We’re talking kitty videos here, folks, like nobody’s business. All starring the photogenic and utterly adorable Christmas Sisters, Holly and Ivy, who prove that when you bring a tortoiseshell (or two) into your life, you have indeed entered the Tortie Domain.
Shoe Dragging
Shoe dragging. The newest event in the Tortie Olympics, maybe? This is Ivy, working on one of my wife’s black shoes. You can see it takes both skill and effort to drag a shoe. This was a big pastime for a while, almost always done at night. I was lucky to get this footage early one morning.
When the game was fresh, both a pair of my wife’s black shoes and a pair of her white ones were in play. The white ones were, and continue to be favored. I have chosen to believe that they forego my shoes because those shoes are heavier, and not because of foot odor.
Their interest in shoe-dragging has waned, but we still get up in the morning from time to time to find a shoe in the middle of the bedroom floor.
Update: October 2019
Their interest in shoe-dragging has recently revived. My wife had an old pair of moccasin slippers she put out for them, and they’re happily dragging them about the house. Interestingly enough this has rekindled their shoe-dragging efforts as well.
Hot Pursuit
I shot this video in the midst of doing laundry. The girls have small stuffed mice, about an inch long, which are their favorite toys. Indeed they are the only purpose-built kitty toys they have any interest in at all. One of my favorite things to do with one of their mice is toss it on the other side of the bed, because they invariably go after it in tandem, as seen here.
The Battle of Fortress Ivy
As soon as my wife put the afghan over the ottoman, Ivy crawled right under. That of course immediately got Holly’s attention, and the battle was on. Despite the vigor with which they play, the almost never get too rough with each other. In fact, in the 8 months we’ve had them, there’s only been one time when one of them gave a “hey take it easy!” cry, and believe it or not that was Holly! (Ivy may be smaller but she makes up for that in fiestiness– and speed.)
Spin the Kitty
As is so often the case with really fun games, this one was discovered by accident. You can see Ivy in the foreground waiting her turn. They love going for a ride!
This one is still a favorite with Ivy, but Holly is all over it. Ivy has also become the circus kitty. She likes to get up on the back of this chair (all four paws) although of course we don’t spin her then. From the back of this one she leaps about 3 feet to the back of one of the kitchen chairs. She has become quite the little gymnast.
Holly, on the other hand, is…. not too graceful.
kindling minds 