Happy Birthday to Rori!

Rori writes:

Today's my 4th birthday!  Wow, such a lot has happened in four years.  I was born far away from here, across the river in Portland, Oregon.  My momcat was a feral tabby and my dadcat was a huge tabby named SpongeBob.  Sponge lived across the street from the green house and brought all the ferals to the back porch food bowl.  My brother and I were the only two in our litter, and I had an older brother who looked like me as well.  My littermate brother, now named Knut, is a Siamese/tabby mix (his dadcat was a Siamese).  He got adopted to a friend when we were very little, so I barely remember him at all.  My inside family raised me, and my auntie Lydia was my mentor.  She's the one who chose me to succeed her as the Big Kitty of the House.

Today I think I'll snuggle with Mommy while she sleeps, then go check on Daddy while he naps later on.  It's my job to check up on everyone and make sure things are running smoothly in the household.  I check on the outside part of the family, too, watching through the big window to see if they're outside and making sure our purrents know if they show up.  I keep my distance from the window, preferring to watch from my chair rather than right up at the window like the others do.

Mommy always gives me a birthday rub-down, rubbing me from my shoulders all the way to my tail.  I love when she does that, and I purr so loudly to tell her how happy I am.  She'll also clean my eyes for me, as I have goopy eyes from allergies right now.  I'm glad she cleans my eyes so that I can see better.  I tell her exactly when I need that done, and she obeys.  Yes, I definitely am the Lady of the House, Big Kitty of the House!

Here's a picture of my brother Knut and me when we were about 4 weeks old.