Let me introduce you to the most beautiful and best-tempered cats on the planet: Mimi and Lubya, five-and-a-half-year-old shelter siblings, who entered my life in spring 2004.
Some things to know about them:
Lubya
Greets me at the front door everyday after work. When I clap my hands, he comes and sits directly in front of me, waiting for me to pet and massage him.
He puts his favorite toys in his food bowl. Current count: 7 balls and 2 plush mice.
Lubya doesn’t like to be picked up; he gets rather offended—and lets me know it! But sometimes he’ll allow me not only to pick him up but to throw him on my shoulder like a sack (he weighs 16 lbs!) and rub him down. What can I say, he loves deep touch.
He also loves to sit in the bathtub—and occasionally in the sink.
Lubya runs like his big cat cousins: lions, tigers, cheetahs. I’m always amazed to see him race around the apartment with wild cat strides.
Lubya is a most photogenic cat. He doesn’t mind me getting up close and personal to take his picture. He remains super mellow, truly a Zen cat.
Mimi
Mimi too hates to be picked up, but comes over every night to nap in my lap. She also likes to jump on my chair at breakfast and climb onto my lap to have her rump rubbed.
She has a thing for elastic bands, Ben & Jerry’s Frozen Yogurt, and Live-a-Littles.
Mimi does not jump up on counters or window sills. She flies up in one graceful movement.
Mimi is a little flirt. When I’m working in my study and the cats are lounging on the day bed, she’ll turn on her back and reach out with her paw—a real “Come hither “move!
She’s also a thief. Any chance she has, she’ll come in the bathroom, rout around my cosmetic bag for soft elastic hair bands, grab one with her claw, put it in her mouth and steal away. Unlike Lubya, she runs in tiny and delicate steps, which make her look as if she’s guiltily running away from the scene of a crime—which she usually is.
Both of them love to play with bugs! Both will come when I call—well, most times. They have sweet dispositions and fight only occasionally–it’s really no contest; Lubya simply covers Mimi with his body and holds her down!
But they’re siblings after all. And in the end, they live quite peaceably together.
—Anne Simpkinson
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