New Addition

Last night I was summoned to the airport to pick up my newest feline addition. After several years of debating, I finally added a 4th cat to the household. My older female is getting more overwhelmed by the playful exuberance of my bengal boy Bayou, and before he gets much older himself, I wanted to find him a play partner.

So I searched, debated, and chose a breeder out of California.  She does a lot of socialization, she feeds a partial raw diet, and her lines and look were exactly what I wanted in my next bengal. After several weeks (well, probably only a couple weeks, but it felt like forever of course), she arrived last night via hand delivery at the airport. She came with a boy from another litter that went to a family in our area.

They were crying and making a ruckus coming out of the terminal, and the lady who made the trip with the cats mentioned that this was a noisy bunch, especially my female. This pretty much dictated my sleep or lack there of for the night.

At the airport, the male kitten hung out in their new owners arms as we moved crates, taking it all in, content to sit and look about. My kitten, she was ready to run and explore and did not really want much to do with holding. She would rub and purr and give quick nose kisses, but also was all over the place trying to get around and see everything she could.  At the car, I sat in the back seat with her before putting her back in the crate for another 45 minute drive.  She explored the entire car, and within about 5 minutes was trying to play with items she found, over stimulated….. yes, scared of new surroundings….. no.  The ride home was a bit on the ear shattering at times, she rested for a few minutes now and again, but for the most part, I found out what the delivery gal meant by a set of lungs.

Got home a bit after midnight, and I had to figure out the logistics of the first night.  Locking her up by herself was going to be a noisy proposition, she seemed to want to be around me at all times.  Bayou, being eternally curious, just added to the noise factor, wanting to meet her.  So with the rest of the crew put up, I let Bayou out to sniff her in the crate.  She was purring and rubbing along the crate when she saw him, he was on the outside giving purr meows wanting to meet her.  So, out she came, and there were zero issues to be had.  She rubbed her face on him, wrapped her tail around, he sniffed and watched her while she explored her new house.  If she cried when alone or confused, he came running with a purr meow to help her out.

After a time, I moved the whole operation to the guest room, and decided the best option for my husband to get some sleep was to just stay in the guestroom with the two bengals.  This proved to be an impossible task.  When I would leave the room, she would cry and make a ruckus that would not end.  When I was IN the room, all she wanted to do was play, play and play.  I would have thought a long day of flights and new people would have exhausted her, but I suspect she was like a toddler who has missed a nap.  Very wired but exhausted at the same time.

All in all, I would be surprised if I got 30 minutes sleep last night.  It also didn’t help that by the time it was light, I was like a kid on Christmas morning.  I wanted her to meet my husband, and to get out and about and take photos of course.

Have you ever tried to take photos of an active kitten?  I thought Bayou was hard to get good shots of.  I had so many pictures of tails, rears, or blurs I was deleting far more then I was saving.  She has no fear of the house, she explores every nook and corner, and quickly figured out Bayou’s tall cat post and ledge above the entertainment center.  Couple lessons and she now knows how to get down from it rather then jumping.

She is a dainty little girl, coming from a large litter of 8 if I remember correctly.  We will be feeding her as much as she can take at this point, needs to fill in.

This morning was a rambunctious household.  Bayou and the kitten took turns playing chase, thumping around the house.  Bayou is entirely excited to have a playmate, and is already finding ways to get her to chase is tail (even if he acts all miffed when she does).  I tried to catch some of the action on film, but boy, recording video is harder then still shots.  I might be able to piece a few clips together to some coherent montage of their initial morning together.

No name as of yet, ‘Meeya’ is my current back of the mind selection, but while she seems small and petite (at this moment) as I think the name sounds, she is also a wild child constantly in motion.  I finally had to just put her back in the guestroom this morning where she FINALLY passed out with no meowing.  I might come up with an alternative name as I watch her personality emerge.

Here are some examples of what it is like to take photos of moving 2lb targets.

Nice shot of Bayou looking like he is having a moment, and the rear of a dashing kitten.

Better shot here, but she kept dashing into the darker areas of the dining room.

Here the two crazy beasts are before they zoom on out of the room.

Well, I need to try and catch a nap while my husband is out, or I will be a mess tomorrow.  Will post a short video on their fun this morning if I can mentally pull that together in my current sleep deprived state.

Our kitten is here, and she is dang adorable.  That is all I have to say.