Latte and Liger

Here are our two cats, Latte and Liger.

Latte is our "dog in a cat suit," and Liger is the gentle, affectionate genius who likes Playmobil toys. We think he has opposable thumbs hidden somewhere in his paws.

He has actually disassembled some of Katie and David's Playmobil (such as removing sconces from the wall of Katie's castle). One night, we were watching a mystery that had a hospital scene in it. He brought us a Playmobil police officer's hat, and a bandage. You will think I am making this up, but I have witnesses that the day of Katie's final diagnosis, Liger brought two bunches of Playmobil flowers down from the loft, in his teeth, and placed them in Katie's shoes. No kidding. We cannot understand it, but he did. She was furious, and said, "He knows that I'm dying, and he's bringing flowers for my funeral!" There is not much you can say to that. I recall saying, "Maybe he knows you're sad, and he brought flowers to cheer you up."

Latte is a guardian and a hunter. He enjoys playing with snakes and shrews in the yard. He likes to throw them up in the air, stand on his hind legs and catch them. His newest, grossest trick is catching (and killing) shrews, and placing them on top of the covered barbecue on our deck. He used to just leave them in the driveway, walkway or on a porch; this way, I suppose he can be sure that we see them through the window (I think he expects praise for it). Last week, he brought one to the barbecue that was still alive. He stood over it, with one paw on its stomach, and watched it squirm. I was transfixed and disgusted; David rescued the shrew. Thanks, David!

Latte can knock things over with his tail. It is the fattest tail I have ever seen on a domestic cat. He will walk across your lap and smack you in the face with his tail. He does this to Gregg almost every evening. Latte loves to play in the dirt, dig and roll in it, and then spends much of his time cleaning himself. He is vain and confident, demanding and moody, but also very loving. He will intentionally misbehave right in front of us, clawing the furniture and rugs, and is not in the least bit intimidated by being scolded.

Gregg is home again, after a week of working in Spain. David and I had a good and busy week, but we are so glad that he is back at home with us. Gregg traveled to Seville and Madrid, and it's quite a change from working in Japan. New adventures and things to learn, and he loves Europe. We will have fun learning some of the language and culture together.