I'm Notte.  Notte means "night" in English.  It's because I'm gorgeously, beautifully, completely black all over.  And shiny too!  So....that's my name.

I'm the youngest one here...sigh.  It's a problem sometimes.  They think I'm a baby.  But I'm not a baby anymore!!!  OK, I'm small.  But I'm NOT a baby!!  So....I have to prove it sometimes.  SO!  I go my own way.  It's breakfast time?  Pfffft.  So what?  I'll wait.   I'm not a...baby.  Sheesh.   

I can hold my own.  Lupo...he's like my "Dad."  I love Lupo.  We play and snuggle....he protects me. (But he doesn't have to because I'm all grown up!)  

Stupid Percy...he's a big lug...but he isn't that bad.....dumbass.  Hahaha.  He's easy to "fight" and get the better of.  

Scruffy is sweet and always nice, he's not a problem at all.

Calzini is fun and can be a fierce opponent sometimes.  But...nobody ever means any harm.  We are all family here.  Zini says we "are" real family, but I'm not sure what that means.

Missy Tee is sort of standoffish.  I don't know.  What did I do?  We don't NOT get along....she just mostly ignores me.  Oh, well.

Mom is happy lately because I have become a "bug hunter."  I can't help it!  There they are!  They come up under the floor tiles!! EEEEEEKKK!  So, I show her....and then the rug is moved, and Dad gets involved and he's on the floor, and lights are on and OMIGOD!!!  But, they are not mad at me, just happy.  Weird people.

My favorite place is the back window, to the balcony.  There is bird bath out there, and maybe some food.  So....all these birds come.  Crows, pigeons, chickadees, sparrows, finches....all kinds of birds.  It's so much fun to sit there and watch them...and they don't know I'm there!!

I also spend a lot of time on the people bed.  It's very comfy and there is a window in there, too.  Birds!!!  

So, that's my story....black is beautiful, isn't it?

I was your Queen, you were my baby

 Hi!  I'm Tee.  You can call me Missy Tee or Tee-tee.  I'm the top cat around here.  I was the first one in the door and that makes me the Queen.

It isn't difficult to rule this place, most everybody is nice.  Most of the time.  But not always.  I have to keep my eye on a couple of troublemakers.  Calzini, for instance.  He happens to be my brother, but he is a real pain.  The other problem is Percy.  He is always challenging me, but I give him a good, swift smack and he generally falls in line. 

Lupo and the little Miss Notte really don't cause any problems.  Phew!

And then there is Scruff.  Scruffy is my soul mate.  He is my world.  I adore him.  (But don't spread that around, we try to be discreet.)  I adore Scruffy.  He and I were the first ones here and we established the rules.  The BIG rule is everyone gets along!  We are one, big family.  NO FIGHTING!  Nice and peaceful is just the way we like it.

Oh, and Scruffy thinks he is the "head honcho"....it's ok, I let him think that, even though I do all the work of keeping the troublemakers in line.  I just can't get mad at Scruffy, though.  We snuggle together on the couch and the bed.  The other day, we had a perfect, private spot on a soft rug in the bathroom, but then Mom walked in!!!  **sigh**  I never bop Scruff, but I do lick his head.  He's my everything and has been since the day we met, which was in the courtyard right outside our door!!  

Soon the summer will be over, and keeping these kids in line will get a little harder because they won't be sleeping so much.  It's already starting up at night when it cools down.  Someone managed to get the play "tunnel" into the bathroom.  And there were toys ALL over the kitchen!!!  I'll have my work cut out for me in the Fall!!

Here's of picture of me and my sweet Scruff.  

That's all for now!  See ya later!

Listen to what I've got to say....

Scruffy was one of the first kittens I ever saw here.  Mamma G. (G for grigia, meaning gray) had three babies, two tabbies and one all black.  One of the tiny tabbies died.  Inky and Mamma, although now spayed, remain outside by their own choice.  Scruffy came in.

Missy Tee took an immediate liking to Scruff...she was enamored, to be sure.  And she still is.  She adores him and lets him get away with things that she swats and hisses at the others for.  Well, she IS bitchy, to be sure, but never, ever with Scruff.

Scruffy had his third birthday back in March.  He has severe asthma, however, it seems to have improved slightly with the passage of time.  He gets daily low dose medication and has an occasional cough, but nothing like the horrible, scary attacks he used to have, where he would lie on the floor and gasp.  I am hoping that with more time there will be more improvement. 

He has a favorite toy, his BELOVED Mousie.  Poor old Mousie doesn't even resemble a mouse anymore....his face is gone, most of his "fur" is too...he's just a little blob.  But Scruff still loves him and everyday he plays with him until he loses him under a piece of furniture from where he will be retrieved the following day.

Which brings me to his voice.  Lo and behold!  Scruffy has a voice!  He started using his voice when he was anxious to find his Mousie.  A little squeak here and there.  I even remember saying "What was that?"  That was Scruff!  He has a pathetic, high pitched little peep.

And while his voice is still pathetically high-pitched, it is no longer a "little peep."  Scruffy has found his voice, with a vengeance.  Apparently, after all this time, he actually likes to talk!!  I can't shut him up!  

First thing in the morning...."Hi, Mama!"  Squeak, squeak!  "Welcome to the kitchen!"  Squeakedy squeak!  "Where is my Mousie?!"  LOUD squeak!   I have a veritable chatterbox now!!

Now that Scruffy has conquered his fear of speaking, I wonder what is next?  Will he ever venture into my lap?  I know he thinks about it now and then.  Time will tell.