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Iris (Siberian Forest Cat)
Iris (Siberian Forest Cat)
Written by Wednesday, 30 June 2010 00:00
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Getting a pet is always a thrill. It feels like a start of a long and exciting journey. Though primarily selected for its looks and possibly its temperament, a pet is a life companion that we look forward to see developing.
Our youngest kitten, Iris, is a Siberian Forest Cat. (1) We both fell in love with her the minute we saw her photo. She had a naughty look about her and the cutest little face imaginable. We were delighted when Tracey, the owner of the Miakira Cats, agreed to let us have her. Soon after little Iris joined our family.
Being the youngest kitten among our active, playful, cats is not an easy job. Yet Iris excelled at it. An extremely well socialised kitten, she immediately got friendly with all our other cats. Hermes and Nemesis became her new best friends; they showed her the ropes around the house. It was not long before she was out in the garden playing, chasing and being chased by the others, ambushing and mock attacking. At mealtimes she is hilarious to watch. Once she finishes her food she helps the rest finish theirs: she muscles in under tummies and paws and tastes a bit of everybody's plate, growling if the rightful owners of the food dare to show their discontent at her presence.
Iris is a very active little girl who has it all: the most gorgeous green eyes, the temperament, the personality. Seeing her charging all over the place with the speed of light or bossing our older kittens around one would never imagine her sweet nature. Yet she is always ready for cuddles and kisses. She is not just enjoying attention - she lives it! When we pick her up for a cuddle Iris gets herself comfortable in our arms and starts sucking her paw, kneading and purring:
Sucking cuddly toys or blankets is a comforting behaviour manifested by some young animals. Iris does not do this. She will only suck her paw when we cuddle her. Naturally she prefers a tight cuddle, during which she can hide her head in our arms - but there was no way we could video her like this. We have taken her behaviour (sucking her paw to imitate being nursed, kneading - which the kittens do to stimulate the feeding reflex so that their mother's milk flows - and purring, which is a sign of extreme pleasure) to mean she feels as safe and content when she is in our arms as she was when she was being nursed by her mother. What a compliment from our little lady!
Welcome to Iris's page. We will be updating it regularly with photos and stories of her adventures!
Five months old and our little Iris is already conquering the world. While maintaining her loving and playful personality she is convinced all of us exist at home for the sole purpose of entertaining and pumpering her. She is a young lady who knows her mind and is determined to have everything her way. She does that in a non-confrontational way, which has earned her the title of "Scamp of the Year". When told not to do something she appears to obey; she goes to play with her toys at a chosen vantage point from which she observes us. The minute we are no longer looking her way she runs like mad to do exactly what she was told not to (which invariably involves playing in the garden).
Her energy levels are unprecedented. She can run and play non-stop for hours. Though she is friendly and loving with all our cats here best mates are Nemesis, Hermes and Danae; she teams up up with them to tear the house apart and it is clear she is the brains behind all the naughtiness. When her playmates, exhausted, stop for a nap, she does all sorts to entice them to continue to play - including mockbiting them on the tail and runing to us for protection. What a girl!
Below a photo of Iris in a rare moment she stood still. She has one of these per month or so - so we try to take advantage with the cameras:
So far Iris enjoys being groomed, though not as much as trampolining on our stomachs (surprise!!!!). Oh yes, she picks her moment, preferably after dinner when we are lying comfortably on the sofa with a book and lands with a mega jump on either of us for cuddles. Must be our expressions that amuse her .....
For Iris every day is like a present. Life is a great big surprise which she fully intends to enjoy. She has recently 'discovered' the toy box, a big cardboard box in which we have cut various holes (big enough for the cats to go through); in it we store the toys they are not using daily. This box is Iris's paradise. She takes a good look around the room and then dashes in and out of the box carrying all the toys out and leaving them somewhere in the middle of the room - until the whole place is a total mess. An hour or so later, when there is not a single unoccupied inch on the floor Iris stops and surveys her territory. She continues moving toys around until she is satisfied total chaos has been created. Her day's work has then been well done and she comes to us proudly, tail as high in the air as it can possibly go, for congratulations which involve, amongst others, serious and prolonged cuddling and stroking. Following this she can relax. Where? How? Spoilt for choice again.
Tyical Iris: she may decide to crash like a scamp on the first piece of furniture she finds available, or get cosy in her bed looking very sweet and innocent or finally chose to share with one of the boys (they adore her) as in the last photo above. Aris is her favourite sleeping mate as he tends to groom her to sleep, which she is particularly fond of.
Sleeping with the boys, playing with the girls and having us wrapped round her little paws, Iris is living in style. She fully acknowledges it and makes it perfectly clear on every opportunity how much she appreciates it. She is the first to greet us and the other cats when we arrive at home with lots of little cheerful chirps, soft headbutts and eye signals. Being an extremely sociable and good natured cat she actively seeks the company of others and is an extremely pleasant and playful and loving companion. She makes sure nobody is forgotten. When she has finished playing with all the cats she will follow us around in the house and stay with us watching and purring. She can keep this up for quite a while - usually until we are free to give her cuddles. What we find surprising, even now, is how this so very active and energetic kitten can stay quiet for so long observing us. It looks like Iris knows what she wants and how to get it.
Iris welcomed the short spell of snow we had this winter. We were wondering how she would react to it until we saw her dashing outside and chasing the other cats playfully. She even chased the little snowballs we threw. Getting wet or cold was not an issue; her coat is unbelievably thick. She was so excited that it was quite difficult to convince her to get back in the house.
She is confident, playful, gorgeous and loving. Since last weekend she is also a girl on a mission. The mission is to jingle all the bells on the Christmas tree. Baubles are things to knock off and chase but the bells are more fun. She has spotted every single bell on the tree and she is trying to get to the ones that are higher than what she can reach by climbing on furniture and jumping up and down. She spends a significant part of her day chosing a bell and tapping it softly with her paw to hear it jingle. The sound amazes her. With this project underway in addition to hiding under the tree and ambushing all the other cats it looks like we are in for some fun Christmas.
When she goes out she is always perfection personified. But that is of no importance to her: she will return in any and every state possible. She makes herself comfortable on a chair and starts her grooming routine. Iris is particularly bright and responds to us talking to her. We take great pleasure, when she returns all muddy and wet, feigning disappointment: Iris immediately abandons her grooming and comes over to console us. The routine starts with the usual half closing of eyes, a sign of friendship:
Talking of grooming, she needs it. Though she is quite a conscientious groomer she has an unbelievably thick coat which takes our combined efforts to keep in a good state. Iris is aware of the purpose of grooming and she is as good as gold: fully co-operative, she jumps on the grooming chair and stretches out. She often lifts paws or turns over to help us out with the difficult spots. Usually she purrs throughout the session. On the odd occasion she meows this is to indicate we struck a matted area. Once all combed and dematted she turns over for her favoutite part: brushing. No grooming session is complete without at least 10 minutes brushing, during which she plays, mock bites and purrs endlessly.
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