the cat machine

the detective cat, represented below, is named levon, but is usually called jumbotron. he is a barn cat cast-off, left as an older kitten on the farm where i used to live. skin-and-bones, half dead and blinded by an eye infection, he planted himself outside my door and cried until i came and got him, originally to bring him in to be put down since i assumed he was feral. he wasn't feral, and now he is very fat and i love him and his proletarian ways.

our other cat, who often has a booger, is named francis, but is usually called tiny. he is a very delicate boy, and even though he came from the pound, i am very convinced that he is, as my friend janet first noticed, a ragamuffin cat, closely related to the ragdoll. Primary features of this breed include a very soft non-matting coat, extremely laid back disposition, super sociability and intense attachment to the owner, and a body that goes limp when you hold them or pet them. francis exhibits all these traits, and as a bonus he squeaks and trills while he's walking around. they make a ridiculously cute pair, especially to me. i take many pictures of them, which has led chad to dub the camera "the cat machine." i never thought i could love a cat, and now look at me.

ragamuffins are indoor cats, i guess because they're so passive and therefore wouldn't really be good at protecting themselves. francis expresses no interest in going outside. levon, on the other hand, acts as though he does want to go outside, but won't make a move when the door is open. what levon does do, perhaps to siphon off some of his outside energy, is stomp around the house at night, knocking over everything he can. when i get up to see if something's broken, he rolls over on his back to get a belly rub, which makes me think he's doing it for attention. last night he raised such a ruckus that i almost considered tossing him outside, which i have so far refused to do since he's so fat and even if he has barn cat instincts, he's grown pretty soft. i'm glad i didn't--this morning on my walk with lola the dog, we saw a dead kitty. so sad. it seems like dead kitties weren't something one saw in pennsylvania.