Forecast: Snow In September!

Tanj and Usch are, well, the perfect kittens for us. Everyday with them is simply a happy day. Nothing has changed our lives more than adopting the boys. We had talked about the possibility of getting more kittens some time in the future, but oh boy, sometimes things happen sooner than you think...

We received an e-mail from the boys' Aunt Kelli with an opportunity to adopt one of Tanj & Usch's half-brothers. Let me backtrack for a second.... in June, Les was "bouncing" off of Kelli's Cheetahsden website several times everyday, waiting for the announcement of Skye's (T&U's Mom) litter. On June 6, 2007, Skye had four beautiful babies: three cute-as-can-be brown spotteds and one snow mink spotted boy named Mick. Les fell for Mick instantly (as I heard and tried to ignore on an almost daily basis), she even had a photo of him prominently displayed on her computer desktop.

Well, beautiful little puff-ball that he is, Mick seemed sure to be destined for the globe trotting life of a breeder boy, but then came
"the e-mail" from Kelli...

Our instant reaction was WOW! but then we tried to be as rational as possible and tried to address the most important questions: Would Tanj and Usch benefit from adopting their little half-brother, could we give little Mick a good home, could we give each of them the attention they need, and how the heck would we walk three Bengals outside? We spent many hours weighing the options and "discussing it" with the boys. Kelli filled us in on Mick's personality: confident, playful, sweet. Uh-oh! Finally we were succumbing to this amazing opportunity to expand our family, and with another Skye-baby too! It was time to make the trip to Seattle.

Kelli and Pat were fantastic as always, they will always be extended family to us. Yep, the minute we met Mick it was a done deal. He is darling and daring, a true adventurer to keep up with Tanj and Usch.

Minutes later "Mick" became "Vladimir," which in Russian means "regal" and "rules with peace." We have hundreds of photos to sort through, edit and post in blogs to come about little Vladi.

When we returned home, Tanj and Uschi's reaction, after our second longest time away from them (27 whole hours), covered in strange cat smells, was "Were you gone??"

Introducing Tanj & Uschi's little half-brother:

Vladimir

In the words of Stephen Colbert,
"So Cute!! Soooooooooooooo Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuttteeee!!!!!"

And he knows it!

He looks so soft...

and he is!

Vladimir may look like a little doll,

But this boy has game!

Look at that feather handling...

Speed and agility!

Proud Dad alert.

The first of many kisses.

Happy Mom!
Vladimir looks worried that there may be more snuggling...

Oh no, Mom's puckering up too!
Get used to it Vlad, as part of the T,U,& V team, there
is going to be a whole lot of hugging ahead.

The best part is that we see a little Tanj, a little Usch, and
a little Skye in Vladimir, but he already is definitely one of a kind.

Can't wait to bring you home Vladi!


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Random Uschi Outside

Today's blog will be collection of random Uschi pictures, that have been building up. The pictures are ones that we liked and complement some of the "story line" blogs already posted, but didn't seem to build a story in themselves.

Our little pointer,...

watches from the sunflower patch.

I'm hot

Ooooo a hole,

Look at me,...

pet, but no holding,...

" Uschiiiii "

What ?

Wooo Hoooo

I'm right here,...

You guys walk too fast,...

I like to take in everything around me,...

Uschi bounds from some tall grass.

Before,

sitting behind a little cherry tree.


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Deluxe Hot Cats Catnip Toy

The boys have been so helpful with getting the
Bengalized Studio Store up and running,
so we got them a special present.

A Deluxe Hot Cats Catnip Toy
from Full Circle Herb Co. Marcola, OR.

This toy is pretty intense !!! When we took it out of the plastic bag, the boys immediately zoomed in. The scent of fresh Organic Catnip soon filled even my nose, the entire room smelled like fresh tea.

Uschi got to the toy first and started kicking and licking.

Tanji arrived seconds later,

grabbed the free end,

and chomped down.

Uschi tried to hold on,...

but T is winding up and pulls the toy free.

Hey, that was my toy

Come on Tanj, share with Uschi,...

Too late, T's feet are into it.

That's okay,...

Uschi is stoned
and just laid there motionless.


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Happy Bengal Cat Day

"Show Cats"

Today is a big day for us, Tanj and Uschi are 18 months old, and one birthday a year for them is just not enough. Thus, "Bengal Cat Day" to give us another day dedicated to the boys. We are also launching our Bengalized Studio Store where we can showcase our paintings and photos. We have been thinking up ways to celebrate with the boys...

Of course, the boys needed another cake...

Yeah! Another excuse to get a cake
(as if we need one, our fabulous
Safeway bakery is on the way home).

Tanj's ears are saying: "Oh great, another cake."

Uschi's response is almost exactly the same.

We try a piece of cake next to the "sleeping" Tanj...

Tanj pets the cake gently.

His ears are at high alert.
"This may be a trick, all I really
wanted were glitterballs."

Here you go, Tanj!

Yum!

This glitterball is not long for this world.
It will most likely join the smooshed
"glitterball graveyard" by the food bowls.

Where's Uschi!

"Here I am, someone forgot to open my Fancy Feast!

"I want THESE!" nuzzle, nuzzle

"NOW, please!"

Happy Bengal Cat Day!

The Bengalized Studio Store is Open

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Tomorrow Is The Day

Tanj is being as sweet as ever...

and so is Uschi. Hmmm, they must know that
their year-and-a-half birthday is tomorrow!

What would you like for your half-birthday, Tanji?

"A pile of glitterballs, of course!"

"And maybe a super-giant glitterball,
and a hand to throw it for me."

What would you like, Uschi?

"Fancy Feast!!!!!!"

Is that all?

"More Fancy Feast!"

"As long as we don't get any more CAKE."

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