Barnaby

 

      When you adopt a kitten, you never quite know who is coming to live with you. You may have an idea when you meet her/him the first time, but once the kitten gets settled in you start to learn more about them.

   Barnaby was described as "starving for affection" which immediately made me want to meet him. When he curled up in my arms and began to purr the first time I picked him up, it sealed the deal. I wanted to take him home. 

   The first few days with us were not easy. Willow wasn't happy with the new arrival. I realized that I needed to give him time to get used to his new home and give Willow a chance to adjust as well. In about a week they were able to be together and now they are friends. 

   Barnaby has turned about to be an interesting kitten. He's not quite a year old so there may be more changes ahead. He's grown a lot and is much bigger than I thought he would be. When I try to play with Willow, he wants to play too and take over. I had assumed that his gentle nature would make him more of a beta kitty, but he likes to take over things. I've had to chase him away from Willow's food dish and prevent him from taking treats from Willow's treat dish. 

   As big as he is I would expect him to be able to jump more than he does. He can jump onto the bar stool chairs in the kitchen, but he can't jump onto the half wall ledge around the basement steps. He's tried but he can't quite get high enough. He does like to run. He and Willow will sometimes chase each other around the house and up and down the basement stairs. His favourite toys are balls and springs, but he'll play with anything. He's played with dried blueberries that he dug out from under the fridge, any dangling piece of string, dust bunnies and pieces of paper. 

   He has very fine, soft fur. That means that he will need to groomed often. I got a pair of grooming gloves and a brush along with the slicker brush and comb that I already have. My goal is to get him used to being brushed and combed on a regular basis. This will cut down on the amount of fur shed on the furniture as well as keep his coat in good shape. His best feature is his tail. He has a beautiful tail. The fur is orange and white and very fluffy. He likes to dangle it when he is sleeping in his cat tree. When he walks he holds it erect and waves it gently.

   He is the most affectionate cat I have ever met. He loves to be hugged and cuddled. When he wants attention, he asks for it by putting his front paws on my leg. He will also follow me around making little squeak noises to let me know he would like some attention. He likes to be around C and me especially when there is food involved. (He wants to eat anything we eat.)

   Because of all this it's easy to overlook some of the annoying things he does, like knock the coasters off the coffee table and stick his head into any glass we leave out.  He also tends to get underfoot sometimes.

   I'm very grateful that we adopted him. He's a good friend to Willow and a joy to be around. I had hoped that this would be the case when I cuddled him the very first time. We are all happy we have him.