The Meows and The Silent Tortoise

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Here's a short preview of two kittens and a tortoise that have been proud members of our family.

"The Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him." ~ Rudyard Kipling
“Even as a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise can draw in their senses at will.”
~ Bhagavad Gita

The oldest of the pet family is my fat cat Chirpy. Don't ask me why she is named "Chirpy" when clearly she did not hail from the bird species.

The fat female cat has been putting on weight lately because we have been so generous with giving her most favorite dry chicken/tuna meal at regular intervals per day. She was given to us by our neighbor ten years ago and is very territorial for a female cat.

Chirpy does not care for mating-inclined male strays that come by her habitat(her mating days are over I think, though I can't be sure). On some days, I would hear high pitch "Get-the-hell-away-from-my-property meows and it never fails to make me chuckle.

The new addition to the family is Smurf - I call her Smurfieee. She has the clearest blue eyes. Her fur is white with dark grey accents at the area closest to her paws, nose, ears and tail. She's a darling solely because I can hold and pet her and see her joyful delight when we share some warmth together. She's so unlike Chirpy - she only comes to me for food.

The other non-human family member is Merlin the tortoise.

He's silent but not slow as most tortoises have been stereotyped to be. He can move really fast when he's trying to escape from stalking human beings and he's got long nails that can scratch.

Unlike cats, this quiet male hunk of a tortoise can raise up his left or right frontal flippers and wave whenever I use my right hand to wave at him. This happens when he wants food. The cutest trick ever.

His quietness is a factor in boosting his level of cuteness, particularly if you can't stand noise. Imagine if he can bark or make noise like a monkey - I shudder.