Sumi’s Slumber Party

This past weekend, my friends Theo and Shogo went on vacation to Tokyo for Theo’s birthday and I kitty-sat for their 2-month old kitten, Sonoko. She is pure white with little pink paws, little pink ears, and a little pink nose. She has one green eye and one blue eye. She is also deaf. They found her about a month ago, and have been taking care of her. She is absolutely adorable!
Before they left her with Sumi and me, they came over for an introductory visit on Tuesday. Sumi, I realize, is pretty calm and well behaved when he needs to be. He sat and looked at her, giving her space, but still really interested. Sonoko on the other hand, hissed and made a long strange meow that said, “back off!” Sumi really wanted to play with this new fuzzy white toy that moved and made so much noise, but was confused because the noises and tiny claws told him to stay away. Why would I give him such an intriguing but dangerous toy? So, in true male-stalker style, he kept a short distance while following her everywhere and watching her every move.
After staying with us since Friday, Sonoko is feeling more comfortable. The strange meowing has stopped, and she lets me pick her up, and she purrs when I pet her. On Sunday, she and Sumi chased each other all over the apartment. I’m sure the downstairs neighbors loved that! And after realizing that I hadn’t heard a peep from them for a while, I went searching and found them sleeping in my closet. They were both exhausted from playing all day.
Sonoko is a little skittish. Probably due to the fact that she can’t hear when we are close to her, and often end up scaring her. So when Sumi creeps up behind her, I can tell him to stop without disturbing her. She is also a really good hider, and the first morning I couldn’t find her at all for about 15 min. I checked all of Sumi’s hiding places, but she found a new one inside the back of the TV stand on top of the DVD player. The only clue was a little toy mouse she left behind the TV set, so I peeked behind and under and found her.
Even though she is about 1/3 the size of Sumi, she is a tough little girl. She takes swipes at him with her paws and puffs herself up as much as she can, and it works because every time, Sumi goes running and hides under the table. What a scaredy cat! And she looks so innocent!
So the boys plan on picking her up on Tuesday. Until then, Sumi and I will enjoy her company very much. She is an adorable kitty, and we are having so much fun with her! We will both be very sad when she goes home. I just might have to hide her myself when they show up. :)