We had a new friend brought to us who was also in need of our help. Not a winged or feathered friend, but one Kimi found to be quite odd anyway. This one is in the form of a kitten. A very young and very tiny kitten. This story could get to be quite long so let me back up and begin...well.....at the beginning.

One Monday morning, early on I had a knock at my door. This kitten it seems was found in the middle of a very busy intersection, dashing to and fro, trying desperately to avoid being smushed. It succeeded, was captured and brought to me. okay, to me and Kimi.

The couple of days we spent with in a crate, Kimi's crate to be exact. Trying to calm her down so she would not bite me each and every time. Each time it was time to bring her out, I reached in with a towel wrapped hand to grab her. And each time Kimi was there waiting to supply the loving kisses. Of course no one realized at the time her ultimate goal when no one was looking was to quickly lap up the milk the kitty had left behind. Kimi took upon the job of washing the kitties dishes quite seriously and left no morsel or droplet available to spoil. Land sakes we wouldn't want the kitty to take ill from spoiled food now would we? So as I would lie back upon my pillows with this tiniest of scared creatures upon my chest, Kimi would do her best to keep one eye on us, to make sure I didn't become TOO attached and one eye on the milk bowl. No small feat of it's own considering the bowl was inside the crate. So picture the image now if you will. Kimi's tiny rear end is all that remains to the outside world, as her front half is buried deep within the confines of the crate, speed lapping left over milk. And about every 2 1/2 seconds she backs out quickly like a scared horse leaving the trailer and takes a quick but very interested peek at what Miss Kitty and I are doing. Tiny ears of Kimi's perked to full attention, her eyes bright with questions yet unanswered, she dives back into the milk bowl. Lucky for her she didn't attempt a high dive, the bowl isn't very deep.

Once she had licked it clean as a whistle, she would come to lie down at my side and watch with adoring eyes this little furball someone hacked up on her door step. Resting her chin on my side, Kimi would watch the kitties movements with joyful abandon. From time to time the kitty would roll around on me, quietly entertaining herself with her tail. have you ever witnessed the wonder in a young child's eyes as they watched a kitten play? Yes, they shifted from laughter to wonder and back to laughter again? That was Kimi Lying there she would watch the kitty play, and when the kitty would roll upside down, Kimi's mouth would split into a grin, If the kitty rolled and ended up rolling off of me. only to land upside down on her head, Kimi would lift her head and laugh. That breathy little sound of laughter coming from Kimi would startle the kitty and she would leap to all fours, hunch her back and do her best to sound like a spitting cobra. This would impress Kimi to no end who would sit up and wave her tiny white front paw at the kitties head as if to say "Aaaaaaahhhhh get out of here!" Then she would throw back her head and laugh. In her excitement Kimi would let out a loud sharp "YIP!" or two and this would send the kitty into a scampering ball of terror who left tracks, usually down my arm or tummy, as she hurriedly dove into the depths of the crate. There she would bury herself behind her bedding and peer up over the tip with huge wide shining eyes. Kimi would turn and peek into the darkened depths, spot the kitties glowing eyes and as she heard the deep rumble of what could have only come from a real tiger, she would back up and lay down. Well out of harms way and with her legs tucked under her tightly in case she would need to make a run for it. Should this tiny kitten transform into the full sized tiger the growls were coming from.

Watching Kimi for a while I could see an idea beginning to take shape in her mind. Her head lifted, and her eyes grew brighter with each blink she took. As I watched her fluffy ears perk up I knew she was up to something. Something rotten and no good as only Kimi can do. Slowly her mouth dropped open just a hair, her lips widened into a grin and just as I realized what she was going to do.......she did it!

