Freya and Narvi - the first week
A week ago, Stephan and I drove to Codicat Cattery to pick up our little furry balls of chaos, Freya and Narvi. Since then, they've gone from being very cute little aliens to beloved members of our family. It doesn't take long! (As I write this, I just heard a crash in the bathroom that sounds like one of them knocked over the trash can.)
It's been fun to discover their individual personalities and watch them get more used to us and our house. Narvi was pretty easygoing from the start, not too hard to pick up and pet. At first, if you wanted to pet Freya, you had to catch her first. Not easy, as she's very swift. I accidentally called her "Varda" a couple of times, because this reminds me of the cat we lost to kidney failure last November. Varda was a sweetie, but she never lost that little bit of a wild streak. Her first instinct was usually to run first, think later.
But now, Freya isn't as skittish and will purr when she gets a back scratch or a chin rub. She's looked me right in the eyes and we've blinked at each other, the cat way to show you're comfortable. Stephan and I have been amazed at her feats of athleticism leaping for her feather toy.
Narvi is quite playful, and still more easygoing than his sister. He's licked my face and napped curled up on my chest. He tends to snort and breathe loudly, which the breeder said was just they way it is with some Burmese cats. Because of this and his tendency to be really interested in food, I've already nicknamed him "piglet."
It's so much fun to watch them play. They like to be together and sometimes meow pitifully if they can't find each other. Freya likes to sneak-attack. Narvi tends to run away and then charge at his sister from a distance. They fall all over each other leaping for the feather toy.
Right now, Freya is on my desk exploring around my computer. When I reached for her to take her down, she retreated behind the monitor. (Ok - got her and held her on my lap for a while as she purred, then she ran off to cavort with Narvi.)
When we brought them home, we sat with them closed up in the guest bathroom for a little while, then let them into the adjoining bedroom. Starting a couple days later, we let them explore our bedroom, and then come downstairs. The first night, we left them on their own, but for the next five nights, Stephan and I took turns sleeping in the room with them. This definitely paid off, I think, because they got more used to us and our big, human bodies. When it was my turn, they slept most of the night curled up against me and in the morning, got right up in my face to check me out.
I introduced them to Athena by letting her come into their room. She was pretty unhappy and hissed at them. But when they came downstairs, she kept her distance. Little Narvi went right into her food bowl while she was eating and she just walked away. I told her she had every right to give him a swat if he did that. We're having to make sure to put her food up when she comes to a stopping point so Narvi doesn't come along and scarf it all up. I told him he will have to be careful not to become a little butterball!
Last night, we let them sleep in bed with us. They spent most of the night against my legs. I was a little worried what Athena would do when, as is her custom, she came to bed in the wee hours of the morning to lie on my pillow and cuddle with me. But she did her usual thing, and the kittens were far enough away on the bed that she might not have even noticed them. She usually comes and goes a few times in the early morning, and the last time she returned to bed, she definitely saw Narvi and Freya. She watched them, but still purred and let me pet her. The kittens don't seem to be that bothered by her, but are smart enough to keep their distance.
They've gotten to the point where they like to be in the room with us. On Thursday night, we watched a Monty Python DVD in the living room while they hung out with us. Now, they're both in my study with me, Freya on the desk again, and Narvi running around on the floor. We've pretty much given them the run of the house, though we close off our studies when we're not in them, and also the sun room adjacent to our bedroom, to keep them from getting inside the frame of the couch! I think we'll still try to keep them closed up in their room when we're not here, at least for a little while, to make sure Athena has a little bit of peace and we can leave food in her bowl for her without having to guard it.
I'm a little worried about Athena's eating to begin with, as we haven't found a dry food that she can keep down consistently, and it's hard to feed her enough wet food. I'm taking her to a new Vet on Tuesday to see if we can figure something out.
If the first or maybe even second day we had the kittens, the breeder had called and said there had been a mistake, we ended up with a kitten meant for someone else, I might not have been that upset about it. Trading in one cute kitten for another--sounds reasonable. But now we've developed a relationship and I've really fallen in love with both of them. They are so much fun, and a wonderful addition to our household. I'm going to wrap up this long-winded post and get out their feather toy so we can play.
