Weird Things.

Monkey is almost 11 months old.
ELEVEN MONTHS OLD.

That means I've had him for... 11 months.

Which is almost a year.

So far, in those 11 months, he's been nothing short of the best kitten ever. He's been through some tough times, and fought through nastier ringworm than any kitty should ever have, and several different upper respiratory problems, (As a matter of fact, today he had an asthma attack. What the heck?) but here he is, healthy and beautiful and irresistably soft and fluffy.

To celebrate his awesome 11 months of life...here's 11 random things about Monkey.

1. He loves bathrooms. My friends come over and are creeped out when he follows them into the bathroom. I think he just really likes the shower. Its his favorite place. Even when it's wet. ESPECIALLY when it's wet. He licks the water off of everything. (told you he was weird...)

2. He hates being outside. I've taken him out a few times, and he just clings to my neck and cries pitifully. He's a rather apprehensive child. And I'm not calling him a child because I'm dillusional. He really acts like a child. What cat clings to their owner's neck and buries their face in their hair and cries about going outside?

3. He gives "kiss-kisses". Probably the best thing about him. I'm not sure when he learned how, but somehow I taught the kid that when I say "kiss-kiss" or make a kissing noise, he's supposed to rub his face on mine. And then he just kind of took off with that, and started giving kiss-kisses to everyone and everything...even without being asked. (Ember's really appreciative of this, by the way.)

4. He does get tangles in his perfectly fluffy soft coat...but only in his armpits. So they're great fun to comb out. He really loves grooming time. Especially when I bust out the comb, allergy wipes, nail trimmers, AND the toothbrush.

5. He's afraid of guys. He doesn't mind Alex and Luke, but he hasn't even been around Dad all that much. The deeper the guy's voice is, the more it scares him. I took him to my grandpa's once, and the second my grandpa said "hey little buddy!", Monkey's eyes were the size of dinner plates and he started panting and trying to hide under his bed. Poor kid. He really loves girls though. Especially if they look like me.

6. He (and at least one of his brothers) is wayyy too overaffectionate and dependant for a cat. He really needs me. Cats aren't supposed to need anyone. Monkey would probably die if there wasn't someone to cuddle with at night and feed him noms and give him kisses.

7. His vocabulary includes only a few words. "Nom-noms" (food), "kiss-kiss" (kisses, obviously), "NO!!" (self-explanitory....) and "go to bed/your room!" (time for him and sometimes E&E to go to my room) Oh and there's "sit"...which he's choosing to pretend not to know. Conveniently, he knows it pretty well when I have a treat.

8. Almost every night, he picks one of my pillows, and just lays his head on it. Then he pulls the blanket up around him, or snuggles up to me. (he probably knows I'm gonna pull the blanket up...so why should he waste his energy when I'm gonna do it anyway?) And then usually he ends up on my pillow, curled up in my neck, with one paw on my face. I don't know what his deal is with having one paw touching my face at all times...but if he's sitting on my lap, he's touching my face.

9. He is unexplainably intolerant to any of Ember's playful advances. Ember's normally kind of a jerk cat. She's that older sister who's too good to play with her baby brother. But whenever she does try...she gets majorly shot down. Monkey hisses and screams and bats at her face with his (trimmed...and therefore not very dangerous) claws extended and backs himself into a corner. But she tries in an awkward way, so I can't say I blame him... She shoots out from under my bed, with her back leg thumping on the ground and her left front leg smacking the ground loudly. I just call the whole thing Thumping. And Monkey HATES it.

10. He's left handed. I'm not just saying that... you try it for yourself. Wiggle a finger in front of him, and see which paw he swats at it with. 9 times out of 10, it's his left.

11. And finally...in case you didn't know, his real name has always been Feivel (because he resembled the mouse on An American Tail) but we call him Monkey because he also looked like a monkey when he was tiny. He was really scrawny and just had the strangest little face. I get asked constantly why his name is Monkey if he's a cat. Its just his nickname!
Although...I never call him Feivel...he wouldn't know to respond to it if I did...maybe I should get him a tag that says Monkey on it instead of Feivel. Its really just not doing him any good to have a name on it that he doesn't even know....

At any rate, now you know 11 things about Monkey that you most likely didn't know before. And if you did, it's probably because I've told you a few dozen times. I could probably talk about him for days. Some might say I'm obsessed with him, and he's only a cat, but really...he's not. I mean...how many cats do you know who give kiss-kisses on command??