A Quick Post From Nalia and Salem #4
Where the Two Cats and Their Human Are Today (And May The 4th Be With You, Always!)
Nalia & Salem: <Jfhrufh!;$4 HFJFJRdlforwkdjwodkdfj’cfj!> Hello, hello, Fellow Muzerz! We just wanted to say ThaNK YoUz to everi1 who haz read our stori and teh mini-seriez! Teh mini-seriez iz concluded but we convinced Mama to help us write one final post about how we’ve been doing since Jan-u-airie! (Bcuz we be cute and cuddly and floofy! Also, don’t be shitty to teh kitties!)
Human: Hello, Hello Fellow Musers! Firstly, to my Fellow Star Wars Nerds (both Original and New-Thanks-To-Disney), to you I want to say a Happy 4th! May the 4th be with you! Secondly, while the girls did convince me to “help” them write a “Where are they now?” kind of post, I had been thinking of doing a quick one (quick for this Substack at least, haha) to let those of you who are curious about where the three of us are today.
As the Fellow Musers who have been subscribed to this Substack for a while know, I have been pretty open since writing on Substack about some things that have happened last year, even though I’ve only gone into detail about one of them. However, I’m happy to say that we’ve mostly moved on emotionally, although as anyone who has embraced the concept of mental health knows, moving on and getting past trauma are two completely separate ideas and both take time to process. It’s all about simultaneously taking a step forward one day at a time while crying your heart out while taking deep breaths to focus your thoughts and steer your energy to something that will propel you forward to a moment that may or may not be meaningful to anyone but you. Take those moments and cherish the fuck out of them, you beautiful motherfuckers!
=>.<= UwU =>.<=
Moving on, here are some updates about Nalia and Salem:
~We moved and it has taken the girls a bit to get use to the new place, but I think they’re adjusting really good. I am renting a room that is part of a house that is advertised as Student Living, and is two stories. The girls favorite activity is either stalking, following, and/or chasing me up and down the stairs. When I leave and come home, they rush down the stairs, greeting me with meows and demands for pets, food, and play. And if I come back through the door a second after I tell them I’m leaving, I get looks that both confused and happy to see me.
<Video taken on Jan. 1st, my second official day in the new place. My dad stayed a few extra days to help me settle in, and the girls are already having a blast coming down the stairs!>
~Salem had mats on her underbelly and very patiently allowed me to cut them off after weeks of trying to gently untangle them by hand. The whole haircut process took 2 hours and 30 minutes. If it happens to Nalia, she’s gonna be visiting the vet for a nice nap and a shave-because unlike her sister, Nalia is not as patient with me if it involves scissors (I had to trim her hindquarter hair a month before we moved and she was not too great at staying still). Meanwhile, Nalia has reached new heights in the kitchen. She also enjoyed cuddling up to Salem and squishing her face.
~I noticed on March 22 that Salem was exhibiting signs of remembering the kittens. I noticed that she looked depressed and when she didn’t show up to eat her Greenies (the part of the evening that I know she really enjoys…because well food!), I grew concerned. Nalia wanted to be held and allowed me to hold her for a good 3-5 minutes-something she hasn’t allowed me to do since before her spay surgery. We found Salem under the bed. I told her that I knew what day it was, that it was okay for her to feel her feels, and that she could come purr, lick, and cuddle me all she wanted to when she was ready. Eventually, she came downstairs and gradually became more of herself.
~I realize to some readers that it may seem strange to tell an animal that they can give themselves permission to mourn a loss even after a year, but I believe once a connection is established and the animal feels safe to be themselves, I believe that some sort of understanding happens to the point that while me and the girls won’t understand each other linguistically (to a certain point), we do understand each others body language-mostly via facial and tonal expressions (to a certain point). I believe, given enough time for nurturing, this kind of mutual connection of communication and respect can be made with almost any critter.
