The Baby and the Cat

Lately we've been noticing a lot of similarities between Charly and Elliot.

It started with tipping over baskets. We used to keep a lot of Elliot's cat toys in a basket under a sofa table in our living room. Elliot used to crack us up because whenever she'd want to play, she would pull on the basket until it tipped over and spilled out her toys. One night we laughed and commented on the similarity while Charly tipped her own basket of toys over to play. That was only the beginning.

For years, Elliot has driven us nuts by knocking over our water glasses. She's interested in anything we put in a glass (milk, juice, pop, beer, wine) but usually one sniff and she's gone. If we happen to leave a glass of water out though, she has the thing tipped over in a matter of seconds, lapping up the spilled water. We don't understand it. Usually she has a full bowl of fresh, cold water sitting untouched in the kitchen. Why she's obsessed with ours, is beyond us!

Now Charly, does the same darn thing! Just like Elliot, if a water glass is within her grasp (in the same room), she's got her hand in it, knocking it to the floor in seconds.

Anyone who knows Elliot knows she's famous for one thing: biting. She's such a loving cat (she really is!) and she follows us around everywhere (another similarity Charly shares) but if your name is not Kelli, you can't touch her without getting bitten. Not hard. Just enough to back you off.

Anyone who would spend a weeknight with us would soon discover that I'm also famous for one thing: being Charly's own personal jungle gym. Anytime I'm on the floor she giggles and climbs all over me. The other night while climbing, she grinned an evil grin and sunk her chompers into my shoulder! I said, "Not you too!"

Elliot has also baffled us for years by knocking her playthings into out of reach places and then struggling to retrieve them. She'll play and play and play with a toy, batting it all over the house, only to purposely kick it somewhere just out of her reach. She loves a challenge!

Tonight, while playing on the floor with Charly and some of her toys, she tossed one under the entertainment center, looked at me, grinned, then pressed herself as close to the floor as she could and reached her farthest for the toy. It was just slightly out of her reach. I reached underneath and pulled it out for her. She looked at me, smiled, and kicked it right back under, only to repeat the process!

Even as I type this, on the couch lays Kelli, Charly in one arm, Elliot in the other. Two peas in a pod. Their favorite place to sleep!