An Ivan Update

Stasa posted that it's about time I posted updated info and photos of Ivan, and since she's practically the only person who posts to this blog (hint, hint) I'm going to do it right now.

First, an Ivan story. This happened...a while ago, but I've been procrastinating.
Ivan's favorite toys are fur mousies, which can be purchased two for $1.99 at the grocery store. We periodically get him new ones because first he rapidly destroys White Mousie (something about the taste of the white fur, we think, because he starts off by licking it) and then plays with Black Mousie and eventually tears it into pieces as well.

So, Ken bought Ivan new fur mousies, but since the old black mousie was still in good shape, he put the new set behind the coffeemaker on the kitchen counter, where Ivan knows he is not allowed to go. He gets yelled at loudly whenever he does (he hates sudden loud noises worse than anything).

So anyway, the next morning I got up to find those mousies on the kitchen floor, and Ivan playing with them, still attached to the cardboard they came on. I snatched up the mousies and headed for the bedroom to hide them. Ivan of course quickly followed behind, and got into the bedroom before I could shut the door. So, I shut him in the bedroom, went quietly into the bathroom, and hid them in the back of the bottom drawer of the sink-vanity.


I went out to do some laundry and stuff, came back, and there were those darn mousies on the floor again! I can only assume Ivan smelled where they were and got them out. At that point, I said to him, "You really are MensaCat, aren't you?" I decided any cat that clever deserved the new mousies to play with, so I cut them off the cardboard and gave them to him.

Now Ivan regularly paws open the drawers of the sink-vanity, presumably on the theory that if mousies were in there once, mousies will be in there again.

Ivan is particularly attached to me--as Ken puts it, I am "his person." I call him various names, "Little Prince," "Mr. Paws and Claws," and the abovementioned "MensaCat" among others. I also call him by some of the same names I call Ken, most notably "Angel." (Pause while Ken's relatives laugh themselves silly over anyone calling Ken an angel.)

You see, I am Ken's wife and Ivan's mistress. If you want to get an idea of how Ivan feels about me, read The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar. He's the cat and I'm Zlabya. Go ahead, get the book out of the library, even if you don't usually read graphic novels. (Just be warned that the rabbi's cat uses words you can't say on the radio.)

Anyway, Ivan feels it is his duty to adore me and to receive all my attention. Especially when I am on the computer. He hops up on the desk next to me, walks over--he's doing it now--onto my lap, and stays there. He often settles in and rests his head on my left wrist, which makes typing impossible. Now he's just tried to sit on my right wrist, to stop me from typing.

He likes to nuzzle on the books I'm reading too, especially manga. This usually does not interrupt my reading much, but last night he was simply determined to get between me and our copy of Lois McMaster Bujold's new book (she's our favorite author). I think the better the book, the more he gets jealous.

OK, now he's curled up on my lap and I'm signing off...Yeah, he's pushing the keyboard drawer in, further and further from my hands...That's it, everyone....