I sometimes call Smokey my bipolar kitty, because she has two very different temperments. She's very...intense.

Smokey was abandoned as a kitten, and a friend adopted her, but she'd been on her own a while and had a lot of difficulty adjusting to the other cat and dog our friend had, so we agreed to take her in. We had one other, older cat at the time, and she did okay with that. (She had more issues with some of the cats we got later, but that's a whole 'nother issue!)

Smokey either does NOT want to be remotely approached and will hiss at ya if you do, OR very intensely wants lots of attention. She will hop in my lap and headbutt me until I start petting her hard enough to suit her, preferably with both hands...She loves to be briskly brushed. She's very vocal about what she wants and very focused on getting it.

We also sometimes call her the *%&$%-cat because she has such an attitude. But we love her anyway. And yes, she is rather "festive."

Sometimes I feel kinda bad for her, because her and Vega don't always get along. Vega, sweet all the rest of the time, can be very aggresive toward her. (I got Feliway plugins, and that helps some.) She doesn't do well with male cats in general, but does get along with females better.

One of the pix was shortly after we got her, and the other, more recent. Both are her curled up in my chair. In fact, when I'm not in my computer chair for 30 seconds, it becomes one of the favorite cat sleeping spots in the house.

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Smokey is a pretty cat. Must be lighting, but I love how dark her legs are in the first photos. Isn't it cool how animals have unique personality traits and how well that we get to know them. Modie and I could communicate so well and Oz is learning to do that, too. Thanks for sharing Smokey's story with us, Dix.

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and here's a group shot...everybody but Smokey, who is, of course , antisocial.

At the top is Zeno, whom we lost Nov. 2005...I miss him. He was a big, sweet goofball who could always make me laugh.

Underneath him is Vega, whom you've already met, Jules, and at the bottom is Poupon. Grey Poupon. (My mother-in-law named her. My MIL always did drive me nuts.)

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And that's my whole fur family...

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Oh- Zeno we adopted from the humane socieity, Vega my SD showed up with (and I don't really believe her story, so I'm not sure where he came from), Jules was a barn cat of one of SD's friends, and Poupon came from MIL. So they came from everyplace, sorta like Rob's fur family.

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I'm sorry you had to lose Zeno, you never do really get over it completely. You always miss 'em and there's an empty spot nobody else in your cat family can fill.

They look so sweet and cozy. Neat to hear their stories. How in the world did you get them all lined up like that? How CUTE!

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oh, i didn't do get 'em to line up! that was their own doing. no way i could have gotten them all to cooperate...they still snuggle with one another, but it's usually a couple at a time. poupon, our old lady kitty, and jules are the two most frequent snuggle-buddies, but sometimes it's different combinations.

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Wonderful photos of the kitties goddess. And they don't look too festive-just content. Smokey sounds a lot like my Ignatz-everything has to be done on his terms-but, as you say, we love them anyway.

thanks, sus...smokey is very pretty. her coloring did lighten a little as she grew.

and i'll bet she's very similar to your ignatz, kat. very much their own terms! all my cats are quite convinced that i'm here to serve them, it's more than obvious....bad thing is, they might not be entirely wrong...LOL

and they are still pretty darned "festive," even if it's not really apparent in the pics.

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I thought Smokey looked as though she has an attitude from that one picture. I can just see her daring anyone to look at her!

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Nita

oh, that she does! in fact, if you look at her when she's not into it, has been known to hiss right atcha.

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OMG........
That picture above is just TOTALLY priceless!!!!!!!

One of our weather guys will often say,in the winter, if the temperature is going to be very cold, that it's going to be "a three dog night", meaning you are gonna need 3 dogs sleeping on top of you to keep you warm.
That's what I thought of when I saw your cat-kids..."it's gonna be a 4 cat night!" Well...for us cat people who think in terms of cats instead of dogs.

Anyhoo...that pic is just precious!

s

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Shelley


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"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery

I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
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One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!

What a great picture, Dixie! Beautiful kitties!

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

that's a funny story, shell. i would have translated it into cats, too. i am called "the crazy cat lady" in my neighborhood, after all.

thanks, ladies...that's one of my favorite pics. i always loved to see them snuggle together. it just made me happy to watch them being affectionate with each other...

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I LOVE that lineup! Living with furkids all these years, I know very well that something like that CANNOT be posed. ... ok, maybe with very obedient dogs, but NEVER with kitties, LOL!

Ya just have to happen to be there and remember where the camera is.

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