The closer we get to Andy and Dougy’s Big 2nd Birthday on 1 July 2013, the more nostalgic I am about that stressful time when they were two sick kittens, a period that pretty much covered the first two and a half, three months I had them.
Fortunately for me, I made videos of the boys so I’d remember them as they were, and have a way to see how they’ve grown and changed. The following video is on my YouTube account, http://www.youtube.com/user/phainopepla95,
but I’ll spare you locating it among the 150+ videos there:
Gad! They were cuties! They were just starting to grow out their Persian hair. They are smoke Persians, so that new hair foretold how handsome this pair of cats were destined to be.
Maybe this video is more interesting to me than to others. I made predictions about their personalities then that are a hoot now. Andy as a “lap cat” is my favorite. It didn’t happen. Neither boy likes more than a little hold time, though they are friendly cats. Dougy as an explorer is true still, though both boys have normal cat curiosity about everything. Dougy is the camera hound still, but Andy is considerably more curious about that thing pointed at him, and he always wants to come over and sniff it.
Dougy still went by “Doogie” back then, the Scottish pronunciation of his name and mine. I’m not sure when I decided to throw caution to the wind and just call him “Dougy”. So what if people accuse me of vanity for naming my cat after myself? Dougy definitely fits the name, as does Andy his. “Douglas” and “Andrew”, their full names, not so much. He answers to “Dougy” so he isn’t confused with me. I’m the one who answers to “Doug”.
My Dad and I shared “Douglas” as first names. We had different middle names, so I wasn’t a junior, though no one ever got that straight, including family. I didn’t want my wee cat to go through that hassle, too. Before you call Dougy “Junior”, be aware his middle name, James, isn’t mine! I made sure of that!
Their big day is close now. The boys were born on Canada Day, 1 July 2011. No significance, I suppose, to that, though it is an easy date to remember!