Kittens!

[anteros_lmc]

Look! Kittens! We have new kittens! :D

Towards the end of last year we decided that once the building work on our house was all finished we would get a new kitten. (It's been about four years since our dearly beloved, incredibly beautiful and phenomenally grumpy old cat passed away.) We had hoped to get two new kittens before Christmas so we could settle them in while we were all on leave but alas it wasn't to be. However on Tuesday this week, a family that I had contacted previously got back in touch to say that two of their litter were still available, so we went to get them right away. They're both eight weeks old and completely adorable. This picture is a bit misleading as the little tortoiseshell girl is much smaller than the fluffy black and white male. When you see them togehter it's hard to believe they're from the same litter. They also have quite different personalities, the girl is very cautious and hates being picked up, while the boy is much more laid back. Picking names of them has been something of a dilema. We did think about Horatio or Ned for the boy, but he doesn't really have the right personality. Daughter either wants to call him Murdo (!!!) or Ludo after the character in Labyrinth :} The girl is Niko, named after Glasgow Warrior's Fijian scrum half Niko Matawalu as they are both small, fast, unpredictable and very hard to catch XD

Comments

[esmerelda-t.livejournal.com]

So when can will I tell father to call round and collect them for me?

Not sure how Bartholomew would cope with a couple of young whipper snappers mind you, he is about 150 now after all. Perhaps it's best I let you take care of them for me.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Aren't they the most gorgeous! They'd even give Bartholomew a run for his money in the cuteness stakes ;)

Perhaps it's best I let you take care of them for me.
My pleasure! You must come and visit them soon :)

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

They are adorable. What a splendid thing. I have noticed Mike pining for a kitten. He keeps looking at pictures online. Of course with two cats already it is not a good idea. When I ask him he says he just misses having a baby around. (Another thing that is not on the table, obviously!!)

I assume you have already considered and rejected naming boy kitty Archie or William? Have you considered Christopher? (My aunt had a cat by that name. Once when he was quite old he had a heart attack. He keeled over, not breathing, no pulse. She gave him CPR and he revived and lived for years after that.)

It is very good to have two so they can be company for each other, and get up to antics while you are not home!!

I hope you post pictures often, and tell us all how they are doing. It is the next best thing to me being able to scritch them. Someday I do hope to sit in your kitchen and visit them, but they will be big cats by then I think.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Poor Mike! It's a shame you're not on this side of the pond, then he could come and visit our kitties whenever he gets broody :}

I assume you have already considered and rejected naming boy kitty Archie or William?
Sadly yes, he's definitely not an Archie or a William. We let toots choose the name for the boy and she has finally decided on Josh, after another rugby player Josh Strauss. He's a bit of a gentle giant with an enormous furry beard, so it suits him rather well! Niko is a complete mischief who is into everything and causing all sorts of havoc!

[shepet.livejournal.com]

They are absolutely adorable!

As you would call a boat, so it will float(c) :)) I think if you call the boy Horatio, personality will manifest itself ;-)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

As you would call a boat, so it will float
Ha! Good point! :)

I think if you call the boy Horatio, personality will manifest itself ;-)
Heh, you mean he'll be desperately self absorbed and riddled with self doubt? ;)

[shepet.livejournal.com]

Ha! Good point! :)
Oh, this is a phrase from the cult animation film Adventures of Captain Wrongel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Captain_Wrongel) :)) It's passed into a proverb ages ago in all Russian-speaking countries.

Heh, you mean he'll be desperately self absorbed and riddled with self doubt? ;)
Anything is possible :) I personally would not risk ;-)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is a phrase from the cult animation film Adventures of Captain Wrongel :)) It's passed into a proverb ages ago in all Russian-speaking countries.
It's a wonderful proverb! I am definitely going to adopt it :)

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Very cute!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Very cute! Very mischief! :}

[vespican.livejournal.com]

Real cuties. Names? I might have turned to the ships from the HH books. Lydia for her, of course, and perhaps Hotspur for him? Or more historical, Victory for the boy... Vic for short...
Dave

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

We went through lots of ship names but couldn't settle on anything. He's definitely not a Hotspur, not sparky enough! After about a week of prevaricating, daughter has finally decided on Josh. We thought it was only fair to let her name one of them!

[vespican.livejournal.com]

Good choice. It fits!

[katriona-s.livejournal.com]

Very cute!! So I think we can expect to see the photos of them once in a while?

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I hope so! They move very fast though, so far I've only managed to get pictures of them when they are lying down snoozing :}

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Oh, lucky you! They're just adorable! And I bet your daughter's thrilled :-)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

She is over the moon! She used to be rather scared of cats so it's great to see her getting used to them :)

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I vote for Murdo. Unless we carry on the scrum half theme and call him George or Ben or Jamie!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I AM NOT HAVING A CAT CALLED MURDO!!! :}

Unless we carry on the scrum half theme and call him George or Ben or Jamie!
Nope. He's definitely not a scrum half, much too big, he's more of a back row. In fact toots has decided to name him after Josh Strauss - he's big and soft and furry, so it suits him perfectly XD

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Big, soft and furry? Why on earth not call him Richie?

