Spotlight Thursday – Meet Beba and Barmalei

Spotlight Thursday

Welcome my friends to SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY.  This is the time that I will introduce you to one of my fellow anipals so you can get to know them better.  Some of them, you may already know.  We hope that you enjoy this series!

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Name:  I am Beba. When our humans first saw us, they only wanted my brother Barmalei. But He picked me up and asked, “Who is this tiny ball of fluff that fits in my palm?” “This is Fluffy,” said the Rescue lady, – she seems to be fine now, but she was rescued two weeks later than the rest of the litter, and she was very sick. The doctor thought she would not survive. “ And He said to Her, “I am not letting this one go.”  So She said, “Fine, we’ll take both, but what kind of a name is Fluffy? She is so beautiful; let’s call her Bella – beautiful.”

(Later we found out that it was Her nickname when she was a child, given by Italian neighbors – ha! These humans – no imagination!).  He said, “But she is so small! In Odessa, every Bella is called Beba when she is little. Let’s call her Beba!” And you know what, I am a big cat now, but they still call me Beba! What happened to Bella, I want to know? Oh, and by the way, we don’t call our humans mom and dad because it would imply that we are children, and we are not! We are mature, responsible cats.

Beba, you? Mature? You are just as mature as He; both of you have ADHD, but at least he takes his meds! Mrrrr! Frrrr!  Beba – behave! Hi there, Bacon! I am Barmalei. As you have gathered, we call our humans He and She because they think they are our equals. I allow them to think so. When they met us, my name was Barak, but She thought it was disrespectful to the President, so they renamed me. Barmalei is what they call a boogeyman in Russia, and I am all black, like a real boogeyman. It does sound a little like Barak, so it was easy to get used to. Sometimes she also calls me Majestic and Super Intelligent, but I don’t think those are names.

Age:  We are 8 ½ years old. We are mature cats. Well, some of us are.  Frrrr!  Behave, girl!

Location:  We are South Beach kitties! Cats come from all over the world to have fun here, and we live here – are we lucky or what!  But we never go outside because it’s not safe.  Oh, but there is plenty to do inside, even though it’s just a little two-bedroom apartment. Swinging on curtains, tearing down drapes, scratching upholstery…

…eating Her roses …Yes, eating her roses – roses are delicious, especially the red ones! Mrrrr! And what about playing piano? I love music!  Well, I prefer helping in the kitchen or typing on the computer. We are not allowed on tables or counters, of course, but I can sit under the table and purr to inspire Her. I have a really loud purr, and She loves it! Sometimes I nudge Her elbow with my paw when She takes pictures, to give Her a better angle, of course.

You forget Friday Mornings! Mrrrr!  I never forget anything! Contrary to you and Him, I don’t have ADHD. I am superbly organized. I know that on Friday morning, I have to remind Her to serve us our favorite Chicken with Gravy dinner in a special fancy human dish on a human table, to honor Shabbos. Maybe She will remember, but She is always so busy before Shabbos, so I remind Her – in my full voice.

Web/Blog Page:  Oh, we don’t have one. We are not writing cats, we are South Beach beauties!  Manicure, pedicure, grooming, greeting guests – who has time for writing?   Talk about yourself, Beba. I am not a writing cat, but I am a reading cat and even a praying cat. When He prays at home, I inspire Him by turning pages in His prayer book. Anyway, we let Her engage in silly human pastimes like blogging. If you are interested, Her blog is https://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com/ , and she writes all kinds of funky stuff about food and cooking, and stories related to food and cooking. Other humans seem to like it, I guess, since she keeps  getting those “awards” which are things you can’t see, eat, or smell. I just wonder… Anyway, we support Her by providing inspiration and entertainment.  And beauty too! Mrrrr!

What were your first thoughts when you met your new parents?   Thoughts? We were little babies! In our foster mom’s home there were other little rescued kittens, a whole bunch of them, so she was nice, but we weren’t getting a lot of attention. All of a sudden, here is this big man with gentle hands who calls me beautiful and the little lady who speaks cat language! She doesn’t really speak cat language, but we understand Her, and She understands us. We can hold an intelligent conversation. Some of us, that is. I do think that She is a kind of a cat, even though She looks like a human. She and I look alike, everybody says that.  

