. Below you can find links to a few of the wonderful web pages that I enjoy visiting. I'll be adding more later.