*runs away before toots beats me up*

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Toot's would have been very happy to call him Richie, he's still a big favourite. He's not really furry enough though!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

One could get lost in Mr. Gray's hair. BTW, young Jonny is starting to develop in the looks dept!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Oi! I won't hear a word said against Jonny! He's a wee sweetie. Actually he got a ball square in the face during a recent game and the guy who I sit next to, whose son used to play with him in school, said "Och well, he never was much of a looking anyway." Poor Jonny! :}

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Aw. He's turning very handsome.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Kittens! They look so fluffy. Give them lots of ear scritches from me when you manage to catch them :-)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

They are *sooooo* fluffy :D I have scritched the fluffy boy on your behalf. Still difficult to get near the wee tortie while keeping all fingers intact :}

[rum-inspector.livejournal.com]

Awww so cuuute!!!

And don't tell your daughter, but in Finland, 'Niko' is a boy's name :D

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

That's okay, the Niko that the wee girl is named after is definitely a boy too! :} What would a typical Finnish name for a kitty be out of interest?

[rum-inspector.livejournal.com]

I think people tend to give cats ordinary human names around here too, maybe a more extraordinary names though, very many cats are named after book or tv characters :)
Disney characters being popular, maybe because kids get to name cats...

My parents seem to give their cats silly human names. A boy cat called Sulo ("sweet") not many men nowadays get that name, but it used to be popular 100 years ago... Niilo (another old name, but this one is actually gaining popularity in new borns) I can't really explain why it's funny, it just sounds innocent.

However, dogs, horses and cows have more specialized names you'd never give to a human baby...
There used to be lot of cats named "Mirri" when I was a kid, but unfortunately that name has gone trhough the "Pussy" treatment... no one calls their kittens that anymore :P

Then there is surprisinly big lot of people like my sister, who just calls their cats "Kissa" (Cat) which isn't so far from her childhood cat, that was called "Katti" (another word for Cat...) throughout the cats life... it's not that they don't love their cats, they just simply din't come up with another name. I guess it isn't a problem until they get a second cat...

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Mirri and Katti are lovely names! Our old cat was called Tita, short for gatita, Spanish for cat. Her original owner was studying Spanish at the time. When I was a kid we had a cat called Tibby which is a very common and unimaginative name for a cat :} A lot of the cats in the islands are just called piseag which is Gaelic for kitten. You can hear how its pronounced here.

[rum-inspector.livejournal.com]

hee, unexpected quite interesting topic :D

I have scars on my arm from an attack made by my stepdads old cat - he was the biggest cat I've ever seen, not fat, just big, white, blue eyed, most likely deaf. His name was Tapani, a traditional Finnish name, but also means "my habits/my way" (which is also funny because the most famous Tapani was singer Tapani Kansa, a sort of Frank Sinatra of Finland - I think he might have even recorded a translated version of My way) the name suited the cat well... he would go about his own way, you didn't see him often, but sometimes came in for food and a pet - until he had enough and went off again... and one time attacked me when I was drawing sitting on the floor as a kid, no warning, he didn't even scratch, but bit my arm until I bled :o and still got the marks to show...

Is it just me, but doesn't piseag sort of sound like cat? It doesn't rhyme or anything, but has the same feel to it.

It's also lovely that mao is cat in chinese :D miauw :D

[ioanite.livejournal.com]

Kitties!

They're adorable. I look forward to hearing about their antics!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Antics? They're up to all sorts! I work from home and it's been very hard to get anything done over the last week with that pair galloping around. They chase each other round the house like mad things, scattering things off shelves and chasing them around the floor. It's chaos! Earlier today partner and I had to peel them off the top of the top of the curtains :}

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Aren't they gorgeous?! Though I confess, at the moment I am spending most of my time peeling them off the top of the curtains and trying to stop them getting into all sorts of mischief :}

[marine-lapwing.livejournal.com]

Kittens are absolutely adorable! :)

I brought home a small homeless kitten In September.
(http://firepic.org/)

Now she is the smart, charming and playful girl, whose name is Sophia.
(http://firepic.org/)

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Oh she is a beautiful young lady! I hope my kittens grow up to be so charming. Please give my regards to the Miss Sophia :)

My two are causing all sorts of mischief here. They're currently playing with my laptop cables and trying to catch my fingers as I type!

[marine-lapwing.livejournal.com]

Please give my regards to the Miss Sophia :)
Thanks.:) It will be very nice. Sophia likes to listen to good words.

My two are causing all sorts of mischief here.
Oh, Sophia hunts for cables from the headphones.
Already she caught and bitten to death three of them.))

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Sophia is clearly a very brave cat, hunting down those dangerous headphone cables and biting them to death before they can harm you. Clever kitty! ;)

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

♥♥♥ Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! ♥♥♥
*unable to anything close to coherent speech*

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Aren't they cuties?! And guess what, they are Scottish / Polish kitties! :) The lovely family we got them from were Polish, so that is their first language :) So, I need you to tell me what is the Polish for:

"You are utterly adorable and complete mischiefs."
"Please stop climbing the curtains right now!"
"Come here and let me give you a cuddle."

:D

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

OMG! *melts more* *but gathers herself heroically for duty*

"Jesteście absolutnie urocze i skończone łobuzy."
"Złazić mi z firanek, ale już!"
"Chodźcie tu, muszę was wygłaskać."

Though probably in emergency cases "Obiad!" ("Dinner!") will work best. ;D

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I greatly appreciate your heroic efforts. "Obiad!" will certainly be very useful. I might just struggle a little to pronounce the others though :}