I wish I could tell you that, now that he is closer to one year old and less of a tiny kitten, Rupert is calming down.

No, I’m serious. I really do wish I could tell you that. You have no idea how much I wish I could tell you that.

He has, in the last few months, broken several glasses. He is, in fact, a fiend about mugs and glasses, if they are holding cold beverages. If I am drinking anything that is not coffee (luckily he does not find coffee appealing), I have to hold the cup in my hand constantly, because if left unattended for even a split second, Rupert will come charging up and DELIBERATELY reach out one paw and snag the edge to pull it over. Oh, by the way, if one happens to have a glass of orange soda sitting on one’s desk and one isn’t paying attention, this is how one can have an ergonomic keyboard destroyed (and also a lap full of cold orange soda) in a matter of nanoseconds. And the latest thing to fall along the path of Rupert-induced destruction would be the top part of a very pretty glass lamp I’ve had for years. We’ve collected all the pieces and they are sitting in a bag in the pantry (safe from prying kitten paws) until I have the mental space to take them out and see if it can be repaired. This is not the first time it’s been broken, although the last time was due to a vacuum-cleaning incident, and not the result of a certain gray tabby whirlwind, but this time there are a lot more pieces, and while super glue is a miraculous thing, even this may be beyond what it can accomplish.

Ah well. His saving grace through all of this, as Richard and I grit our teeth and wait for him to get old enough to be a bit *less* exuberant, is that he is also completely adorable. He has never met another person or cat that he doesn’t like. He purrs pretty much constantly. He is extremely affectionate. And, at least while he is sleeping, he’s just as cute and sweet as he can be.

Here’s a few recent shots of the kittens. It is hard to remember, looking at how big they both are, that when we got them they were small enough to fit in the palm of Richard’s hand.

The amazing two-bodied cat!

Brother and sister.