Dear Diary... The FAQ section

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Not that frequently asked questions

How do you get along?

Most of the time we get along just fine. BUT... Oh well. We do like to wrestle at times, too.

Has it always been so? What happened when you first met?

Well, we guess that everything was done the way it was not supposed to be done. We were not introduced carefully nor kept in separate rooms where we would gradually get used to the smell of another cat nor... Instead a crash course was used. We were brought together without a warning and told "okay, guys, get along now" - and so we did.

We first met in May 2001 after Mini and Maxi (M&M for short) had spent six months in Oulu (the guy who was to be our humble servant went abroad and could not take M&M with, and nobody else wanted to catsit them for that long) and we had just came back. So, they were pretty confused.

Luckily M&M could not remember home that well after such a long time (and they were about one year old so they had spent half of their lives away from home then), so when they arrived at Frank's place they might as well been home then.

So, there was Frank. He had said goodbye to a fellow cat Leevi who had been Frank's guest for two months around Christmas time and there we were, two black avengers curiously exploring the new place. "Darn", Frank said. "There was only one Leevi so he was easy to follow around, but how am I supposed to watch over those two rascals?"

First night was a bit bad. Mini and Maxi made themselves at home soon but Frank was a bit upset, so we hissed a little and fought a little. Frank tried to shoo M&M away whenever M&M found a place to sleep in. The second night was better, we had finally agreed on who sleeps where and so the two weeks long encounter went by pretty fast. Then we met again in the beginning of June as Frank moved in to Mini and Maxi's place - and this time we were joined for good.

So, what happened? Frank did not purr for the first six months. He did not want to sleep on anyone's lap. He did not jump to the bed and crawl under the blanket to say good morning (okay, it was a hot summer!). He was a bit shy when Mini and Maxi became intimate (tried to wash behind Frank's ears etc.) and occasionally slapped them with his paw just in case. He also did not know how just to help himself to the food and take his share when M&M rushed in, he rather waited or had his meal served in another place (he still does so at times).

Then Frank gave up, started to forgive the people who had brought him here and started purring, sleeping on people's lap, jumping to the bed in the mornings and so on. The only bad thing was that Mini thinks Frank's a bed mouse when he crawls under the carpet! Frank also taught Maxi all of his bad habits and gave them up himself, so now it's Maxi who jumps all around, begs for food on the table, meows a lot, hides things...

Now we have settled down. Even though Frank still does not let Mini and Maxi wash him behind his ears (or any other place, for that matter), all three of us can sometimes be found sleeping in the sauna next to one another or eating the flowers on the balcony side by side. Frank still does not like the rush on breakfast, dinner and snack times and stays away when Mini and Maxi greedily rush in - but he has learned some tricks though and knows how to get his share.

Update, November 2002: Frank was caught washing Mini behind his ears! It was quick, Mini did not expect it at all as he thought Frank was just going to walk by, and afterwards Frank pretended it did not happen.

Mini and Maxi are half Cornish Rex. How come?

Mini and Maxi's mother is Cornish Rex. For some time she was the only cat of the house and her humble servants thought she felt a bit lonely, so they took a regular housecat to keep her company and named "her" Maikki. Then Maikki turned out to be male. The result: seven variations of the theme "tuxedo cat kittens". Cute!

So, what are Cornish Rexes like? Are Mini and Maxi like that?

Yes. As they say, Cornish Rexes are like no other cats, they like people and they are sociable and really friendly, almost like dogs.

(By the way, this is the standard answer our humble servants got at a cat show when they asked what Siamese cats, Maine Coons, Birmans, Burmans and almost any cat is like, so no matter what breed you are, you can copy-paste the paragraph above to your own page, if you like.)

What is Frank like then? Is he different?

Yes, Frank is mostly shy, suspicious and reserved. It takes some time to make friends with him, but once that happens he's loyal, for example he may jump onto your lap and lay there for the next two hours like he was glued. Frank likes to keep a certain distance, he's not that easily fooled and sometimes Mini and Maxi's friendliness (and greediness, when it comes to food or tuna or ham or cat treats or...) seems a bit overwhelming to him.

Besides the love for tuna, ham and catnip, do you have anything else in common?

Yes, we do. We're all "finlandssvenska katter", that is, born on the areas in Finland where the people speak Swedish. Frank represents the west coast meanwhile Mini and Maxi are from the deep south. We think we could be best described with E. Lagerblad's words (from the year 1904) of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, "They practise prettiness and cleanliness. They also like to sing happy songs".

For more on the Finnish-Swedish, see http://www.kaapeli.fi/~fti/foreign/swedish.htm or http://www.aktivist.fi/inenglish/f.html#FINNISH-SWEDISH CULTURE

Oh, by the way, who are your humble and loyal servants?

They are Jussi and Marjut. (Their sites are in Finnish.) Jussi was originally chosen by Mini and Maxi in they year 2000 because he looked like a guy who would have a lot of ham and tuna. Marjut cruelly catnapped Frank way back in 1994 and has held him hostage ever since.