La Hermanita y sus Feromonas

As the title (quite obscurely) suggests, we will have the story, and photos, of our new kitty’s arrival in a moment. But first, a plug.

This morning I was invited to the opening of a marvelous exhibit at Ulaanbaatar’s National History Museum that will be on display but briefly. It seems one Batsaikhan has spent most of his adult life collecting exceptionally fine examples of pre-Communism Mongolian Buddhist altar and amulet images. Since the bulk of the Mongolian population consisted of nomadic herders, large items were a burden to haul from place to place. So they perfected the art of rendering various Buddha images in miniature. These would either grace small altars in the family ger, or be enshrined in amulets to be worn on the body.

Most of these images were fashioned in molds from pressed clay, and then painted. The intricacy of the details on the hundreds of displayed pieces was breathtaking. As is my wont, I was especially drawn to one image in the exhibit of Padmasambhava. It was one of the somewhat larger pieces, being about 4” tall, and I obtained Batsaikhan’s permission to photograph it for y’all. It’s an exquisite rendering of Guru Rinpoche flanked by his two primary consorts, Lhacham Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal, with the traditional representation of his eight different emanations minutely arrayed around his head:

The exhibit only runs through this Sunday (why they couldn’t have had it up for, say, two weeks, I dunno), so if you’re in town, hurry to catch it. I think it’s free.

OK, now a few more thoughts about Dostoevsky … juuust kidding!

Last night Moojie and I welcomed the newest member of Chez Konchog. Meet Hermanita or, as I’ve taken to calling her, Nita:

Miss Nita, like Floki, had a nasty start to life. Deep in the middle of this past winter, she dragged herself into the compound of Dolma Ling, the FPMT nunnery here. She was skin-and-bones starving, very sick, and suffering from frostbitten ears, feet, nose and tail. The new manager of the Community Center attached to the nunnery, Gloria, agreed to be her primary caretaker. Here’s a photo Gloria took of the poor thing not long after she was brought in:

The kitty couldn’t stay in this compound because there are too many aggressive street dogs about. So she was brought to FPMT’s main center. The reigning feline of the center, however, didn’t care for this interloper one bit, and the territorial squabbling was endless. After an unsuccessful trial at a French couple’s apartment, she was finally confined to Gloria’s one tiny room.

As Nita healed and recovered her strength an adorable, sweet, fearless, energetic, and slightly naughty little kitty emerged. An irresistible match for a cat fanatic like me. As soon as I saw her, I had to have her, but I had to wait about ten days for the incision from her recent spay operation to heal.

Now, The Mooj and I really love each other, but I could tell that after Floki left he was kind of bored. My throwing tape balls for him was OK, but I knew he needed a real playmate.

During our umpteen games of fetch, I would say to him, “Don’t worry, Moojie. Little sister’s coming, little sister’s coming.” Then I thought, “Hey! Gloria’s from Colombia, where the lovely word for ‘little sister’ is hermanita! That’s it! That’s what we’ll call her.” And I love the nickname Nita. It really fits her somehow.

So last evening about seven I brought her home. Now Gloria, being the concerned foster mom, had sent me a text message that read, “Do you know the strategy of cheeks?” To which I, as a professional writer, replied, “???” She then sent an email with further explanation: “The idea about cheeks is: using a piece of cotton pass it to the cat cheeks in order to collect the 'feromonas' and then do the same (with the same cotton) in other cat cheeks. This operation must be done from one cat to the other and viceversa. In this way they are going to combine their recognition and calm 'feromonas' that allow to live like family.”

Well, thank the Lord that wasn’t necessary (though if I’d gotten this email a couple days earlier, I might have named her Feromona, Mona for short – Feral Mona?).

With me as referee, she and Mooj met in the living room. Mooj was intensely curious, of course, but Nita warned him off with a pretty impressive yowly growl. Mooj looked at me like, “What’s with her?” Then he realized that, according to his Karmic Kitty Kontract, this was his home and he had to growl too. That was like, “Um…grr. Ahem. Rowr.” Hilariously unconvincing. I’ve discovered to my delight that The Mooj doesn’t have a single mean bone in his body.

But I swear, if the two of them could have had cartoon thought bubbles appear above their heads, Nita’s would have said, “Omigod! What a total hunka hunkasaurus!” While Moojie’s would have said, “Shooey! This sure is one six-shootin' pistol!”

Now Nita, being the newcomer, mostly hid under a sofa and kept up her growly pretense until about 10, with Mooj circling about with chirpy, inquisitive mews. Then suddenly it was something like this:

Mooj: “Hey! Don’t you wanna play?”

Nita: “Well, OK.”

Mooj: “Betcha can’t catch me!”

Nita: “Bet I can!”

Then vaaaaROOM! Nita rocked Moojie’s world by proving to totally be his equal in the full-tilt chase game – destined to be a daily favorite – though only half his size. The Mooj is smitten, Nita’s content, and I am one very happy kitty daddy. Here are a couple more pics taken today of Miss Nita. You can see how the frostbite claimed a bit of one ear and the tip of her tail. I think it gives her character:

Comments

[Tom Robertson]

AAAAAWWWW! what a little sweetheart!

[minnie]

i don't think i will ever own just one cat again. jimi & joplin are a riot together, even if joplin is getting crochety in her old age (she's 13). she doesn't chase jimi like she used to because jimi came to live with me at my house, while joplin stayed at hubbie's (before we got married), and she got very FAT. however, she does dash about occasionally, and it's still a riot to watch. i love my kitties, and reading about mooj and nita made me laugh.

[Palzang]

Dig those yellow eyes!

[rho1640]

aww what a cutie she is - I am thrilled that they are getting along so well.

Off to Ocean City Md tomorrow for the World Championship Decoy Carving Competition - DH doesn't enter but lots of our friends from all over the world do -- should be as always :D

[Rachel H]

Oh, she's gorgeous! I completely understand how you were smitten so quickly.

[Phyllis]

What a CUTIE!!! I'm glad they get along.

:)

[kmkat]

I love me a good cat story. Surprise, huh? Glad to hear the two felines are fast friends and furry accomplices. Have they started giving each other baths? My two boys (littermates) do that and it cracks me up every time.

"Here, let me wash your ears. They are filthy, I tell you, filthy!"

"Who you callin' filthy, bro? Your neck and tail are a disgrace to our mother, bless her sainted soul!" [*and the furious licking contest begins*]

[marylee]

Several years ago Sister, my dear cat with a congenitally backwards leg (really!) met a tragic end. Same day I went to the shelter and adopted the darling we decided to call Hermana. Wish I would've thought of the *ita* part! Congratulations and a resounding atta boy to you and the Mooj.