Meet the Fur Goblins: Tigger, Stormi, and the Senior Cat Who Raised Them

If you are going to spend any amount of time around Polishes, Pages & Purrs, there are two members of management you need to meet.

Tigger and Stormi are three years and three months old. They supervise packages, interrupt photographs, occupy any surface I might need and generally ensure that nothing in this house happens without feline involvement.

They are siblings, but their personalities could not be more different.

Tigger is a sweet, cuddly orange goofball with a tender heart and absolutely no understanding of moderation. Stormi is independent, opinionated and sass personified. She even puts a little sway in her hips, just in case anyone somehow misses the attitude.

Together, they are the original PP&P fur goblins.

How Two Kittens Became Family

Three years after unexpectedly losing our tortie, Nala, we finally started looking for kittens.

Our senior cat, Gizmo, was 17 years old. We hoped bringing younger cats into the house might give him some companionship, but we also knew we could eventually face another loss. We wanted two kittens so they would grow up together and still have one another when Gizmo was no longer with us.

The plan was to meet Stormi and the other girl in the litter.

Then I saw Tigger.

There was no careful comparison or sensible deliberation. I looked at him and knew he needed to come home with us. Apparently, Tigger had been included in the plan all along; no one had remembered to tell me until I arrived.

So Stormi and Tigger came home together.

Before they became management, they were two tiny kittens already making their opinions known

Gizmo’s Reluctant Promotion to Dad

At first, Gizmo mostly ignored them.

He tolerated the tiny intruders with the weary patience of a 17-year-old cat who had not requested apprentices. For a while, his position seemed to be: If I refuse to acknowledge them, perhaps they will disappear.

They did not disappear.

Eventually, tolerance turned into love. Gizmo began treating Tigger and Stormi like his babies. He bathed them, cuddled with them and became the senior cat who raised them.

Watching him accept them was one of those quiet, beautiful things that happens inside an ordinary home. The kittens got a dad. Gizmo got companions to care for. And we got to watch a little family form in front of us.

Gizmo with the two tiny intruders who eventually became his babies.

Tigger: Tenderhearted Chaos

Tigger is goofy, sweet, cuddly, caring and loving.

He also approaches most activities as though basic motor control is optional.

When he plays, he gets so excited that he loses control of whatever toy he is using. The toy flies in one direction, Tigger goes in another and the entire room becomes part of the game. His enthusiasm consistently exceeds his coordination.

Eating is no more restrained. Tigger does not take ordinary bites like a normal cat. He uses his mouth like a backhoe, scooping up as much food as physically possible. Half of his bowl ends up on the floor, but apparently volume and speed are more important than accuracy. Dignity is for cats who have time for such things.

But underneath all that orange-cat engineering is an incredibly affectionate boy. He is the cuddler, the sweetheart and the one whose caring nature makes it almost impossible to stay annoyed when his latest project has spread across the room.

Almost.

No explanation was offered. None would have helped.

Stormi: Sass With a Fetch Schedule

Stormi is sassy, independent and opinionated. She does not simply walk into a room; she arrives with a little hip sway that makes it very clear she knows exactly who she is.

Her favorite toys are wadded-up paper balls. Not expensive cat toys. Not carefully selected enrichment products. Paper balls.

She loves playing fetch with them, preferably at four in the morning, when everyone is fully available and delighted to provide repeated throwing services.

Stormi handles affection entirely on her own terms. When she wants attention, she comes to you. When she does not, she finds a hiding place specifically chosen because we cannot reach her.

There is no confusion. Stormi communicates her boundaries with admirable clarity.

Sass personified—with impeccable timing.

Siblings in the Most Accurate Sense

Tigger and Stormi get along exactly like siblings.

One minute they are curled up together, looking like the sweetest pair of cats ever photographed. The next minute they are chasing each other through the house or wrestling as though a serious grievance has been filed.

Then, without explanation, they are cuddling again.

They love each other. They irritate each other. They play, argue, nap and begin the whole cycle again. In other words, they are family.

A serious sibling grievance appears to be in progress.

Currently cuddling. Wrestling may resume without notice.

Welcome to the Fur Goblin Files

Tigger and Stormi will appear throughout PP&P because pretending they are not involved would be dishonest. They supervise the books, inspect the packages, wander into photos and assume that anything placed on a bed or table has been arranged for their benefit.

The Fur Goblin Files will hold their everyday adventures, questionable decisions and completely unsolicited management opinions.

Tigger will bring the tenderhearted chaos. Stormi will bring the sass. I will attempt to document events without losing every paper ball under the furniture.

Gizmo may have raised them, but I suspect he also taught them that this household revolves around cats.

He was correct.

Are you more like Tigger—enthusiastic, affectionate and occasionally operating like a backhoe—or Stormi—independent, opinionated and prepared to request entertainment at four in the morning?