Meet Sly J.

Isn’t he a cutie?

We got Sly two weeks ago through the friend of a friend of a friend, when he was barely six weeks old. He’s brought new levels of cute into our home. Also? The literal definition of “ankle-biter”.

See? Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth in these shots. That’s because, much as I’d like to show him to you when he’s awake…

have you tried to photograph a kitten in action – much less a black kitten in action? Or even a black kitten when he’s holding still? When he’s awake, he’s a perpetual motion machine!

His favorite toy is his tail. You can’t see it here, but the tip of his tail – as well as the tips of his back toes – are the only bits of white on him. Like all kittens, he has an attention span measured in nanoseconds, so wherever he’s going, whatever he’s doing, if he happens to catch sight of his tail, he will stop to chase it.

He’s also a tireless explorer, getting into all sorts of nooks, crannies, and in and under everything. He’s tiny and dark, which makes it difficult to spot him, so lord only knows where he’s going and where he’s been. Yesterday morning, MJ made breakfast, and while we were eating, heard “thunking” sounds. It sounded like the fridge ice maker. Hearing it again, I got up to check. Nope, the ice maker’s fine. As long as I was there, I went to the fridge to get something, and opening the door, there was Sly, sitting on the second shelf from the top, blinking at me!

Since then, whenever MJ asks “Where’s Sly?” The response has to be: “I don’t know, but I’m reasonably sure he’s not in the fridge.” “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Nope.