Kitty love

This is Isobel.

For anyone who hasn't met Isobel, she is just under eight pounds of attitude. My sister the veterinarian is terrified of Isobel. The vet we take her to kindly calls her "opinionated" - but wears falconry gloves when handling her. But she's our oldest girl, the first cat I adopted entirely on my own (even though now she loves Morgan more than me) and we love her very much. She has a sweet side that most people don't get to see - the Isobel who will follow Morgan around yelling to be picked up, who will sleep curled up next to my head with her motor of a purr going.

She's also a little prone to jealousy (having, over the years, having had to compete for our affection with four other cats and a dog) and there's that whole anger thing, so we've been a little concerned about how she'll deal with a baby. If the other day was any indication, I now think she will ignore him.

I was lying on the sofa, on my back but propped up with several pillows. Isobel decided my chest was the place to be - she came and laid herself down with her backside at the top of my ribcage and her front paws at about my bellybutton. Because of the pillows, most of her weight was on my belly, which the froglet did not like. I had this vision of him kicking and swinging his fists in a toddleresque temper tantrum... Not sure if that's actually what happened, but Isobel started bouncing around on my belly as the bug protested her presence. She didn't bat an eye. It was the first time Morgan got to see the froglet move from the outside - though really, he didn't so much see him move as he saw him move Isobel. Pretty funny. (Once we both laughed at the sight, we made Izzy move - since it was pretty clear it was not a fun experience for the poor bug.)