a pair of young ladies

Blossom is my dearie dear, who took care of me when I needed it most. Her official birthday is Oct. 4, and by that reckoning she's a bit over 5 years old. She's a most lovely tortie-siamese mix, with the tortie fur coloration muted by that creamy siamese coat color. She also has slightly scrambled points: they are cut diamond-wise across her face, in a sort of harlequin design. She's multiple shades of gray and cream, with touches of peach-pink. With a house set at 60 F for the winter, she has grown a very thick, fluffy coat, longer than the typical siamese and very plush. She's small (8.5 lbs) with extremely large dark blue eyes, the round "apple" head of the old-style siamese, well-placed ears, and the short, chunky body of a true tortie. I call her my teddy-bear cat because she's so extraordinarily cuddly. Oh, yes, gray nose, pink toes. Blossom's full name, and she's earned every one of them, is Princess Molly Apple Blossom Mombiter. Her favorite toys involve feathers. She's good at being a slug: her two favorite activities are sleeping and rolling around rumpling up sheets and quilts. She has sheepdog genes and practices the craft on my ankles.

Pixillia N. Sillia Mischief Sunshine Wavingtail, aka Pixie, is just under two years old (official birthday: Apr. 4). She's an American Shorthair, i.e. a commoner, as Blossom takes care to remind us. Very soft white fur with islands of coarser black, gray, and reddish striped fur. She's a star on kittenwars.com: just type in "Pixie" and scroll down until you see 2 identical thumbnails: they're both her! I don't know who put the first photo in. She has very long, thin bones, and enough tail for two cats, but she's only 8.2 lbs so officially smaller than Blossom. When she joined the household as a kitten, her eyes were a rather nasty yellowish green, but as she's matured they've changed to a very clear sparkling peridot. Pink nose, gray toes! As you may guess from her name, she's a very friendly, cheerful, perky little girl, always ready for a nose rub and enjoys being carried around. Nicknames include Imp-fant and Get Away From That! Pixie loves all toys but especially ones that jingle or that move by themselves, like bugs and mom's feet. All grown up now physically, she's still pretty near 100% kitten on the inside. Her two favorite activities include exploring cupboards and leaping up onto high shelves that hold fragile objects.

Pixie also likes to pounce on things and people, and Her Royal Highness seriously disapproves of that sort of thing, but just last night I spotted them curled up, snoozing, almost within touching distance. HRH woke up and glared at Pixie for a moment before removing herself from the contagion, but I have hopes that they'll end up being buds, especially once Pixie enters slugdom.