It's been fun to discover their individual personalities and watch them get more used to us and our house. Narvi was pretty easygoing from the start, not too hard to pick up and pet. At first, if you wanted to pet Freya, you had to catch her first. Not easy, as she's very swift. I accidentally called her "Varda" a couple of times, because this reminds me of the cat we lost to kidney failure last November. Varda was a sweetie, but she never lost that little bit of a wild streak. Her first instinct was usually to run first, think later.
But now, Freya isn't as skittish and will purr when she gets a back scratch or a chin rub. She's looked me right in the eyes and we've blinked at each other, the cat way to show you're comfortable. Stephan and I have been amazed at her feats of athleticism leaping for her feather toy.
Narvi is quite playful, and still more easygoing than his sister. He's licked my face and napped curled up on my chest. He tends to snort and breathe loudly, which the breeder said was just they way it is with some Burmese cats. Because of this and his tendency to be really interested in food, I've already nicknamed him "piglet."
It's so much fun to watch them play. They like to be together and sometimes meow pitifully if they can't find each other. Freya likes to sneak-attack. Narvi tends to run away and then charge at his sister from a distance. They fall all over each other leaping for the feather toy.
Right now, Freya is on my desk exploring around my computer. When I reached for her to take her down, she retreated behind the monitor. (Ok - got her and held her on my lap for a while as she purred, then she ran off to cavort with Narvi.)
When we brought them home, we sat with them closed up in the guest bathroom for a little while, then let them into the adjoining bedroom. Starting a couple days later, we let them explore our bedroom, and then come downstairs. The first night, we left them on their own, but for the next five nights, Stephan and I took turns sleeping in the room with them. This definitely paid off, I think, because they got more used to us and our big, human bodies. When it was my turn, they slept most of the night curled up against me and in the morning, got right up in my face to check me out.
I introduced them to Athena by letting her come into their room. She was pretty unhappy and hissed at them. But when they came downstairs, she kept her distance. Little Narvi went right into her food bowl while she was eating and she just walked away. I told her she had every right to give him a swat if he did that. We're having to make sure to put her food up when she comes to a stopping point so Narvi doesn't come along and scarf it all up. I told him he will have to be careful not to become a little butterball!
Last night, we let them sleep in bed with us. They spent most of the night against my legs. I was a little worried what Athena would do when, as is her custom, she came to bed in the wee hours of the morning to lie on my pillow and cuddle with me. But she did her usual thing, and the kittens were far enough away on the bed that she might not have even noticed them. She usually comes and goes a few times in the early morning, and the last time she returned to bed, she definitely saw Narvi and Freya. She watched them, but still purred and let me pet her. The kittens don't seem to be that bothered by her, but are smart enough to keep their distance.
They've gotten to the point where they like to be in the room with us. On Thursday night, we watched a Monty Python DVD in the living room while they hung out with us. Now, they're both in my study with me, Freya on the desk again, and Narvi running around on the floor. We've pretty much given them the run of the house, though we close off our studies when we're not in them, and also the sun room adjacent to our bedroom, to keep them from getting inside the frame of the couch! I think we'll still try to keep them closed up in their room when we're not here, at least for a little while, to make sure Athena has a little bit of peace and we can leave food in her bowl for her without having to guard it.
I'm a little worried about Athena's eating to begin with, as we haven't found a dry food that she can keep down consistently, and it's hard to feed her enough wet food. I'm taking her to a new Vet on Tuesday to see if we can figure something out.
If the first or maybe even second day we had the kittens, the breeder had called and said there had been a mistake, we ended up with a kitten meant for someone else, I might not have been that upset about it. Trading in one cute kitten for another--sounds reasonable. But now we've developed a relationship and I've really fallen in love with both of them. They are so much fun, and a wonderful addition to our household. I'm going to wrap up this long-winded post and get out their feather toy so we can play.