Stepan Timofeich Ionov

From Memories of Stas Ionov

Stas Ionov, Pumpkinville, California - Sunday, July 24, 2005 at 22:34:41 (MSD)

(translated from Russian originally posted on lebed.com Степан Тимофеевич Ионов)

That is a very familiar description! My female cat Musya has also acquired a "figure" after leaving the concentration camp. Who can blame her? – she had a difficult childhood. Once my wife decided to sweep something in the vicinity of where Musya was lounging. My wife nearly had a stroke – after seeing the broom, Musya screamed as loudly as only she could, jumped up nearly a meter and a half, and ran off to the most reliable cat’s shelter (under the washing machine). It appears that she had lived through a serious boot camp in her past.

Stepan Timofeich never made it to the local concentration camp – he was abandoned as a kitten in the locker room of our swimming pool in Malibu, and this is where I adopted him. This is why he never lost his blue blood and refined manners. If he happens to be bored at four o’clock in the morning, he has no qualms about lifting a blanket and pulling your nose, or lovingly biting your heal, or meowing right in your ear.

Stepan Timofeich also holds a position of cat’s provider and caregiver. If the cats feel any tingling of hunger or thirst, he comes to rub and meow, and Musya follows on his heels. In addition Stepan Timofeich holds the position of the main house diplomat – he regularly visits people with visits of good will and makes friendly conversations to make sure that no one is bored.

Unfortunately, our ISP has switched to the Internet for Dummies, so I could not publish the pedigree page of my other cat Musya (she is in the background on the second image) from the local animal Auschwitz. The page said that the cat is nice and friendly, but she only has 72 hours left. (So we had to hurry.)

Stepan Timofeich dominates the images because he is so photogenic, as he is so handsome. However, this fact does not stop Musya from beating him up once in a while – they have a difficult love.

I would also like to point out that the mouse in the first image is an absolutely real one. Stepan Timofeich catches their kind, when they visit us, and later releases them. I suspect that we have a complete army of them under our bookcase, since that is their favorite route of escape.