Ritsuko and I adopted Shitake and Miso shortly after we were married in 1996. They are brother and sister, and except for a few days when Shitake escaped to the basement of my condo, they've been together every day of their lives. Miso is the gray tabby on the left, and her brother Shitake is on the right.
Shitake's major personality trait is his constant desire for food. I think that when he was a kitten he didn't do too well against his siblings competing for their mother's milk, and it's shaped him forever. My scant evidence for this theory is that unlike Miso, he never "kneads" with his paws, which originally starts off as kitten behavior to get more milk from their mother when nursing.
Miso and Shitake both love to eat Japanese seaweed (nori) as a snack. Here's Shitake trying to get the last piece of nori from a container.
Of course when it comes to getting extra food, Miso will join in with Shitake.
Miso, close up and contented.
I left a gig bag for a guitar I bought in a cardboard box, and soon Shitake found himself a nice place to sleep.
Miso, The Snow Cat
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Shitake definitely knows how to be cute...
Finally here's an animated GIF of Miso whacking Shitake...
Copyright © 2005 by Edward Beuchert