The Continuing Saga of:
MUFFY AND MAX (ORIGINALLY MIDNIGHT)
Latest story is at the bottom.
They continue to be a joy ... tireless bundles of energy. At their last vet visit, Max weighed in at 5 pounds and Muffy right behind him. Although Max has gotten clearly larger than Muffy (my wife thinks he's a "cabbit"-- a cross between a rabbit and a cat: he has large hind legs!), Muffy holds her own with Max in their seemingly incessant playful trysts.
Muffy is more demur and independent; things get done on her terms. Max loves being picked up; he goes limp and smuggles into you with  loud purring and "kisses." Muffy, on the other hand, likes being petted, but on her terms. She's lying on my desk at this moment, insisting I pet her as I type!
   We will send more pictures as they grow ...
September, 2003
Muffy and Max are doing fine. They came out of the surgery fine; it seems they barely missed a leap! They were, quite literally, back to their usual rambunctous selves the day after!  We have more pictures to send .... Muffy  remains rather demur and most inquisitive .... gets into everything! They are "into" flower arrangement-- whether of the artifcial or natural kind! Max 
 is huge. He is almost a third again as large as Muffy, and he started as decidedly smaller.
JANUARY, 2004

Watching the birdies.

Curiosity

Max as couch potato

Playful siblings.
Hope you had a happy holiday!
   We all did, with the sufferance of the cats!  We were a bit concerned as to whether they would allow, unharassed, a tree with ornaments. They obliged us, and we all enjoyed the holidays.
   Muffy and Max are doing well. They are hardly kittens any more. Max weighs in at 10 1/2 pounds! -- not fat our vet assures us. We have attached several pictures. We hope you receive and are able to open them. We sent a note with pictures a week or so ago and have not heard, so we don't know if you received them. But, we are at it again! One picture, which we have called "avian friends," has Muffy and Max staring at bird neighbors from the deck door. Another shows the two relaxing near the wood-stove hearth. They really enjoy the heat and are clearly companionable!  You can also see their relative sizes:  Max is nearly a third again larger than Muffy, who remains demure and "feminine." As you can clearly see in another picture, Muffy is in to everything. Here, it is the kitchen counter drawers, while Max, admonishingly, looks on. Another picture shows "giant" Max stretched to his fullest, enjoying the sofa ... again near the stove hearth.
   I do hope you receive this note and are able to open the pictures. Let us know.

MARCH, 2004


Max

Muffy
Hi folks,

   Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!, Happy Birthday to us ...  Muffy and Max have reached the ripe old age of one! They continue to thrive and grow. Max, high on grass (catnip that is!), seems to be waving to all. Meanwhile, as you can see, Muffy is her usual gregarious self. She has taken up acrobatics:  she enjoys walking along the top edge of doors.
To get to the top here required her making a four foot vertical leaps off a table!  (We think that Muffy's father might have been a monkey!)Yes, among her other accomplishments, she is quite athletic. Max, on the other hand, seems to follow the human rule of the least effort. He doesn't exert himself if he doesn't have to ....
   Keep up your good work; best to all.

   Claudine & Moe

 
More Muffy and Max
OCTOBER, 2004
Hope all you folks are well and that you work continues to produce happy adoptive "parents." 
   As you can see, Muffy and Max are fine. They are now "young adults" having in the last months reached the ripe old age of 1. This picture was taken from the deck, looking in on them looking out--wistfully/wishfully-- at the birds. I call it, with deference to St. Paul, "through a screen greyly."
When we brought them in for their annual check-up and booster shots, Muffy weighed ten pounds while Max tipped the scales at 12+ pounds! 
   Both are beautiful and continue to be a source of fun and joy to us.
   I am sending  several other pictures, along with a modest check (Muffy and Max's thank you...) under separate cover, to assist in carrying out your good work...
   Best,  Claudine & Moe

January, 2006

Window Perch
     Another year has passed.  Max and Muffy survived their 2nd Christmas with all the running around and strangers in the house. They are skittish and do not hang around when strangers are in the house.  So they are happy to see things settle back to "normal".
     We were pleased to see that you still show Max & Muffy in your "success stories" site.  Max and Muffy are well and continue to be a joy to us and a source of constant amusement to each other as they rumble after one another throughout the house.  Their favorite playtime is at night: we hear them cavorting and trumpeting to one another at all hours.
     On their last visit to the vets, early in 2005, Muffy weighed in at 10.5 pounds and Max tipped the scales at a hearty 15.5 pounds.  The vet would like him to lose some weight, but that may prove difficult as Max's favorite activity is sleep.  He may be, unbeknownst to us, involved in some esoteric sleep-study program at some university.  He does love his sleep.  He is easily, of all the cats we have had over the years, the one most inclined to extended sleep - it seems as much as 18 hours a day at times!  Meanwhile, Muffy, alias Miss Nosey, is into everything and seems never to sleep.  She is like a little puppy, following Claudine around and calling to be picked up, in the most plaintive tones.  She is quite spoiled.
     The two pictures of Muffy show her in her Christmas spirit. She has been exploring, perching and guarding the Christmas tree.  She is quite pretty and continues to be the feminine parallet to macho Max.  She is a finicky eater and impeccably groomed.  She insisted on helping Claudine wrap Christmas gifts; she likes to leap into the wrapping once it is attached to the gift.
     Max, however is a cat of another color.  As you can see from his pictures, he has no interest in Christmas - our Scrooge.  Indeed, you can see his handsome appearance on his window perch from which he and Muffy fondly and longingly stare at birds, squirrels and other creatures that may deign to tease them.  Max's favorite position is prone or supine, either in sleep or looking for attention .  You see him on his back on the kitchen table looking at the world upside-down after breakfast and a stab at the newpaper. 
     We hope you enjoy the pictures and have a pleasant and rewarding new year.
      Best to all, Claudine and Moe

 
MUFFY AND MAX 
March, 2007
     Well, here we are! Muffy and Max are about to make note of their fourth birthday this month.  We say "make note of" instead of celebrate because they are contantly celebrating life and generally their privileged status as spoiled cats!
        We have included several recent pictures to give you a sense of what I refer to above.  First, we have the picture of them helping Moe grade papers at the kitchen table.  They compete in trying the make the biggest impression on the page, be it a scuff mark or a deposit of hair.  They seem quite fascinated with the process.  Then we have the more or less, "posed" pictures.  Max, as you can see, has never encountered a stuffed chair he hasn't tried, instantly closing his eyes-either as a sign or tiredness or, more likely, just indolence.  But, he can be intimidating as in the shot where he seems to stalk the camera. Then there is the more sedate Max, sitting pretty for a handsome, posed shot.  Muffy, not to be outdone, is quite eager to comply.  In one shot she seems to demur from even looking at the camera while in amother, competing with with, she is more than pleased to "pose".  While Max relaxes on the sofa, Muffy takes up her favorite position during the winter months; just lounging beside the wood-burning stove. (Max also enjoys this activity!)
        Hope your good work continues to reward adoptive parents and satisfy your efforts.  The website suggests many successes and happy placements.  
        Best, as always, Claudine and Moe