McFluffy

McFluffy (aka McScruffy, aka McStinky, aka Luciano) is the boy. Also the fluffy one. And while he may look like the biggest, the tale of the tape reveals that his sister outweighs him by a couple hundred grams.

McLongfur’s, um, long fur requires occasional grooming to prevent him from getting scruffy (see second name above). It also presents a bit of a challenge to, um, the elimination of food waste after digestion. Without proper trimming around a particular area, bits of digested food waste can get stuck to his long fur, making him a bit stinky (see the third name above).

But none of that is really a problem, since this cat is just so happy (McHappy?) He’s got a voice with an incredible range – from little chirps and trills when he’s playing with toys or his siblings, to plaintive meows when he thinks he’s being ignored, to deeply-felt vocal solos when you’re not feeding him fast enough for his liking. He can hold a note for over ten seconds (see the fourth name above).

He loves other cats and people, and getting attention, but (unlike all his sisters) isn’t all that fond of being held. Especially on his back. He’ll complain about that. Loudly.

McFluffy is litter trained, but may take a little encouragement to learn where the litter box is. And he hasn’t quite figured out dry food yet. (What’s this? I’m huunnnnnngryyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!) He’ll get there, though.

Ocelot

Ocelot is the one with the stripes. She is named after a small wild cat that Salvador Dali kept as a pet. Please find her a better name – we’re running out of creativity after fostering 23 kittens. We named her sister’s “Righty” and “Lefty” for goodness’ sake.

When we first met Ocelot, we were surprised to discover that she loves to be held. On her back, cradled in your hands. She gets a dreamy look on her face, relaxes completely, and is perfectly content to fall asleep like that, in fact. It’s strange.

She generally loves being with people, too. She’s happy to run around chasing (or more likely being chased by) her siblings, but she seems happiest when she’s around people (*purr purr purr*).

Ocelot doesn’t know what dry food is for (ooh! toys!), but has at least stopped being picky about the wet food she eats. And there’s a flavour of wet food that she loves more than anything. She actually snarled at her litter-mates when they tried to steal some of it from her. We’ll let you try to discover what type of fish it is.

Righty

Righty got her name since she has a patch of white fur on the right side of her face, as opposed to the left side like her formerly-identical-but-now-twice-as-big-sister. All attempts to come up with a more descriptive rhyming nickname failed. We thought of “Bitey,” but she doesn’t, so that’s that.

Righty is the bravest of her siblings, and enjoys sprinting around new spaces as fast as possible. That puts her underfoot more often than not, so be aware (beware?) of small grey furry things while you’re walking around the kitchen.

She very much likes having her head stroked, and remembers how much she likes it whenever her sister Ocelot (the striped one) is getting any attention. Then she’ll come over and shove sister out of the way to take her place.

She’s also extremely talkative. She likes to remind you when to feed her. She likes to give you advice on how to prepare the food, and let you know you’re not doing it fast enough. (These two are pretty normal.) But she also likes to wander around after you telling you about her day. It’s all monosyllabic so far, but we expect her to be quite the eloquent orator when she grows up. Perhaps she’ll even be a scriptwriter?

She’s the most litter-trained of her litter, and is one of the few kittens we’ve had (out of 23) that never had an “accident” anywhere. And she likes both wet and dry food, which is also good.

Hefty

Hefty (originally named Lefty, since she has a patch of white fur on the left side of her face, as opposed to the right side) got her new nick name by gaining 500 grams in less than 3 weeks. We also briefly considered “Hungry Hungry Hippo” as a name, but stopped. After realizing that she was now approximately twice the size of her litter-mates, she put her bulk to good work by pinning her smallest siblings to the ground while playing. In response, they all adopted a strategy that we like to call “squeak, then run away.”

Other than that minor quirk, she is extremely good-natured. Hefty likes to play with her siblings, people, other cats, and small rocks. She also has an adorable habit of flopping her ears down (like a bunny) when she’s happy. Like after trying unsuccessfully to pin your knee to the ground.

When you bring her home, it will probably take a while for her to adjust to the new space – despite her size and friendliness, she’s a little shy and wary of big spaces. She waits for her much smaller but braver sisters to forge the way for her. (When she’s nervous, she often flops her ears down. Please try not to laugh at her trepidation.)

Finally, she’s litter-trained, sleeps anywhere, and likes being picked up and held, and very rarely makes any sound other than a purr. She’ll eat pretty much everything (could you guess?), but actually doesn’t try to steal food from her siblings. She just snacks a lot on dry food while they’re staring at it suspiciously.