Hello All,
Jasmine here. I am so excited to tell you about my elegant friend Navi and her wonderful human, Crystal .  Thanks to the wonder of the internet (and with the help of my purrsonal assistant) I was able to interview Navi and talk to her about her life and amazing tea party.  Navi and I have much in common as I am a bit of a princess myself.

Without fur-ther ado, meet my friend Navi who reminded me that as a Siamese, she has lots to say.

Navi, you have an interesting name, how did you get it?

That’s a good question Jasmine. It took a week for my mommy to name me. She wanted to get to know my purrrsonality first but she was stumped. The first week in my new home I was quite the chatterbox, I followed her everywhere, blinking my baby blue eyes at her and begging for attention. Then inspiration came. Navi, from the Legend of Zelda game, is one of the most annoying video game characters of all time. In one of the episodes, there was a little blue-eyed fairy that would follow Link around and in order to get his attention, would yell, “Hey listen.” My big blue eyes and habit of following Mommy around everywhere chattering at her gave her the inspiration for my name.   She declared that Navi was a purrrfect name for me.

That’s a great story Navi, my humans aren’t well versed in Video games which is why they named me after the lady that rescued me and my brother Tucker.   So how did you come to live with your humans?

I moved in about three years ago when I was a 5-month old kitten. My human had a Siamese friend when she was little and she loved that feline. Sadly, not all of the Siamese she met later on were very healthy and she lost several Siamese fur kids at very young ages.  This made my human very lonely and sad. She really missed having a Siamese friend in the house. That was when she decided to look into traditional Siamese felines and met a lady who loved Siamese cats as much as she does. This lady had my brother and sister who went to live with another human. My Mom had made her mind up that she wanted a big male Siamese but my brother was a little goofy looking (no offense bro) so she picked me instead.

Did you have a hard time getting used to your new home?

Not really, at first I kept myself a bit aloof, you know, have to check out the resident humans and the place to make sure it fit my needs. I even refused to sit in the human’s lap at first but that’s all changed.

Are there any other fur kids in your house?

I’m the only kitty. Mom did try to bring another cat into the house once but he got very sick and she was worried that I would get sick too. Now she lavishes all her love and attention on me, well, except for the rats.

Rats? Like rodents?

Oh yes, the rats don’t have life spans as long as felines, but as long as I’ve lived here there have been pet rats as well. As a matter of fact, I have a new rat-brother named Moose. I get along with him okay but, between you and me, rats scare me. And I’m not so fond of them when they chase me. Moose is already proving to be a problem, grabbing my tail and messing with my fur. But, he’s a family member so I tolerate him.

Hmm, I have four feline siblings and I’m not so sure one rat might not be better.Maybe we should talk about a trade sometime.  Navi, I want to talk about the beautiful photos of your tea party and your very stylish pearls.  Do you wear them all the time?

Thank you; I do love my pearl necklace. Mommy made them just for me. I wear them once in a while but I have lots of collars to choose from. I prefer not to wear them too often as they mess up my lovely fur. Actually I think there is a new collar in my Christmas stocking, but don’t tell my Mom I know!

Mum’s the word Navi. Now, tell me how this elegant tea party came about.

This was was an elegant “girls” party and I don’t think Daddy would have been interested in attending had we invited him. I love doing things with Mommy, especially things that involve food.

I must ask what kind of tea were you drinking? The female human has never offered us tea.

Mommy had human hibiscus tea which I would turn my nose up at had she offered it to me. So, of course, she made me catnip tea!

There is tea from catnip? Meow!

Actually, humans can drink catnip tea to help them sleep but I like it too. I also enjoyed the fishy treats I received on the lovely china.

Do you and your female human do other things together besides having tea parties?

We do everything together, she even threw me a birthday party when I turned three and made me a shrimp and scallop birthday cake with a little candle in it!

We take road trips together, once all the way from Florida (where we live) to Michigan. We visited her grandparents and I met some new dog friends.

