Two Russian Blues Made Us Green with Envy

Move over Blues Brothers…introducing the Blues Sisters…Xafi and Auri. These gorgeous Russian Blues with their absolutely incredible turquoise eyes and stunning good looks certainly made us green with envy!  >^..^<

These siblings are so incredibly photogenic that we just had to share their story with you. We’re sure that their nearly 28K IG fans would also love to learn more.

Their wonderful cat mom (Anneken) was kind enough to offer us a glimpse into the wonderful world of Auri and Xafi, and here’s what she shared with us:

Q: Where did those paw-some names come from? Do they have a special meaning?

Thank you for the compliment! They do have meanings actually. Xafi is short for Xafira and a variant of the name Saphira which means “Beautiful” in Hebrew as well as Sapphire which is a blue gem stone. Befitting for a beautiful Russian Blue don’t you think? Auri is named after a girl in the book series “Kingkiller Chronicles” and the novella “The Slow Regard of Silent Things” by Patrick Rothfuss. By far one of our favourite books – and our favourite book character. You will have to read it to understand why the name fits her so well 😉

Q: What was the inspurration to start their amazing IG feed?

It actually started off as an account for our reptiles (@scaly.brothers on IG). I just felt like sharing a bit of them and engaging with the reptile community on IG. It then morphed into a joint account when we adopted Xafi, but I decided to split the accounts up when I knew Auri would be joining us. I just love taking photos of them – it’s challenging and fun and the cat community on Instagram is amazing and so incredibly supportive.

Q: Do they all get along well with each other?

Xafi and Auri get along very well. They used to cuddle all the time when Auri was a baby; now they only cuddle occasionally and especially when they squeeze together on my lap. They play a lot together, even though Auri is still a bit kittenish which can be a bit much for the calmer and more sedate Xafi. Their different temperaments fit very well together though which we are very happy about since getting a second cat is always a risk.

Q: Where do these two lovelies sleep? Please say in bed with you guys!

Haha yes they do. They sleep cuddled up under the duvet between us. 🙂

Q: Funniest thing they’ve ever done?

Xafi is a very clever cat burglar. We have to keep feather toys in a special drawer because she figured out how to get into the toy basket. See the video 

Auri is the class clown of the house. She grooms in the most hilarious positions, she steals, she forgets to put her tongue back in when she is excited and her meow sounds like a whiny, spoilt child asking for sweets (Listen here if you don’t believe us). Not a day has gone by without one of them making us laugh tears!

Q: Naughtiest thing they’ve ever done?

Xafi is an angel actually (when she doesn’t go about her burgling business that is). It’s Auri that’s the naughty one. We have a spy camera to keep an eye on them when we are at work or away and she always makes sure to strut along the kitchen counter (the only place they are not allowed on) at least once a day. She often chews up the kitchen towel in the process and don’t ever forget to close the bathroom door in our house or toilet paper will be EVERYWHERE. She also steals! We call her Kleptocat for a reason. She hides behind doors or the sofa and jumps out to steal earrings I leave on the sofa armrest or knicks hair ties, ice cream wrappers and she is especially obsessed with my phone cover. She just grabs the stuff and makes a run for it. She even sometimes hides my jewellery if I don’t follow her quickly enough. Not sure if there might not be a magpie in her ancestry…

Q: Are the sisters spoiled…if so, in what way?

We definitely spoil them with cuddles. They get them whenever they ask for them (which is often). They are also ruling the house and are allowed everywhere (aside from the kitchen counter – but we know how well that rule is being followed…). They sleep in our bed and get to go on holiday with us whenever we can take them with us. They are essentially our furry children.

Q: Do they co-operate willingly during your photo shoots? 

Hahaha – if only that would keep them in place for more than one second! I take most photos during our daily routines whenever I find the time. The kitchen island unit (aka the treat dispenser unit) is their favourite place to pose together, but to get a good shot there Catdad needs to help by waving toys and and treats like a crazy person behind me. I love taking closeups the most; their eyes fascinate me endlessly. They are a different shade of green every day and can be muddy moss green, a brilliant jade or ocean turquoise depending on their mood, time of day and light conditions.

Q: Any exciting X&A projects on the horizon you’d like to share?

I don’t really plan shoots, but we launched our blog last month sharing our adventure in Cornwall (https://www.xafiandauri.com/blog). We are going to Wales at the end of October and will be blogging about that as well. It was a lot of fun writing the blogs and making the videos and we can’t wait to share more!

Q: If A & X were top celebs…who do you think they’d be most like?

That’s a tough one! I would say Xafi reminds me the most of Cate Blanchett – calm, understated and just lovely. I would say Auri is more of a Jennifer Lawrence – funny, clever and always up for a prank!

Q: Anything the ladies might like to say to their many IG fans?

I never find the right words to express how grateful and honoured I feel about all the love we receive on Instagram. I read and love every single comment we get and appreciate people taking the time to follow, like, comment and DM us every day! And a very special thanks to some of our core followers who stayed with us since the beginning when we were still posting blurry photos of Xafi and our reptiles.

We love you all!

[clickToTweet tweet=”These two Russian Blue sisters will make you green with envy!” quote=”These two Russian Blue sisters will make you green with envy!”]

Summary

A very special thank you to Anneken and her exquisite ladies for sharing their story. Please be sure to follow these two delightfully entertaining and oh-so photogenic sisters on their IG feed at @xafiandauri

It was once said, “A sister is one who reaches for your hand and touches your heart” … that’s what these two did for us!  >^..^<