Pierre’s legacy: Homer

My house has been so quiet since Pierre’s death. He was very vocal, yammering comically in his Siamesy way, like a stuck car horn or endless running commentary.

Pierre had been mentoring a feral kitten, Homer, a grey tabby who has been in the house for several weeks and who followed Pierre everywhere. Homer became tame just before Pierre’s death, and every day he's more loving and adorable. Homer reminds me of Pierre, with his complaining voice and silvery paws. Homer is shown here with his other buddy, Francine, Pierre’s sister, who is still painfully shy and untouchable.

Tandem sleeping open call

Pierre and Francine have joined the tandem sleeping performance circuit.They aspire to challenge the reigning tandem sleeping champs, Olga and Jesse, who in the past year have turned professional and taken their show on the road. They recently appeared in the backyard shed's winter bedding I've set up for feral kitties.Today I caught Olga and Jesse rehearsing their new act: "Chopsticks" and "That's my hiney, dude."

Misterpants and Sisterpants

Feral tabby kitten Francine is finally a housecat!With the suddenness of winter (39 degrees here last night), I have worried about Pierre's sister Francine. In the past few weeks she has started letting me pet her while giving her treats. Outside today while she was lapping her dish of lactose-free milk, I impulsively grabbed her with her dish and hurried into the house. She freaked out but didn't scratch me. I plopped down in the living room floor with Francine in my lap, and she huddled there, stress-purring loudly for a long time, then relaxed a bit and finished her milk. Finally Pierre came in, and when Francine saw him she stepped out of my lap and rubbed lovingly on him. I hopped up and closed the kitty door to keep her in, while Francine meandered around the house, following Pierre's lead. An hour or two later I got these photos of the brother-sister duo on the bed.

I have such a Christmasy feeling now that this Francie care package has arrived! Big Daddy Alvin looks on, perhaps dimly aware that those two kids are likely his offspring.

Francie Pants

Thanks to encouragement from you dear readers, I decided kitten Pierre already has a home, and here he stays. One kitty that's pleased is Francine, the still-feral sister of Pierre. She was becoming tame until certain cats started scaring her, and now I see her only at night.

Who would dare chase and frighten Francie Pants? Natzi and Jesse. Yes, Jesse, the meek mama's boy. Spraying him with a water bottle deters him, but nothing deters Natzi.

Francine and Pierre

This is my latest feral couple, kitten siblings Francine and Pierre. She looks like their feral mom Suzy, and he looks like, er, my Alvin. I am ashamed for not having gotten Alvin neutered until March of this year. I'm still trying to trap and spay mom Suzy.I haven't been able to touch these kittens yet, but we play lots of games of string and mouse and ping-pong ball, and they let me get closer to them every day.

Give us this day our daily nap

And deliver us from falling off the fence whilst we nappeth. Amen.