Hiss, I hate car trips, I always fight being put into the kitty tent and then I yowl all the way to our destination (which is usually that nasty place where the people with the white coats poke and prod me). A road trip doesn’t sound very fun at all.

Oh, the first time I got in the car I was scared too but as we took more long rides it got better. And on long trips, Daddy drives and Mommy and I sit in the back and because I’m so well behaved, I get to sit in her lap and not in the cat carrier.

Hmm, not sure if you’ve convinced me about car rides but I do love lap sitting!
Navi, you look so graceful and elegant in the photos from your tea party. Do you have any tips for our feline readers in case they are invited to a tea party?

Well Jasmine, there’s just no hope for some boy cats, their paws are just too big and clumsy. But for more elegant tea-attending felines, here are a few tips: remember that it helps when Mommy has a chair  close to the edge of the tablewith so you can reach your cup easily. Then it’s important to keep your whiskers out of the cup and your fur clean. Oh, and don’t slurp, that’s tacky! Sometimes though the tea and treats are just so good, you want to jump on the table! I suggest you only do that if invited to do so.

Navi, how did these amazing photos of your tea party come about?

Mommy loves to take pictures, especially of me (who wouldn’t?). She got a new tea set and although she’s not one of those female humans who love to dress up, but she does love to do fun, silly things (especially with me). When her father joked that she could have a tea party with me she thought, of course, what a purrrfect idea!  Since she doesn’t get to see her Dad too often she thought our tea party photos would make him smile. You should have seen her setting the camera up on the tripod thing and then rushing to her chair to appear as though she was leisurely sipping her tea. It was funny!

She posted some of the photos on Facebook and we were surprised at how folks liked them (and all the compliments I received).

Yes, that’s how our female human found out about you and she couldn’t wait to see if you would allow us to interview you. Thanks, by the way.

You’re very welcome Jasmine!

Navi, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers before we finish our interview?

First, I want to thank everyone who noticed these photos my mommy took and for interviewing me! I think every human should try to spend more time with their kitties and involve them more. Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting felines go through your human’s dishes or start drinking out of their cups to indicate you’d like a tea party too. That could end badly. Better to offer some extra purrs and head butts or just sit quietly in a chair across the table from them. I’m sure they’ll get the hint and do something special for you too. Try to be as well behaved as I am and your humans may just take you on adventures. I get to go lots of places with Mommy.

I wish all my friends a furry Christmas. I can’t wait for Christmas and to open my stocking! There’s also something really big under the tree that I just know is for me! And of course, she’ll be taking more pictures to make more memories.

– Purrs & kisses – Navi

And Meows to you too Navi!  Well folks, that’s it for our feature on Navi and her tea party. I’m hoping she’ll come back again sometime to share photos and stories about her next adventure.

Your friend, Jasmine

About Navi’s Human:

Crystal Howard is the photographer of these enchanting photos. She and Navi and the family live in Florida. Although the tea party photos depict her as quite elegant, she grew up in Michigan and spent most of her childhood on farms where she enjoyed running around the fields.

Crystal always loved animals (especially cats), nature, art and photography. When she was six, her grandmother gave her a Canon camera and that started her passion for photography.

Her first Siamese came to live with her when she was fifteen and she’s been in love with the breed ever since. She trained her first Siamese so well that the feline turned people who weren’t “cat people” into cat lovers.

Crystal’s relationship with her cats is one of deep love and affection cultivated by time spent with them. She says that Navi never ceases to amaze her and reminds her how smart and emotional animals can be.

Crystal says, “. I feel like all animals are amazing and have the ability to understand so much, sometimes we are just so busy we just don’t take time to notice or appreciate them. That is what I try to express through my photographs. When we get down to their level and interact or just observe we can see how incredible animals and nature really are. Cats especially are such a gift and I always say some of my most special cats have been my best friends and little lifesavers!”