Grito en la Noche

We came to Mexico with two dogs and now we own three dogs and two cats. Oh my.

This is Noche (which means Night in Spanish)- a little kitty we rescued off the streets of Arteaga. The first time I met Noche was actually a couple days after we arrived in Mexico when we were staying at Paul and Tamara's house. I heard a faint mew - not an adult meow - but a high-pitched kitty mewww... I opened the door and walked out into the street and saw a tiny ball of black fur huddled under a car near the rear tire. He just kept meowing the most pitiful sound I ever heard. He was so tiny - I knew he was way too young to be away from his mother. I tried to get to him but he was scared and ran away. I figured he would die that night. It was so cold. I heard him crying almost all night and the next morning it was quiet. I felt bad for the poor little kitten. But the next night I heard him crying again. And the next night, and the next... This seemed to continue until we left and moved into our own house.

A few weeks ago, while I was in Michigan, our other cat got into a huge fight with the dogs. Michael said the puppy went into the laundry room, where Vino was eating, then he heard the puppy yelping. Rita probably tried to eat Vino's food while he was eating. Vino is very protective of his food. Well, we found out that Sadie is very protective of Rita. Sadie and Belle both took off to the laundry room and what followed was a very violent struggle between the dogs and the cat. Michael said there was blood everywhere. Vino clawed at the dogs while one had him around the neck and one had him by the tail. They chased each other around the house until Vino finally found a way outside. Michael said all three animals were bloody. Vino was lying outside breathing very sporadically. About an hour later, he was gone.

Michael figured Vino ran away and would either die or not come back because he was too frightened. So he told Paul and Tamara's daughter to look for another cat - thinking he could just replace Vino before I returned to Mexico. I was sad to hear Vino was gone. I really started to like that cat.

Alexa had just rescued a black kitty right outside their home - I'm sure it was the same kitty I heard every night while we where living there. So Michael brought him to our house and told me that we had a new cat. I was still upset about Vino, though. Michael said if Vino came back, we would get rid of the black cat.

Well, Vino came back on his own - living up to his name Solo Vino. Michael said both cats were hiding all the time. He said he hardly saw the black one since he brought him home. I returned to Mexico a few days later and found both cats in one of the bedrooms. I picked up the black kitten, and Vino followed me to the couch. Since then, they have not hidden. In fact, the black cat follows me everywhere I go. Of course, after a few days of this, we decided to let both cats stay.

I decided the black kitten's full name would be Grito en la Noche - which means Cries in the Night. You might think this sounds like an Indian name. But you would be wrong. It's Mexican.

Anyway, Noche and Vino seem to get along well for the most part. They do have their moments - like most brothers do I suppose. I've come to the conclusion that Noche is like the annoying little brother. I often see him take a swat at Vino when he walks by. He likes to nag and pester until Vino takes revenge and tackles him to the floor. Then Noche cries like a baby. What a tattle-tale! "Help! He's hurting me! I didn't do anything." Vino was getting into trouble until I realized Noche's crazy antics. The fights sound violent, but when I break it up, they end up playfully chasing each other around the house.




Noche is a very friendly and playful kitten. He has a lot of battle scars from living in the streets. And he has a strange tendency to "nurse" on a blanket when he's tired. Yes. This is very weird. You would think he would stop since he's not getting any milk. I guess this is a side-effect from being abandoned by his mother at such a young age. I wish they made pacifiers for kittens to satisfy his oral fixation.

Don't stick your tongue out at the camera. Smile nice.

That's better. "Good Night!"