Cats!

My ever-lovin' boys, Morsel (Dolly) and Sophie (Mozart)

Morsel (Dolly/Dali)

Sophie/Sophocles (Mozart)

My sweet boys, who take very good care of me. I've had the pleasure of being owned by them since October of '98 (after Sharmila so graciously allowed them to adopt me) and haven't regretted it once. (Okay, well, there was the time that Sophie decided to eat a very expensive cat 'o nine... ah, but I digress.)

Morsel (Dolly) is more of the sweet, silent gentleman, and he loves to snuggle. He also loves to sit on my chest, facing me, and reach out a paw to pet my face. (He also uses this to tell me when I should be petting him, rather than sleeping/eating/reading/studying/etc). He's also (though one wouldn't expect it, to look at him) somewhat of an adventure-seeker - he likes to run out into the apartment hallway if given half a chance, and has jumped down from my 2nd floor balcony several times - but he always turns into a wimp once he gets out into "the great outdoors." Just the other day he jumped down from the balcony, and then proceeded to crouch down, fur straight out, and mewl in the most loud and piteous voice, absolutely terrified.

Sophie (Mozart), short for Sophocles, is the Top Cat. He's the one in charge, the first to get to eat, and usually the one who demands that *he* gets all the attention. (If I try to give them treats, I usually have to hold Sophie while Morsel eats, since he eats much more slowly, and Sophie gobbles his down and would otherwise chase Morsel away). Sophie is a class-A talker, with a very loud, Siamese-like voice. I often joke that he's really saying "Me! Me! Pay attention to *Me*!" He also likes to go into nice echoey places like the bathroom and meow loudly - I suppose he likes to hear himself. He also loves to play with water, and has a plastic and latex fetish (he loves to lick supermarket plastic bags, and will usually discover one within 30 seconds of it coming into the apartment).

Oh, what's the deal with the names? Well, see I also happen to know their mom-cat's (update: sadly, mom-cat has passed away) people - my former partner Michael lives in their neighborhood, and one of their brothers, Sparkle (who is shaped like Sophie, but colored like Morsel), roams the area. One day I mentioned to them that I lived with Morsel and Sophie, and they were amazed, and told me what their birth-names had been. Morsel had been known as Dolly, and Sophie as Mozart. I find it amusing that when Morsel was a kitten, he was mistaken for a female, and with Sophie's shortened name, he's often mistaken for a female as well. My two gender-bendin' boys...

I've decided, just to keep the symmetry, that it really should be Morsel/Dali (the artist) and Sophocles/Mozart. :)

E-mail: hope.dundas@umich.edu

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~suhopdu/cats.html