Meet the Wayfarers

Hello! We’re the Wayfarers. We were trying so hard to be good so Shira-mom wouldn’t move us to lisa-mom’s closet but we’ve decided that our Shira-mom has lost her mind and it doesn’t matter if we sneak off to use the computer. She moves us even when we do behave! Most days at least a couple of us end up in the corner of the living room. She carries us right past the big, scary dog and leaves us there. Anyway, I meant to introduce all of us to you, not talk about getting carried around two or three times a day…

My name is Cazna. I’m the littlest of the Wayfarers, but that doesn’t make a bit of difference when it comes to being brave and going exploring. I love to run across our room and if the gate isn’t in my way, I race right down the hall. I’ve even gone all the way down the stairs by myself! Niah is the only other one who has done that. When I’m not running and playing, I like to cuddle with my brothers and sisters – and I even like to cuddle with lisa-mom and our visitors sometimes.

Niah is the biggest of my brothers and sisters. Even though she’s big, she’s kinda shy and quiet. She did go down the stairs with me – I was so surprised! – but usually she sits back and waits for everyone else to prove it’s safe before she tries anything. Well, except food. She LOVES food! She and Azhure were the first to eat real food. Maybe that’s why the two of them are so big.

Azhure is crazy! She runs around even more than I do. Usually it’s the two of us that get carried downstairs by Shira-mom. Lisa-mom says it’s because we’re naughty. I don’t think so. I think it’s because we’re usually the ones closest to the door when Shira-mom comes in. Azhure is the one who escaped from our bed first and she still spends as little time as possible in there. Well, she does like to take naps with the rest of us sometimes.

Naptime is really cozy. Lots of the time our big half-brother Tantris joins us and once in awhile our big sister Kimbry climbs in, too. It’s crowded, but we love it. It can lead to some great wrestling matches when someone wakes up. All those bodies kicking and rolling around is so much fun! If lisa-mom comes in and wakes us up, we skip wrestling and climb out of bed to mob her. We love to climb her legs, play with her fingers, or attack her feet. Zara looked really funny the other night when she climbed up lisa-mom's slipper and was perched up there like she was on top a mountain.

Zara is getting good at running, pouncing, and climbing. She’s discovered that she can get up on the tunnel part of the cat tree, then she jumps down and gets whoever might be hiding in the tunnel. She doesn’t always jump down, though. She also likes to lie on top and swat at us when we’re in the tunnel. We’ve been thinking we should start playing King of the Hill with her, but we think she might win right now because she’s the best at climbing.

Axis likes to hide under the big bed and jump out at everyone else. Then he runs across the room and we have to chase him to get even. When we catch him, he rolls over on his back and kicks us. It’s not very nice, but I’ve been thinking about adopting that for some of our games. Hey, a girl’s gotta defend herself somehow. And I’m littler than the rest of them – I need any help I can get.

Faraday has figured out how to climb to the second floor of the kitten condo. She likes to sit in there and supervise our activity. Of course, we never listen to her suggestions when she tells us what to do. We have our own ideas. She also likes to nap behind the door to our room. Lisa-mom is always thinking Faraday is lost (or that Shira-mom has carried her off again!) but usually she’s just asleep behind the door. One day when lisa-mom was cleaning our room with that big thing that makes lots of noise, all of us ran behind the door to hide. We all fit – just barely – but even though it was crowded, we are sure it was the safest place to be. That loud thing couldn’t get through the door to get us.

Well, that’s all of us. To really get to know us, you should come visit some evening right before bedtime. Our room is the best place to be then. Kimbry and Tantris come in to play, Cousin Talia and our Shadow-dad are there, and we all chase around like crazy. Uncle Zeke even plays with us. No matter where you look there’s a cat or two getting into trouble. Uhhh… I mean, having fun. Shira-mom doesn’t usually join in. She says someone has to be serious and responsible. I don’t see why. We try to get her to play – we bite her ears and chase her tail. But no matter what we do, she won’t do anything more than watch and tell us to be careful. Still, we love her and when all the fun is done, we go cuddle up to her and purr until we fall asleep.

(--> Cat Tails, Pg23)