Meeting Mattingly & Speedy

TIPPER

Misty and I received our gentlemen callers, Speedy and Mattingly, on Saturday and it was the best day of my life! I can't describe how wonderful these guys are except to say they're every girls dream! Handsome & charming, intelligent & witty, well dressed (they both wear gray tuxedos, you know) polite and very good conversationalists, strong & athletic...the list just goes on and on. They even brought us flowers and fresh catnip!

When he came in, Mattingly bowed and kissed my paw. He was wearing his new collar and looked very sharp! Everyone was a little nervous at first, but after a few minutes we relaxed and had a wonderful afternoon. Speedy's sister Sadie came with as a chaperone and they stopped at Derby's for a short visit and got some tips about having a girlfriend. (You all know Derby & Princess Mia Bella have been together for a while now.)

Mattingly's family lives in an apartment in the city, so his life is a little different than mine because I live in a house. We sat on our perch overlooking the deck and held paws. He liked watching our birdies at the feeders and in the birdbath. It was a warm (50 degrees!) sunny afternoon, which is very unusual for Whisk-onsin in January, so all the birdies and squirrels were out.

Then he talked about his life in New York. I've never been to a big city, but now I feel like I know all about it. He was an orphan you know, living on the streets with a hard life and was only 2 months old when his Mom found him in July 2005 and gave him a forever home. Then he was the only child for a long time until his little sister Harlie was adopted. She's about Misty's age but couldn't come with because she has a cold. (Feel better soon, Harlie. I hope you can come over next time Mattingly visits me! (Oh, I'm being presumptuous....I mean, if he wants to visit me again.)

He's such a good and caring cat and we talked about what a hard job it is to raise a kitten, me raising Misty and him raising Harlie! Being an artist like George, it was nice that they had a chance to talk about the art scene and new pieces they're working on. Sadie, who's also an artist, joined in and talked about her latest bottle cap project.

You know, Mattingly's quite athletic, too. Last summer he ran all the way from New York to Catifornia carrying the Catolympic Torch. After eating and napping I think he appreciated the chance to do a little wrestling with someone his own size. No...not me! I meant George, Max and Speedy!

MISTY

Just like I expected he would, Speedy kissed my paw...real gentle and with no teeth showin' either! He behaved like a perfect gentleman and his sister Sadie was there to chaperone us. I like her a lot and she looks a little like Max 'cause they're both black & white tuxedo kitties. Speedy's family lives in the next town east of us and he's the youngest just like I am, 'cept his family has 3 cats and mine has 4.

We talked and talked about lots of stuff. He's a little worried that maybe his Mom will get a kitten from a shelter, but I told him that'd be OK 'cause then he'd be an older brother. Then he told me what he got from Santa and said he asked for a stroller, but didn't get one. I think that's 'cause Santa knows it's usually too cold in Whisk-onsin to be in a stroller right now anyway! Speedy's purrthday is in September 2005. He was born in barn but lived with different people before he found his forever home with Zippy & Sadie. I told him I don't know where I was born, and I never lived anywhere but here.

He's only a little bit older than me and besides both bein' the youngest ones, we have a lot in common. We both like catnip toys and feathers, we both like climbin' and wrestlin' and guess what...both our Mom's have insomnia! After we all played with our toys from Santa and ate all the food Mom fixed, we went into the living room and napped on the back of the couch. Then he held my paw while we watched the gooses in the park across the street.

I think it's interestin' that Speedy and I both have unusual nose markin's, don't you? That's probably why he thinks I'm beautiful and I think he's so handsome! And did you see the flowers they brought us? And did you notice they're in our colors, pink & purple? Aren't they just the most romantic, thoughtful guys you've ever known?

TIPPER

When everyone got ready to leave, Speedy and Misty touched noses and Mattingly and I did too!

Thank you, guys, for calling on Misty and me. We're so happy we got to meet you and hope you still like us and will want to visit again.