Maverick

It’s taken a few weeks but this will be my first post that I’ve typed with the new computer. In this post, I’ll l be writing about our other cat, Maverick or Mavi for short.

Two years around Valentine's Day, Tary was considering getting another cat. We weren’t really sure what kind of cat we wanted but we preferred having a kitten because everyone loves baby animals. We went to PetSmart and I saw this adorable little female kitten. She was super energetic and playful but Tary was concerned that the new kitten might get herself hurt like what happened to Gambit if she jumped around the house while we were away at work.

Tary saw another kitten that was a lot bigger because he was already 6 months old. I didn’t know what to think of him at first but Tary absolutely loved him so we filled out the paperwork and brought “Junior” home…that’s what they called him there. What’s up with the adoption shelters and giving horrible names to their pets? Anyways, sticking with the X-Men theme, I was originally going to name him “Cable” because “Cable” from X-Men has white hair.  But he had an adorable little gray streak running along the top of his head. It reminded me of another character from the X-Men comics, “Maverick”. So goodbye “Junior” and welcome “Mavi”!

When we first brought Mavi home, we had to keep him in the cage for a little bit so that Gambit could get used to having a little brother. Mavi was fine with having a new brother but Gambit wasn’t as enthusiastic. We sometimes let Mavi out of his cage but kept him inside of a room while Gambit was in the rest of the house so that they could smell each other underneath the door.

A few days later, it looked like Gambit was a little less resistant to his new brother so we put Mavi in the cage and let Gambit come up and sniff Mavi. Things looked pretty good so we let Mavi out and surprisingly, they got along pretty well. Whew, what a relief.

So what can I share about Mavi? Well, he’s our cat-dog. What I mean by that is he has a lot of characteristics that are more normally associated with dogs. He actually comes to you when you call his name. He loves to roll over when you pet him so you can rub his belly. He even plays fetch! He’ll carry a little mouse or ball in his mouth and bring it over to you when he wants to play. He’ll wait for you to throw it but if you take too long, he’ll meow repeatedly until you play with him. Once you throw the ball, he’ll go chasing after it and he’ll bring it back. He’s adorable when he’s so playful but it can be tiring when he wants to play at 3 AM!

Mavi has a really cute but high pitched meow. The best way I can describe it is “gee-eww” in the highest possible voice you can make. It’s kind of weird but adds to his charm. It’s like he never really learned how to meow or maybe he never felt like he had to while he was growing up. I’ve found that if you call his name in the same high pitch that he meows with, he'll definitely come running over to you.

Like his brother, Mavi loves to stare out the window. He waits on the couch for me to come home from work. Gambit is a Momma’s boy but Mavi is definitely a Daddy’s boy. When I pull into the driveway, he jumps off the couch and waits by the door for me to come into the house. Then he jumps into my legs and waits for me to pet him.

You can tell that Mavi is just like his Daddy because he also snores in his sleep. Sometimes he’ll make himself comfortable on a soft blanket somewhere and you’ll start to hear the little guy snoring. It’s so adorable that I can’t help but go over there and start petting him until he wakes up again.

Mavi definitely loves being petted and physical affection. He’s definitely more outgoing than Gambit is so he’ll sometimes walk around the house when we have a few guests over. If you hold out your hand, he’ll probably come over to you and let you pet him. He kind of has a poor sense of body awareness so he’ll often do a little jump and turn his head toward you to let him pet him but he’ll do it too soon so you won’t be able to reach him without scooting a little towards him first.

Mavi absolutely loves to play. Like I said before, he loves to play fetch. He likes to jump around and chase after the feather teasers. Sometimes he’ll walk over to a teaser that has been left on the ground and hit it with his paws so that the bells on it would jingle. That’s his way of saying, “Hey Mommy/Daddy, come play with me!”

I think Gambit and Mavi play fight way too much. Or at least it looks too rough for my liking. Gambit is always chasing Mavi around the house and I think Mavi sometimes likes to goad him along. Gambit likes to be on the offensive while Mavi is usually the counter-puncher. Gambit usually tries to attack from all fours so he can only take swipes with one of his front paws. Mavi usually lies on his back so he can use both his front paws and sometimes even a back paw to retaliate with.

Another interesting thing about Mavi is that he loves ice from the ice maker of the fridge. If you are filling up a glass with some ice, he’ll stand on his hind legs next to the fridge until you drop a small piece of ice on the ground for him. Then he’ll start hitting it and chasing it around the floor like it’s a puck on an ice rink.

The last thing that I wanted to share about Mavi is that he’s probably the happiest kitty in the world. He’ll sometimes start purring for no apparent reason and start kneading something soft nearby. He’s not a lap kitty like Gambit is so he won’t stay on your lap for long but he’ll jump on it if you pat your lap. He likes to sleep on the corner of the bed some nights just so he can stay close to us. If he notices that I’m semi awake in the middle of the night, he’ll sometimes come over and then fall asleep on my chest.