Mrrr! Me and Him look alike too! She says I have His green eyes.  And his ADHD, too.  Frrrrr! Slap! People with ADHD are smarter than everybody else! They have higher IQ, whatever that is – She says so!  That’s people, silly, not cats. You, for example, don’t even know proper grammar. Embarrassing, that.  Ah, whatever… Time to brush my tail…

What was the defining moment when you knew you were in your forever home?  Let me say it! Let me say! They had our toys and they gave us new toys, too! I had a blast! There was no other kitten to grab my toys, and my brother is good that way; he never takes my toys away from me.   Well, I personally have never been much interested in toys. I do sometimes pick up that purple fluffy thing… A bird, brother, that’s a bird! … that was a bird before my sister tore it apart, and place it on Her couch as a little token of my love. You see, with me it was love from the first sight! With Her too, I know that! She asked me to kiss Her on the nose right away, and I did. I love settling myself on Her tummy when she is working, or reading, or watching that big screen that sometimes shows people singing. Oh, I love people singing! It’s called opera, and also musical, and I get off Her tummy and go sit down right in front of the screen. Then He says, “Barmalei, you are not transparent, we can’t see through you!” and I go back to Her, my one and only true love, and I kiss Her nose, and groom Her eyelashes with my paw, and let Her tell me how intelligent and majestic I am, and I purr so loudly that they can’t hear the music… I think He is a little jealous; after all She is His wife. I am only Her Familiar – that’s what He says.

Frrrrr! Nobody lets me groom their eyelashes! Not fair!  Because you scratch and bite, silly, and that’s why you get your manicures and pedicures.  But I only want to play! Mrrrrr! Anyway, a girl needs her mani-pedi, and I’ve trained them to provide regular beauty treatments for me! Aha!

What has been your biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home?   As a responsible individual, I have never done anything wrong. My sister, on the other hand…Oh you! Frrrrr! Slap! Who tells me to go taste the roses, and then I get in trouble, and you just sit there, as if you don’t know what’s happening? And who wakes me up by touching my whiskers and then runs away? Of course I have to chase you, and if I break a glass or two on the way, it isn’t my fault!  

Ah, you poor innocent! Who made a hole underneath the mattress and hid inside for hours, until She almost had a heart attack, and He was giving her that medicine that would make us drunk if we were allowed to have it? Who goes and does her necessary in the hallway if your meowjesty’s litter box is not cleaned right this moment?  That’s it. I’ll get into my hole in the mattress and cry.   Oh, come on, Beba, you know everybody loves you! We are doing an interview, and you will be a big star, bigger than Emma Stone!

Who do you have wrapped around your paws more – mom or dad – and why? Him!  Him, for sure.  He does not chase me off the dining room table where the roses are. And He lets my brother get on the table, too, and turn the pages for Him. He climbs up and hangs the drapery back every time I swing and tear it down.

You have to remind Him to refill our food and water bowls, and He doesn’t understand us, but She does, and She makes sure to translate for Him. She is strict. When She catches me on the table, all She has to do is to say my name, and I am off, pronto!  

But we eat treats out of her hand every morning!  Yeah, but She wouldn’t give them to us at any other time, even when we are very good! Mrrrr!  Beba, I am always good.  Frrrr! Mrrrr! Slap!

What’s the biggest misconception that humans think about you?  Oh, this one is funny! When they see my brother for the first time, some of them get scared. And he is the gentlest, sweetest, most sociable cat around, and he loves to greet guests, but he is black, and some humans think it’s scary, and then they call me silly – imagine!

 Unfortunately, this is true. It takes time for them to get used to me, but some of them still don’t want to play with me – pity! They want to play with my sister, a gorgeous fluffy fur ball, but they don’t realize that she scratches and bites. Granted, she thinks she is playing, but humans get hurt. Now, I never scratch or bite, but they don’t trust me. Oh well, I am too proud to complain. I am Majestic, I take good care of my sister, and I have my only true love. Life is beautiful.

♥

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Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend – check back next week for another Spotlight edition!