An Update on the Fishkin Twins!

Pictured above are Sidney and Mose Fishkin on their adoption day.

We were so happy when Tiffany, Bill, and Vivian adopted the precious Fishking twins -- we knew they would offer a wonderful life to these kittens. About a week after they left our nest, Mose gave them a scare with a health crisis.  We felt so bad they had to go through something like this out of the gates but were so grateful that Mose was in their capable hands. Thankfully they caught it early, acted fast, and got him healthy.

Here's the story and an update from Tiffany.

Shortly after we adopted the brothers, Mose fell ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia. We faithfully gave him nebulizer and shower-steam treatments, and he put up with them well, sometimes even purring through the steam. Meanwhile, Sidney would swat the nebulizer tube and had a deep distrust of the shower. He wanted to liberate his brother from the humans and their torturous contraption. I started calling Sidney "The Scrapper" because he was having none of it. He was very feisty. My daughter disputes this account, but until my dying day I will swear that I determined to win Sidney over with The Love Treatment, and it worked. Within a week of serious cuddles and babying, his personality shifted, and the scrapper was tamed.

Mose was another story. Although he has always been really quick to purr, he is not a huge fan of cuddles--unless the cuddles are on his terms, or Vivian is the cuddler. She is his primary attachment, and he'll let her hold him like a baby. Most of the time, though, he is pursuing the YOLO lifestyle. While cats may have nine lives, Mose prefers to live as though he only has one. Each day we play outside with the boys for about an hour--they love to chase a cork attached to a stick by a long piece of twine--and we know it's time to bring them in when Mose a) climbs a tree, b) gets onto the roof, or c) leaps the fence in a single bound. Meanwhile, Sidney is chilling in a sunray. Poor Sid. He's like the kid in class who is kept from recess because some other kid was acting up.

Most of the time, though, the brothers like to hang out with each other and with us. They have several spurts of energy a day, and during those times anything can happen. Last night, Mose pulled a spider plant off of the mantle. At other times, they both climb under the covers and sleep against our legs. They're really friendly with guests--not at all skittish. In fact, they love to jump on people's heads and bite their hair. At 8 months old, Sidney has gotten really big, and Mose is smaller and slimmer. I think that Sid looks like a Shakespearean actor--someone who only plays the kings. Mose has superfine features and the softest fur ever. When you look at Mose in the sunlight and from the back forward, you can see that he has brown and black stripes, whereas Sidney is pretty much solid black. Both are excellent at leaping, running, and stalking.

We love these two dears. They were just what we needed.

I'm attaching a few photos!

1. Mose on left, Sidney on right

2. Sidney in Vivian's lap

3. Mose and Sidney forming a word bubble

4. Sidney on left, Mose on right.

5. Mose

Thank you for sharing your stories and sweet photos with us today, Tiffany!   You guys are the best and we apprecate your devotion to your kitties so much.

More updates to come today -- so do stay tuned!