We have three cats; Gigi, our ginger female, Lapsong Suchong, our grey tiger girl, and Noisette our tortoiseshell little explorer and snuggle monster.
Noisette is the youngest and the smallest. And our most independent. She always has been. Of her kitten siblings she was the only one to figure out she could get outside through our raised on high cat window. And since then there has been no stopping her. She has taken to exploring the world with gusto.
Gigi is the mother of both Lapsong and Noisette, though they are from different litters. (That is a chaotic story in itself, told in our Animal Antics 1 & 2 tales.)
Our three girls could not be more different. Gigi is our uber smart, understands conversations, territorial nut. Lapsong we describe as our ‘blond’ – a euphemism, not a reality. I like to tell Pumpjack she is like Reese Witherspoon in the film Legally Blond that there is more to her than her beautiful face. And her ability to eat.
Noisette (hazelnut in French) is the cunning, quiet one. Unless she has caught a mouse. Or a rat, or a bird, or a Lerot, or a… then she certainly lets us know. Though she has learned that letting us know in the wee hours of the night does not get praise, as compared to a little later in the day. Nor does catching animals we don’t approve of, such as birds. So she just eats those we won’t praise her for. Then barfs up the evidence.
She is a small cat, and the others gang up on her. Gigi, because it is territorial thing. She has a go at any cat that comes in to her territory. Lapsong, because she occasionally likes to show she is still in the cat game. Our little Noisette has learned to skirt them every time. She is a heads down get on with life kinda gal.
She lives in her own world for certain. And quite contentedly. With a preference for the outdoors. She has a favourite sleeping spot under the raspberry bushes in the veg garden. When I work around there, inevitably Noisette comes out and lets me know she is awake by meowing with each step she takes. It’s a particular quirk she has.
I am meant to drop whatever I am doing and give her a cuddle. She has earned the nickname of snuggle monster in consequence. She is actually the only one of our cats into cuddles. The other two are affectionate but show their affection in different ways. Noisette is all about being held.
If I put her down before she has had enough, she is quick to try and climb right back up me for more. And I do mean climb. She will first ask though, putting a paw up, or even both paws up on my leg. If ignored she will then try to make her own way up. I always wear jeans in consequence when gardening.
One of my favourite things is when kneeling down weeding and Noisette likes to get up on my shoulders. Her preference is to hang out in the small of my back while I pull weeds, watching the world about her from new heights. It makes gardening slightly more complicated, but definitely more fun.
Noisette has staked the bottom gardens and beyond as her territory. Lappy has the duck enclosure, or bedroom if indoors. Both great places to sleep. Gigi can be found either in my office or around Big Dig 1, depending on temperatures and where I or Pumpjack are as she is a people cat. And our littlest one prefers her adventures and solitude. With moments of intense snuggling in between.