~When they first came inside, Nalia loved to involve me in her playtime, especially when Salem didn’t want to play. Salem enjoyed running parallel to us when we played, watching, occasionally pouncing on the toy-of-the-moment, and then randomly running off to…wherever! Nowadays, this is still what happens, but Salem also has found joy in regularly participating in playtime with both me and Nalia. Sometimes they take turns-meaning one girl plays hard, then rests while the other one plays hard, then rests, and so on. Often times they demand two toys be brought out and each plays with them separately while I stand in the middle, holding the handles. I guess it’s their way of making me exercise?
~Another favorite activity of the cats is sitting on the window sills and imagining themselves catching the birds that fly by, while also watching other humans and sometimes cars pass by. We also live by train tracks and I think getting use to hearing the train and it’s horn sound has also been an adjustment for them-I hear it everyday at my work and I surprisingly find it quite soothing to listen to when I’m trying to go to sleep!
~The ladies are entering the Terrible Two’s stage, which for these two mean that they have higher energy, are scuffling with each other more, and trying to show each other up by claiming each other’s spaces-although I’ve told them both from the moment that they came to live with me that there’s no need to be competitive. They’ve been working things out and thankfully no blood has been drawn nor shed except for the human’s, although I did have to take Nalia to the vet because of a bump-that turned out to be a shedded cat claw that the vet got out of her. She was acting less Chaos Bringer and more scaredy cat, while Salem was acting her usual confident self. That’s how I knew something was up.
~Salem had developed a habit of trying to wake me up between the ungodly hours of 7:00am/7:30am. She’s been getting better, though, and waiting until 8:00/8:30am to grace me with her tongue on the back of my neck and wake-up purrs.
~Nalia continues to sleep by my legs, but recently she’s been experimenting with sleeping next to me where my face is, which is usually Salem’s spot. Salem, preferring not to bother her sister, will then take Nalia’s spot by my legs…until I sit up to pet her, and thus open a spot on the bed between my back and the pillows for Salem to lay in. I guess I should add Miss Opurrtinist to her list of titles.
~Both girls have FINALLY decided that the cat bed that I bought for them when they first came to live with me has some use and have hinted that I may need to procure a second small, square cat bed, or one that will fit two, as Nalia attempts to cuddle with her sister in said bed…or maybe she’s gently pushing Salem out of the bed by licking her…I’m still not exactly sure what’s going on. As for the second bed, they apparently don’t care about the method of procurement, only that it is somehow procured and clean to their standards (which are quite high, as the vet complimented Nalia as “the cleanest cat that she has ever seen” at her yearly checkup in February).
Human: Anything else ladies?
Nalia and Salem: <jsdf9837fgdkhksrwterutpoijankfmdsaiuert39q8ewakjt ewrhewityrewhsreu4y3q983ur;af!@$#%TRSsdghieyarw47quweRASDSH: GT$W543q09euejwqktrelq 09qweq98r43uijeka#$^&%$#*()&^%$#@ djsaoiendhajkfdsa!> Nah, we good, Human! Now, can you purrleze give us some treats since we’re such good kitties and you don’t want to be shitty to us? Purrleeeeezeeee?!?! We’ll lovez you furrevurrrzzz!!!
Human: Sure, why not? You the best girls! *Goes to get treat bag*
Salem and Nalia: Thank you again to everyone who read our story, commented, liked, and shared! We appreciate y’all and the next time you see a post frum our Mama it’ll be about teh feild of Physical Catthropology Anthropology! We want to wish evurryone a Happy Cinco de Mayo tomorrow to everyone who celebrates! <m,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ………..sdfuhpkatgwer> Also, since tudaey iz Star Wars Day (at least where we live it is), purrleaze enjoy teh multiple collages of kitties dressed in Star Wars costumes, as well as an appearance by our favorite Star Wars cat, the Lothal cat!
Darpe Hiam and Cuzzah!
Carpe Diem and Huzzah!
Carpe Diem and Purrzah!
~Salem, Nalia, and Human Mama (who is sometimes called Human Servant and even more rarely Mama Kimber)
May the 4th be with you and May the Revenge of the 6th pass by you with little to no incidents!
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Thanks, Kimber. Have enjoyed the series with the girls and am looking forward to my journey of trying to understand anthropology 😁. Again.
-Mom