maneki neko

Sunday was Leslie’s birthday. She got herself a nice little present: A Mini Cooper! I got to meet it today, and it was quite nifty. Almost makes me reconsider my VW lust. She got it snazzed up with accessories like air conditioning (a new thing for Leslie!), and a steering wheel with sound system controls on the backside. It’s “pepper white” with a black roof. Oh, and the speedometer is a huge round dial in the center of the dashboard, and the odometer looks like a big old-fashioned alarm clock, sans bell, sitting out on the dash right below driver’s eye level. The thing I liked most about it, though, was the fact that it feels quite large inside. I fit into the front seat pretty nicely. And the back seats are deep. I didn’t have to fold myself up like origami like I do in some cars. The thing feels as big as my Saturn on the inside.

Neko is a great little cat. She is so tiny, that she makes even Martini look big and fat (who, at 8 pounds, is a fairly small cat herself). She is incredibly well-behaved. We are keeping her quarantined in my studio for an adjustment period, so the other cats can get used to her smell, and she has not destroyed anything nor has she even knocked anything off shelves — and there is plenty of opportunity in this studio.

Neko means “cat” in Japanese. And a Maneki Neko (in the picture to the right) is a beckoning cat, with a message of welcome. Maneki Neko is said to bring good luck.

The vet said that Little Neko is in good health, and she’s probably about 10 weeks old. She’s very playful, and in fact will not sit still for any extended period of time, so we can’t really tell if she’ll be a snuggly cat or not. Leslie says that she looks exactly like a miniature Bob, down to the spots on her sides and belly (but Bob’s belly spots don’t quite match up anymore because of his surgery). Bob used to be extremely wiggly and playful, but as he got older he turned into a snuggle whore. So I have hopes for his tiny doppelganger.