Kittens!

[bunn]

We had resolved that we were not going to rush into acquiring more cats after Yama died.  We were going to wait at least til after Christmas!
 But the house felt awfully empty with only two humans and Rosie in it, and one way or another I seem to have ended up in an awful lot of rescue Facebook groups...

So on Friday we went to visit a couple of kittens: well, one kitten (15 weeks), and one young cat (10 months).   They were down near St Austell, and though we had planned to just pop in and visit them, then have the homecheck and collect them later, it seems we gave a very convincing impression of being loony cat people, because having chatted for a while, they asked us if we'd like to take them right away to save us doing the drive twice.   This is not a question we are capable of saying no to, so we borrowed baskets, and took them with us.  They reckon they'll do a followup check instead of the homecheck.

The first evening hiding under Pp's desk: Gothmog kitten on the left (she has just been spayed, you can see the bald patch) and just visible on the right , Fankil.


The rescue were very triumphant at having finally found a home for Fankil, because apparently he'd been in the rescue for months, despite his rather gorgeous grey fur and green eyes, because he was very scared and growly.  He's still very scared though apparently he has improved.  We're hoping he will go on getting more confident.

We were told that Gothmog, who had also come in as a feral kitten was also potentially a bit scared and growly, and indeed, it took us a very long time to get her into a cat carrier: not because she was scared, exactly but because she seems to be really REALLY clever and was well up to the task of evading three hopeful humans who were desperate not to upset her.

But her fosterer said she had been becoming more cuddly the last couple of weeks, and indeed, today, she seemed to have entirely got her confidence back.  These photos are terrible since I didn't take any until the light had gone, but you can see she's confident.  You can't hear her being VERY purry!



She looks kind of huge in those photos, so here she is with my hand for scale.  Yesterday she hid in a corner: today she loves cuddles and is now fast asleep on Pp's chair. 


Fankil's sad little face watching us warily from the corner as we played.



The idea of adopting the two of them together was supposed to be that they would give each other confidence, and both were in houses with other cats -  but I'm not sure they actually like one another.  Gothmog in particular seems a feisty little soul, I hope she's not going to be too mean to him.  We bought some Feliway hormone today and I've just ordered more of the new Feliway Friends hormone, which is supposed to particularly help cats establish friendly relations.

Gothmog loves attention and is quite vocal.  In fact, she was so confident we introduced her briefly to Rosie this afternoon, and that seemed to go OK, though at the moment the kitties are staying separate until they've got to know us a bit better. 

I think Rosie was a bit miffed: she went off her food yesterday and struck a Melancholy Attitude but she ate a big tea today, so I think the Attitude is already wearing off.

Comments

[narya_flame]

They are gorgeous!!! <3 <3 <3 congratulations, I hope they settle in well.

If anything happened to my cat or either of the bunnies, I wouldn't last five minutes. The house would feel wrong without them!

[alikuu]

Hi Bunn! It's nice to find you here! I didn't know that you were such a big cat person! It's wonderful that you adopted those kittens and I'm sure Rosie will be fine after a while. She must be still grieving. Also, I am sorry about your Yama :(

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your beautiful new kittens!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[hhimring]

I hope they get on well together, all three of them, and Fankil will soon be able to join in playing!

They both look delightful.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Well, so far so good with Rosie: Gothmog was washing her ears last night.

Fankil is proving a more difficult nut to crack...

[howlin-wolf-66.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! <3 I hope Fankil comes out of his shell more and more, as time goes on. :-)

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I think it may take a while but fingers crossed!

[chainmailmaiden]

Kitties! Love the fact you called the older one Fankil, I hope he does settle in quickly and relaxes around you all. Possibly he's a bit more wary about a new home because he's just that little bit older. But if anyone can make him feel welcome and secure it'll be you two. He's such a handsome boy, such gorgeous eyes and that beautiful colour of fur. Gothmog looks like such a little cutie, can't wait to meet them - though probably by the time we're down your way again, they'll both be very grown up :(

I find Linds is less likely to bop Floss when we have some Feliway Friends going. Hope it helps your two make friends.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Gothmog is a total purr machine. :-D

Fankil, however, is currently living up to his 'demon of the North Wind' reputation; we accidentally staged a re-enactment of the climactic battle in which I played Thorofin and some speaker cable played the Magical Net, and PP and I both got bitten.

I have six bites on both hands and we had to go to the minor injuries unit on Sunday night for antibiotics.

Today we have to take Fankil in for his vaccination. I plan to wear gardening gloves!

[chainmailmaiden]

Ouch! Not fun for you getting bitten that much, especially when it's not kitty play bites :( hope the vet visit goes well. Poor little soul is probably a bit confused about what's happened given his start in life. Hopefully once he's realised he's here to stay, he'll mellow and relax around you.

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

Have you taken my cat?!

I'm actually a bit wary of cats, but Fankil's little face would melt any heart.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

:-DDD Now wouldn't that confuse the RSPCA!

I feel very sorry for poor little Fankil, he hasn't had the best start. With luck things will improve from now on!

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

KITTENS! They are adorable, I do hope Fankil comes out of his shell too and they both settle well.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Gothmog has totally settled. She's started exploring the house and last night she washed Rosie's ears! Fankil will take longer, I think.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

How could anybody resist!

I hope they both settle in well!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Gothmog has totally settled. She's started exploring the house and last night she washed Rosie's ears! Fankil is much more of a 'project cat' though. I hope we can win him over.

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

They're both gorgeous, and so are their names! I hope that they get along. But it's winter, so perhaps they will be encouraged to curl up together for warmth...

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Well, Gothmog and Rosie did a bit of snuggling last night, so that's something! Fankil is very reserved at present.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Poor Rosie, no longer the only star at your home!

I always found it easier to have two cats than one. I hope they get to like each other better soon. And you!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Well, she is used to it: when we adopted her we had three cats and three dogs! As long as she gets to nap on her sofa she is happy.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she will. :)

[ylla.livejournal.com]

Fankil looking from the corner is heartmelting, if such a word exists :-)

His name amuses me a bit, because in Scots a fankle is a tangle, such as might be produced by a kitten and a ball of wool. But maybe you expect him to grow up to be obscurely evil!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Is it? That's very appropriate! It remains to be seen what he will turn into: an obscure evil or a kitten tangled in wool. Or both: nothing is evil in the beginning!