Alfred the Great

[llywela]

As mentioned, my wee little Tabby kitten came home to live with me on Saturday. He is now Alfie (or Alfred or Alf, depending on my mood and how well he is or isn't behaving) and we have been slowly settling into a new routine together: him and me and Poppy.

As you'd expect for a kitten about to turn 10 weeks old, he is a little hoodlum most of the time, tearing about the place constantly on the look out for mischief to get into. He is also extremely vocal - far more talkative than Poppy, who has always been a very quiet cat - and extremely cuddly, loving nothing more than to snuggle up when he is sleepy. He still doesn't eat very much, surviving mostly on milk and a few biscuits, but the vet was happy with his weight and size when he went for his first innoculation on Monday. We had a bit of a food breakthrough today, though. I had bought a turkey joint and did a roast dinner...and Alfie, who has always refused to so much as taste meat of any kind, discovered that he absolutely adores roast turkey. He ate about half of what was on my plate and was looking for more!

Honestly. Fussy cats! Hopefully he will feel more inclined to try actual cat meat now...

Some piccies of wee Alfie settling into his new home:









How does Poppy feel about the new addition to our household, I hear you ask? She isn't thrilled, predictably enough - her initial reaction was 'eek! A cat! Oh noes!' and she spent most of the weekend giving me tragedy eyes, all 'you know how I feel about cats, why would you bring one into the house???' But we are taking things very slowly and steadily and I have no doubt that both cats will get used to one another in time. Alfie is absolutely desperate to make friends because he wants so very much to play, but Poppy finds him a bit boisterous for her tastes, as she tends to be very intimidated by other cats at the best of times - even when they are barely a quarter of her size, as it turns out! So, it being such early days, I'm still keeping them apart most of the time, but am letting Alfie run loose for a little longer every day. Today he spent a wonderful hour or two upstairs with Poppy, the two of them chasing one another around the bedrooms, but I think he enjoyed it a lot more than she did, so didn't let it go on too long. I don't want Poppy getting too worked up and stressed! She is being pretty patient with him so far, though, so I remain confident that they will learn to tolerate one another soon, and since they both quite like company they will probably enjoy being around one another eventually - when Alfie grows up and calms down a bit!

And now for some Poppy pictures, as she very kindly agreed to model for my new camera.





Meanwhile back at my parents' house, Chloe and the rest of the kittens have adjusted to Alfie's absence quickly enough - Chloe searched the house for him for about an hour after he left, and then got over it. Sidney will be moving out this weekend when Deb and Ray come down to collect him, and Domino the week after, when Dad's friend from work is back from holidays. And then there will just be Ginger, the one they are keeping, and then that household, too, can begin to re-adjust to a more normal routine once more.

Some piccies of Chloe and her remaining kittens - and Ruby, who was also happy to pose for the new camera.

Chloe - before and after having her stitches removed.


Domino




Ginger



And a sleepy Sidney



Last but not least, Ruby!

Comments

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

Excellent pics, Jo! They're all adorable and so good. I love the ones of your Alfie, he's very cute. I'm sure he and Poppy will grow up to like each other! Alfie has a very lovely face. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

He's pretty, isn't he?

The trouble with him yelling all the time is that I can't tell if he is being murdered or just chatting! So I have to keep going up to check that he and Poppy are still playing nice...

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

I've had a couple of very "talky" cats too! My Siamese and her son (in Ireland with my parents) never stop chatting about one thing or another, and we currently have a cat called Sebastian who has an awful lot to say, too. Most especially when you turned the lights of to go to sleep, then he definitely thinks it's time for a long and loud chat! You can have a conversation with him though, which is fun. You say one thing and he answers.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Alfie gets it from his mother - Chloe talks all the time, as well! All the kittens do, really.

We had just the one cat that was really talkative before - my brothers Grand Old Man Sam, who died a few years ago. You could have really long conversations with him! I'm not used to it any more, though, with Poppy who barely makes a sound ever.

[ficwriter1966.livejournal.com]

Oh! SO adorable! Thanks for sharing these - they made me smile.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's been tremendous fun documenting the growth and progress of these kittens since birth - ten weeks tomorrow - and fabulous to have brought mine home with me now. :)

Apart from his habit of scaling the curtains, that is...