"YIP!" she shouted! Sharp and loud her "YIP!" rang out again. Each time she yipped the kitty jumped further back into the crate. When she had no where else to go, Kimi "YIP!"ped again. The kitten shrank is furry self into the smallest ball of fur it could manage and yet Kimi had to yip once more. Have you ever seen a kitten try to turn itself inside out trying to get away from something scary? That just what it looked like she was trying to do too. Her tiny little feet would scramble backwards until she was scrambling over herself to get away from that awful shrill "YIP!" of Kimi's. And our delightful little Kimi would just throw back her head and laugh. Feeling the kitty had had enough, I scooped Kimi up and left the bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

This went on for the three days I left the kitty in my room to adjust to us. Then soon came the day when the kitty, Mugs as I had by now named her. I took her from her crate and gently carried her to the front room. And all the while I walked with her in my arms, Kimi pretended to be Tigger. She bounced. Up and down up and down.....as I walked. Or rather stumbled my way into the front room. She pounced. Mostly my feet as she bounced. Although she did once pounce Garfield, our big cat, on the head as I walked. Though unintentional on Kimi's behalf it earned her a swat to the rear end from Garfield. Momentarily distracted, Kimi had to run back to him, give him a quick nip on his ear and expertly dodged his swooping paw again. Laughing at his slowness, she bounced her way back to me again. To late. By now I had set the kitty down on the floor.

Warning Kimi to be gentle and not scare the kitty, she laid down and dropped her chin to the floor. Now don't go thinking this was her attempt to be very obedient. She looked more like a child who had been told to leave the warm cookies on the counter alone! Kimi laid there in half a pout until Mugs moved. Imagine my surprise when the kitten walked right up to Kimi, nudged her over on her side and began to nurse! Imagine even more of a shock to my senses when Kimi rolled over and let her!

What started off as okay for Kimi, soon turned to her own series of shocks when she felt this kitten clamp down on her and begin to nurse! I had to laugh out loud at the look of shock that washed over Kimi's face as her pointed nose dropped to the kitten to see just what the heck she thought she was going to do! Instinct or pleasure or both must have come over Kimi then because her look of shocked horror that had just opened her eyes wide, quickly changed to a smile. Kimi was now officially a *mommy*. So what if it was to a kitten. She's not the one who originally came up with the slogan "Dogs Rule Cats Drool"! After all, strip us all of our fur and we look pretty much the same. Naked.

This nursing routine lasted only until the kitty realized the well had gone dry. Giving up she set off to explore. Kimi quickly jumped to her feet and followed. With the sad position of Kimi's nose under Mugs's upraised tail, I swear she was only trying to direct her in where to go. There was nothing rude going on there, Kimi was simply trying to give the kitty the lay of the land. After all having lived here for over a year, she now has a good nose for it.

So there they walked, like a train tightly bound. The kitty ignoring Kimi's attempts to get to know her better in doggie fashion. Okay, if you know ANYTHING about Kimi now, you know she does NOT like to be ignored. Ever. When I saw the shine in her eyes, and knew it wasn't from the sweet perfume smell of the kitty, that only the highly trained senses of a dog can figure out, I knew the kitty was in for trouble.

Sure enough. About the time the kitty looked relaxed Kimi did it. With her nose tightly stuck.........well...in the kitties business, Kimi let out a very loud and very sharp "YIP!" One that I am sure by the way the kitty suddenly hunched her back and jumped all at the same time, must have sent a shock wave right up, and uh...through her body. If I were scoring this in the Kitty Olympics I'd have to give that ensuing somersault by said kitty a resounding 10 Perfect in execution......even if assisted by Kimi's loud "YIP!". Wonderful style and form. Mugs kept her back legs tightly together the whole time. And the grace and creativity of the way she tucked and rolled and then jumped to her feet facing the opposite direction. Well, that's a "feet" only a cat could manage.

