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Quirky Shawnee joined our family in June 2007 at the same time as Pawnee, although from different litters. Shawnee spent the first year of her life in our bedroom, where she still sleeps a lot on her personal kitty condo platform. She obviously feels very safe there and is very comfortable being alone, but now ventures out to the rest of the house and goes outside cautiously, always ready to sprint back through the dog door at the slightest possible threat. She purrs full-throttle when being petted, but she is not thrilled about being held, although she will allow it for short periods of time. We are pals. She likes to sleep on my butt or at the foot of my back when I am napping or going to bed early, and she leads the pack into the study each morning for treats. She jumps into my lap, stomps around purring, and will not let me answer e-mail until she, Pawnee, Cherokee and Dakota receive more treats than they need. Shawnee is very aggressive about getting treats, snapping them out of my hand, digging into my bathrobe whether I am wearing it or it is lying on the bed in search of another kitty munchie. Mary worries about her getting too fat from too many treats. Shawnee rejects such thinking. 
Shawnee just totally, absolutely loves Cherokee, constantly rubbing against her, sleeping with her, and following her around. Cherokee is a natural mother and always allows Shawnee to be with her. Cherokee had a similar relationship with the late Calvin (so did Rags), but Cherokee's affection seems to be much more pronounced with Shawnee. Shawnee enjoys being mothered 24-7, and Cherokee needs someone to protect at all times. It gives her a purpose and is her equivalent of having toys to play with. In the photo to the right, they are sharing one of Cherokee's favorite spots, wedged in behind my living room rocker-glider, a place where they both obviously feel very secure and comfortable. We seem to have many photos of Cherokee and Shawnee walking around the backyard together and sleeping together on the big dog pillows, in the sunroom and on the bedroom floor. Sleeping together makes them both happy.
Shawnee and Pawnee have always played together, particularly chasing each other up and down on the cat condos in the living room and across the top of the nearby bookshelves. They also tussle on condos in the bedroom and sunroom. The condos in the living room and one in the sunroom have been shredded and will need to be replaced this Christmas. Shawnee was very tiny when we adopted her. She hid in a fleece I was wearing at the time. She is still the smaller of the two. But she is no longer a runt and is very vocal about her wants and needs. |