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Awww! ♥ Alfie is really very, very pretty. He looks a tad thin in the one picture, so I am glad the vet says he's doing okay.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

He is thin - he's the smallest and lightest of the litter, and I have been a bit concerned, as you know. But then again, all kittens are skinny and leggy, really - Poppy didn't put on her muscle and bulk until she was 18 months old. She is sleek now, but was all leg (and ears) until then. So Alfie is doing okay, really. The vet says he is within normal parameters and to let him take the lead on his diet, so that is what I shall do. If he wants nothing but milk and biscuits for the time being, so be it. It was a relief to see him going crazy for the turkey today, though! Gives me hope that his appetite might start to improve soon - he needs to start eating more once his growth spurts start to kick in.

If he expects me to cook roast turkey for him every day, however, he will be sadly disappointed...*G*

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Young Alfred looks like he's settling in nicely. Hee that he likes roast turkey *g* I'm very interested to see how you all get on as we've been wondering about introducing a male kitten to our 3 year-old female (who's a feisty little madam and will brook no nonsense). Your steady-as-she-goes approach seems a very good one. Aww, and Poppy. She's gorgeous, I love your close-ups of her face :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Of course, my little wuss Poppy is a far cry from your feisty young thing, but I think female cats in general find it much easier to accept male newcomers - especially neutered males - than another female. I'll keep you updated on our progress!

[femsc.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Both kitties are absolutely gorgeous. I'm really looking forward to meeting them.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Alfie will be delighted to have someone new to play with! I can't guarantee that Poppy will show her face, however - she is quite likely to hide upstairs sulking!

[femsc.livejournal.com]

Aww, shame! I was looking forward to meeting her!

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Niceto see him settling in so well.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Thanks. He seems very at home now - although Poppy is still a little cross with me for disrupting her life so!

[siluria]

They're all so adorable!!!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This is the age when they are at their most delightful, at a rule. :)

[catsdownunder.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pic spam. Alfred will settle in, at the moment so much to explore.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Aye, I have no doubt he will settle in well. It'll take Poppy much longer to get used to having him around, though!

[francy-m79.livejournal.com]

Awwww! Love all the pets in the picspam!! Pets love! <3

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, pets love indeed - you should picspam all yours! *G*

[francy-m79.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I should!! Unfortunately, I don't have a camera anymore! :(

[ehlwyen.livejournal.com]

Cats! And cats' paws!!! And all sorts of kitteny goodness! I feel my blood sugar rising just looking at these!

Alfie is so adorable and little! The second one of him walking and exploring is my fave!

I know it's already been a couple days, but I find it helpful to bathe the new kitten when introducing him. And maybe use a little of my own shampoo on him. That way he doesn't smell like other cats and smells like me, which my cats already know and love. XD

I hope Poppy takes to him and doesn't get too jealous!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Heh, I chopped his nose off on the one of him walking and exploring - he moves too fast!

Poppy is being pretty good with him so far - she has been forced to spend a lot of time playing with him, since he has decided that he absolutely adores her. She's not exactly thrilled by the disruption to her life and is a bit cross with me about it all, but she doesn't seem to mind him too much. It's as good a start as I could hope for!

[kelzies.livejournal.com]

So much cat (and dog) cuteness ♥ Can't believe how fast t hey've grown! They should stay super ickle for longer.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I know - they grow way too fast! But then again, that's a good thing, since they are so destructive - couldn't stand that for too long...*G*

[daphnis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing the multitudes of piccies! I'm so glad they are all getting settled into new lives; I'm ALSO SOOO glad they live at other people's houses rather than mine ;-)

Gradually getting back to some semblance of normality after the hospital adventures. Will have some home help, PT, OT, assistance for shopping and appts until I can manage things better on my own. Kiwiman still working on his recoveries, and says he had a really solid and relaxed night's sleep last night.

Rebuilding jigsaw puzzle worlds shaken apart can be tedious and frustrating, but often newer pictures emerge from the pieces and are MUCH more rewarding to put together.

Love and cwchs,
Daphnis

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

So glad to hear that you are doing a little better these days - onwards and upwards!

Take care :)