My name is MiTwo and I was born in 1996 in Japan. My human servant, Ken, had rescued another cat before me and named him Mi because of the sound he made, but he ran off, typical tom!   He was also a tabby like me, though not so pretty.

Later, Ken brought a girl (cat, of course) named Madara, meaning ‘mixed’ in Japanese. She was a funny faced tortoise shell color but we got along all right. When he brought home another human, named Richelle. I was not happy about it but she learned to pet me the way I like and I allowed her to stay on as a second servant. I even accepted the cat she brought in later, Mao Se Dung, a totally black male, but he was fixed, so that was tolerable. He said he didn’t understand why he got that name, but maybe it was because he was fat. I think she just thought the sound of the words was funny.  I sometimes had to make peace between him and Madara, but most of the time we all got along.

We helped each other each time we moved to a new country, and there were quite a few: Kuwait, the USA, Mexico and China.  Why did our human servants move so much? They said they had other jobs besides caring for us, something about teaching in international schools. Whatever! It meant they had the money to put food in our bowls. So, that’s what mattered even though we moved often in six years.

We stayed for a long time in Shanghai, though: nine years. That’s where Madara got sick and died suddenly. Our humans cried and cried. Then Mao’s face got all raw and swollen. One day he told me he couldn’t eat any more. The humans took him away and did not bring him back. They cried again. A lot. The next thing, if possible, was worse, though. They kept on bringing home kittens!  I’m an old lady and maybe talk too much, so I won’t tell about Minaloushe, Bibi, or Ben in this letter. I am sure my servants meant well and were trying to give me company, but those boys were just annoying! I also had to go to the vet many times so that I would be allowed to go back to Japan. Human rules are so tedious. But, my age is starting to tell too. I have developed what they call thyroid and kidney problems, which make me uncomfortable and perhaps a little grumpy. I don’t want to leave Japan again.

That’s why my servants found another home for me with their friend, Hiroaki. I am glad that there are still some humans who understand why they are here on this earth. Now I live as queen of a colony of nine cats in Hiroaki and his wife, Rie’s home. I also have a companion who will eat all my unwanted food, Whitey. Named because of her face markings, she was one of four un-weaned kittens my former human servants cared for secretly in their ‘no pets allowed’ apartment in Osaka last spring. I heard the siblings got bottle fed every few hours until they got old enough to eat solid food. She and I watch the humans use Skype to see and hear our former servants who live in New Zealand now.

We heard they fostered a brother and sister who were living wild for a while in a place called Levin. Those two were named Zhu Li and Tonraq by other humans, so I don’t really understand what those names mean. Zhu Li’s name got changed to Bonnie when she was adopted. It seems humans think she is pretty. Well, I have been pretty too, though now I am a bit on the skinny side. Her brother is still with my first humans enjoying their playing and petting. I try not to feel envious, but it is hard. There are going to be many more cats for them since they are opening a cat adoption café soon. I am glad I was rescued and found my forever homes with good servants. Neko Ngeru café will be a great place for Kiwi cats to get the same opportunity to find a human to care for them too.