Mavi is definitely the baby of the family and I know I spoil him like crazy. He’s about 2 and a half years old now (his birthday is in September). I wish I could bottle him up and keep him at this age forever. What’s kind of funny is that I’ve always wanted a dog when I was growing up. Now that I’m older and we have Mavi, I finally have that dog I’ve always wanted; I just didn’t know that it would be a cat.

Gambit

I've written several posts now on a different topics. However, one thing I've been looking forward to sharing about our family was our boys (the cats Gambit and Maverick). Some of you have been to our house and have seen them roaming around. Sometimes they'll hide when there are a lot of guests over. But when the house is quiet and it's just my wife and I with the boys, their personalities really come alive. In this post, I hope to share some of the wonderful things about the first of our babies, Gambit.

Here he is in one of his favorite places. As you can see, Gambit loves squeezing himself into everything he thinks might hold him. That includes boxes, laundry baskets, bags, and suit cases. Maybe it makes him feel secure. Maybe he likes to think of himself as the same baby kitten that we fell in love with a few years ago. Even though he's the oldest of two cats, I think he likes knowing that he'll always be our baby.

When Tary first brought Gambit home, he was named Dimitri because his sister was named Sasha. Those were horrible names. He didn't look like a Dimitri. He was too cute, too energetic, and too awesome so he needed a name that fit him. I started rambling off names of buff characters like Ivan Drago (from Rocky 4) but that didn't work. Then I started thinking of X-Men characters when it finally hit me...Gambit!

Gambit will be turning 4 in April of this year. It's kind of crazy to think that we've had him longer than I've owned this house. They grow up so fast, don't they? I still remember when he was a kitten. I was still living at my parents' house. He came over to my chair and just sat underneath me while I was on the computer. I was scared of accidentally rolling and hurting him. I'll never forget the way he looked at me so I picked him and put him on my lap for the first time. He fell asleep almost instantly. I struggled to keep him from sliding off of my lap but he didn't seem to mind. He's a bit of a Momma's boy but he still prefers his Daddy's lap.

One thing that most people don't know about Gambit is how tough he really is and how much he had to overcome. He's a fighter. When he was about 5-months-old, Gambit got into some sort of accident while he was at Tary's parents' house. It was one of the worst phone calls. No one knows what exactly happened but the parents heard this pitiful meowing from behind one of the sofas and found Gambit hiding back there. By the time we rushed there, Gambit was already in his kitty bed but we knew something was horribly wrong. He tried walking over to us but he couldn't put any pressure on his rear right leg. We were heartbroken but Gambit tried to comfort Tary with one of his trademark licks.

We rushed Gambit to the nearest animal hospital. It was late but the time didn't matter. The doctors confirmed our suspicions of a broken leg. They gave us a quote for over $2,000 to try to operate and fix Gambit's leg. I had no clue how we were going to afford this...especially with me set to close on the new house soon.

We didn't know what to do but we knew we couldn't get Gambit treated there. It was just too expensive and we were scared that he would need to be put down. Thankfully, we got in touch with the lady who Tary adopted Gambit from. She referred us to a local veterinarian that she goes to. We paid whatever fees we to check Gambit out of the animal hospital and brought him to this vet.

A rod was inserted into Gambit's leg. It felt like the longest week waiting for him to recover and for us to bring him home. When we came to visit, he would do somersaults in his cage when he saw us. This made the vet cringe but that's part of what makes him Gambit. The vet told us that Gambit may never be able to walk the same. But Gambit sure proved him wrong.

Like I said before, Gambit is very much a Momma's boy. He knows when Tary is sick or sad and he tries to take care of her. He'll just stay by her side all day, tuck himself into a ball, and sleep beside her. He'll follow her around the house just to keep her company.

As for me, he loves sitting on my lap. Maybe because it's flatter than Tary's but it's his thing. Sometimes he'll wait for me to sit down in the mornings just to jump on my lap. If I get close to his face, he'll lick me on the nose. It's gross but I don't care. When he's really happy, he'll start kneading and drooling all over the place.

Gambit loves his Greenie dental treats. He'll come right over to you if you shake the bag and eat straight from your hand. He loves them so much, he'll eat all of the treats laid out in front of him and then run over and steal them away from his younger brother, Maverick (aka Mavi).

To pass the time, Gambit likes to look out of the windows throughout the house and just observe what's going on outside. He likes hunting birds with his eyes. You'll usually find him downstairs on the living room couch in the mornings. At nights, he may still be there or he may be upstairs looking out the window from the ironing board.

Gambit also loves to mess around with Mavi. He'll usually chase Mavi around the house and try to smack him around a bit. Gambit likes to go on offense while Mavi likes to lay on his back and counter. But I know they still love each other. It's adorable when Gambit helps groom his brother.

Gambit is a very independent cat. He won't come to you if you call his name. He doesn't normally show affection if you reach out your hand. And he definitely takes his sweet time warming up to strangers. He's content sitting inside a box or in some other room for most of the day. But in those few moments when he wants to be sweet, there isn't a sweeter cat in the whole world. That's why we love him.