This is Sophie's most favorite perch, which she now shares with Santino. When Santino first climbs up, Sophie grooms him, and he chews on her a bit. She pins him down and licks him until he goes to sleep. So sweet!
Santino loves the sisal post. And, he loves "Big Bali Mom Blankie". Sometimes he annoys me by sleeping with "her" instead of me.
Since Sophie stopped being afraid of the camera, she seems to always be posing! Miki, too, but he does his "posing" in the same sleep position. It has never been easy to get a good photo of him.
Is grooming kitties a natural instinct? Elsa used to groom Legs, but she expected the same in return. Now she expects me to.
ReplyDeleteIf Sophie or Santino get much bigger they won't fit on the perch together.
Love the pictures.
Yes, I believe grooming is a natural instinct. It's comforting, and it builds intimacy. More importantly, it mixes scents.
ReplyDeleteIn my own household where there have always been at least 3 cats, I have never seen a younger cat groom the older, except for, perhaps, a brief minute. Miki was always groomed by Zippy, and after he died, Miki presented his head for grooming to Rudy, but he would have no part of it. He does, however, allow Miki to groom him. In the beginning, Rudy groomed both Sophie and Santino, but now that he realizes they are not just visiting, his nose is out of joint and he won't go near them. Miki, however, is over his petulance!
It is amazing to watch Santino grow! It has been a long time since I have been with a kitten. I am glad that Sophie has come around and is starting to be the Princess she deserves to be. Nigel sends his regards and is complaining that it is a work day and I am not staying home to pamper him.
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In my crazy household, it is not uncommon to have a whole bunch of cats all grooming each other! I think you are right Chaska - the young ones don't generally tend to groom the older cats but they do groom more as they get older!
ReplyDeleteOh,how I would love a book on domestic cat behavior...a really good, thorough study. I have read that cats are both nurturers as well as babies to us. Zippy did nurture me...a lot!
ReplyDeleteMiki is limited to "baby"...and Rudy does both. He licks me with an incredibly sloppy wet tongue every chance he gets! He seems to think my ears need it in particular. I don't feel warm and cozy about that at all, though I reject his tongue gently.
I am so glad to hear over cats try to groom their humans. Nigel tries to groom my head in the morning to help me wake up and start my day.
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