Climate the Cat

I realize the most exciting thing is the upcoming arrival of baby Zola, but in the meantime, I'd like to introduce you to some of our other family members.  We have three cats and a dog.

Let's start with our newest pet addition: Climate:

We acquired orange, fluffy Climate a little over two years ago.  He was abandoned as a newborn kitten in a shopping cart at the Wal-Mart in Wasilla, and found by someone and given to us.  Having him from kittenhood, we made an effort to teach him a few tricks and were successful!  His best trick is that he shakes without fail for treats.  His second best trick is his ability to fetch.  He will fetch his little toy mice (of which the house is littered) without fail, over and over again until you stop throwing the mice.  Eventually, he'll start breathing audibly with the mouse in his mouth.  It's really cute!  He also likes to bat the mice down the stairs and chase them, bring them back up the stairs, and bat them down again.

Climate is also the only cat who is not afraid of Nimbo (our dog).  In his couple weeks in a foster home before he came to us, he was around dogs, probably aiding in his lack of fear for them.  Occasionally, Climate and Nimbo will play with each other.  A neat quirk in Climate is that he loves to lick people's faces incessantly.  I (Todd) let him lick my face, but Jenevra doesn't like it.  I don't know if it's the taste or what, but he certainly enjoys it, as he purrs nonstop.  When he wants to lick my face, he'll start meowing nonstop is his high-pitched girly voice.  All our cats are indoor cats, but Climate tries to dart out the door whenever we open it.  He goes straight to grass blades beside the front door and starts eating them.

Climate isn't as close to the other two cats (Oreo and Snowy).  Oreo and Snowy were here first, and lick each other a lot and are close pals (usually), but Climate is more on his own.  Oreo and Snowy sleep on or near me (Todd), but Climate is usually off on his own.  One other neat trait of Climate is his love of a clean litter box.  Whenever I scoop or change the litter, Climate comes running next to the litter box and is sure to be the first to use it, even if he doesn't really have to go poop or pee!