Introducing... Swee'pea!

I finally landed on a name. And it fits him perfectly. He is very sweet but he's got spunk and so Popeye's little orphan is the perfect name for this little one. And I don't even mind that he stole the ball of yarn I've been working on. It's good to know what they like to play with, then you can make sure to furnish them with appropriate toys so they don't take things they shouldn't play with. Problem is, I'm not sure what to replace it with. Maybe Aunty Mellie needs to make us another large felted eyeball? (this was one of Jacques favorite toys pre-blog times).

This little one is full of the cutest antics. He will hide behind something in order to surprise Jacques. The surprise is for me because when he leaps, all four feet leave the floor and he looks more like a gazelle gliding through the air. Hopefully I can catch it on camera one day. He also doesn't quite understand toys on a stick. There is one they both love, an elephant with a pink bunch of feathers tied to it. When we first started playing, Swee'pea wasn't sure what to do. He decided this was prey and he had to walk away with it, and when we played with it the other night, he wouldn't let Jacques anywhere near it. Every time he let go of it and the toy would go flying (because of the elastic) he would chase after it, catch it and walk away with it in his mouth, growling at us. This must have gone on a good ten minutes. Jacques just looked at me with a look that said, "See, you brought this dumb little thing in here..."

And there is definitely a "cuteness" competition going on, except Jacques is the only one who knows it. Swee'pea is just cute and still kind of a kitten, so everything is fun to play with. But the other day when I left a ball of yarn on Jacques chair he hopped up and started to play with it. Now he's never really done this ever, but this time it really felt like he was trying to show me, look I can be cute too - why did you get this other thing?

And so how are we getting along? Well, it's hit and miss. Jacques' agenda is to assert his vertical dominance. Big Time.

He hops around on top of the furniture to get around whenever he can. If Swee'pea is in the room Jacques will be sitting up on something. He has begun to accept that this little pest is here to stay.

They touch noses, sniff each other can walk past each other without incidence, but then there is the "playing". Hmmmm, lets just say it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then there is yowling and hissing and growling. Thank goodness Jacques has started to assert himself - maybe a bit too strongly sometimes. They don't really know how to read each other yet. Sometimes one or the other is just sniffing and the other will go into defensive mode with a raised paw the peace is shattered.

We always have to be on the lookout.

In both directions.
Jacques needs a lot of extra love right now. He needs reassurance every time I pet Swee'pea or show him any affection. Jacques really asserts his dominance in the bedroom (haha!). No seriously, Swee'pea gets chased out of there regularly, and is not.allowed.on.the.bed. period. When Jacques has had enough he comes and tries to get me to go to bed for the night. The little one sleeps under the basket. It's his-self designated spot. I'm so glad that is not an issue and that he does actually have a space to go to.

When I'm not worried about kitties, I started knitting a new sweater:
Except mine will be red. This is the yarn I bought with my Aunts way back in October. It's perfect for this project.