And that, as they say, was that. It was all she wrote. The race was on, and it was Mugsy, heading down the arm rest. With Kimi on hot pursuit. For a kitten of such tiny stature she sure could run.......and jump...and climb!! As Kimi shouted "YIP!" (for Bonsai!) the kitten run across the floor and jumped onto the couch. With Kimi right behind her. As Kimi jumped up, pushing the cushion down with her weight, it thrust the kitten up, aiding in her leap to the back of the couch. There she was safe for Kimi couldn't reach her. She tried though. Giving it her Kimi best, she bounced and leaped and jumped up and down the full length of the couch, and as she did so Mugs followed on the back of the couch, swatting at Kimi's nose each time it popped up too close.

Mugs, being a kitty of very young age, wasn't watching where she was going though as she ran along swatting at Kimi's nose. Before any of realized how close to the edge Mugs had gotten it was to late! Over she went! Down under! One second there was a kitty on the back of my couch, the next there was not! From where I sat on the other couch I got a birds eye view of Mugs face just as she realized the land from which she walked......had left......without her! Her eyes grew wide and her face dropped. In the space of time it took for her to register her demise, she was gone!

Kimi stopped dead to right where she stood as the kitty fell. We could hear a faint rustling from down below, so the kitty must have been trying to find her way out. I looked at Kimi, she looked at me... dark almond eyes wide and face smiling. The front row of perfect white tiny teeth shining beyond her ever widening grin. Kimi dared to throw back her head and laugh that breathy laugh of hers. I could just hear her thoughts by the look in her eyes."leave it to a cat!" I wonder if dogs have cat jokes like we have blonde jokes?

Unfortunately for Kimi the last laugh was on her though. She must have forgotten in her merriment over the error of the kitties ways that gravity can often work backwards in cats. What goes down can climb back up! I could hear the tick tick tick of the kittens claws snagging the back of the couch as she climbed like a monkey back to the top. Once she reached it, there she sat. For about a millisecond. Big eyes, she watched Kimi laugh at her. Then she pounced!

In true Tigger fashion, probably learned from Kimi, Mugs pounced. Keeping claws retracted, and teeth in her tiny black and white mouth, Mugs launched herself from the back of the couch, onto Kimi's head and then onto the soft cushion of the couch. Was this *tag you're it!*? For one startled second Kimi was speechless! Well, come on guys give her a break, in all her kitty experience never has one jumped on her head before! As the kitty made contact to the top of her head, Kimi's head dropped, but then so did her mouth. Wide open. In shock. As her head sprang back up she looked at me and I swear she actually spluttered! "I.Yi..I..Yip.....YIP!" And as she got the last and fully formed "YIP!" out, Kimi whirled with great grace and took off after the kitten. Mugs ran behind the couch and Kimi followed.

I heard a loud thumping or two and pictured one of the two of them performing some great Karate flip to the other, and wondered who would come out victorious. Suddenly there was a great scurrying noise and I peeked up over the arm of the couch to see who would come out first. It was Kimi. Man she shot out from behind that couch in full gear like a race horse would from the starting gate. Only BACKWARDS! Never have I seen Kimi move so fast......in REVERSE! So fast did she back out of there that she forgot to stop and backed right into the wall. Not hard, but it startled her. Maybe she thought the kitty had called in reinforcements? Letting out a surprised "YIP!" Kimi looked behind her. Seeing it was just the wall and not some large tiger type cat coming to kick some tail, she sat down. Her shining pink tongue dropped from the corner of her grin as she laughed at herself for being a scaredy cat.

Just then the kitten came slowly sauntering out from behind the couch and walked right past Kimi, tail high in the air. It was no secret who had won that round! However Kimi rarely lets anyone have the last word in, so as Mugs walked past her with her tail in the air, Kimi stood up. And as Mugs and he r stiff tail cleared Kimi, she picked up right where it began. Only this time she slowly opened her mouth and closed it again. With Mugs tail between her teeth! Like a limp sausage. And there they walked off together. Not exactly hand in hand, but when you have no "hands" you do what you can.

And once again Kimi has proven it isn't who you are or what you look like that counts. It's all in how you play the game.

Walk In Beauty
Kristi & Kimi