Rafiki's home page
Rafiki means "friend" in Swahili and "companion" in Arabic. In order
to understand this reference you must first understand the situation around
the house right after Beast died when we brought
home Keegan. Keegan,
as his name implies, was rather overwhelming for Basti.
He continuously pounced on her and continued to bother her even after his
trip to the doctor "to be tutored". Kelly insisted that what we needed
was a "playmate" for Keegan so he would stop bothering Basti
so much. It took a lot to convince me because I thought three
cats would be just be too many! Finally I gave in and we brought
home Rafiki to be Keegan's "friend" and "companion". It turned out
just as Kelly said it would! Rafiki is Keegan's closest friend.
They play, chase each other, clean each other, bite each other, and generally
have a good time. All the while they almost totally ignore
Basti, which is just fine for her. We now
refer to Rafiki as "the peace maker". He also has nicknames of "Feeki",
"Feek", "Feek-a-mouse", etc. He never has grown very much and remains
extremely small for his age. This makes him very cute!
Rafiki has learned, as he has grown up, to be just as much of a trouble
maker as his older brother. If you hear someone getting into trash
cans in the middle of the night, it's always him. He loves to play
with gift bows and will many times bring you "his bow" so you can play
with him. If you throw it, he'll go grab it and bring it back!
Rafiki is much more mild mannored than his older brother Keegan
and can usually be found sleeping, many times right next to Basti,
whom he doesn't seem to bother at all. As a matter of fact,
Basti and Rafiki seem to get along just fine and
they clean each other every now and then. In short, Rafiki has definitely
lived up to his name. He's a "friend and companion" to both of the
other cats and has brought peace to the feline part of the household.
Richard Johnson on behalf
of Rafiki - October, '97