Cats
We have three cats, each named “I Love You”. Yes, it’s cheesy, but at least they’re not all named in English. We don’t have the equivalent of three cats named “Daryl”. We often think about getting a fourth cat, but we can’t find another foreign equivalent of “I Love You” that sounds like a cat’s name. Granted, we often end up abbreviating the name anyway, but “Ich Liebe Dich” sounds awful no matter how you twist it. We settle for admiring kittens at Petsmart on the weekends and on ICanHasCheezburger.
Xiao-Ai
Xiao-Ai is named for the Chinese term for “I love you”, specifically “Little Love”, as one would say to an animal. She was our first kitten, and we got her shortly after moving into our first home together. We had a small townhouse, which was fine at the time, but it didn’t afford much room for a dog. So we got a kitten at the local humane society.
Xiao-Ai is the aloof, independent one. Even when she was a kitten, she didn’t like to be held. When she wants attention, though, she’ll be sure to let you know it. It’s not unusual to have a Xiao-Ai curled up next to you on the couch while you’re watching TV. You can’t move her though — hands off! She gets along well enough with the other cats though, and will chase Sukiyo around the house during the night.
Te-Amo
Te-Amo is named for the Spanish term for “I Love You”. We usually just call him “Yahmo” (also: “Darth Yahmo”, “Yahminus Prime”, and “Yahmo Yahmo”). After about a year, we decided that Xiao-Ai needed a friend to play with while we were at work. So we went back to the humane society and brought Yahmo home. Te-Amo was a very playful kitten, and would jump at anything you swung over his head (Xiao-Ai doesn’t jump so much).
Te-Amo is extremely affection, and will follow you around the house for attention. He always wants to be in your lap, but will be happy to be close enough for petting. Unfortunately, he took a deep dislike to Sukiyo right from the get-go. He goes into spontaneous hissing fits whenever the Sukie gets within two feet of him. Our middle cat has a social disorder, it would seem…
Sukiyo
In April of 2004, we got our third cat: a Siamese with blue eyes named Sukiyo. We decided to get a new cat for our new house. Once again, we’ve named a cat “I Love You” in a foreign language, this time Japanese. Sukie is very active and possessive, which he demonstrates by chasing Te-Amo and Xiao-Ai around the house all day. As you can guess, they’re none too happy about this, but otherwise we have a very cheery family.
Sukie (also: “Sukie Monster” and “Suke Suke”) has grown to be as big as Yahmo. He’s just as affectionate as Yahmo as well, but not nearly as needy. Sukie will get up in your business for attention, but he knows when he has worn out his welcome. Being the baby of the trio, he’s a little more spoiled than the other two. Xiao-Ai doesn’t seem to mind, but Te-Amo is openly hostile in his jealousy.
