I got her at three months old from a local shelter, who had already done marvelous work saving her life when she arrived there, taken from her mother too soon and not being supported with proper food during her abrupt weaning.
When I first saw her, I had to decide if she was able to leave the shelter yet. But the shelter manager, hearing that I was up to the challenge, agreed that she had reached the stage where one-on-one care would make the most difference.
We must be doing something right, because she has absolutely bloomed in our home. Curious, active, yet also cuddly and interested in every face in her world, she is a wonderful personality in, as yet, a very small package.
Her lack of confidence shows only in how she is reluctant to tackle our other cat’s heads in classic kitten style. Mr. Bond is relieved, while RJ is disappointed.
We are working with our two kittens, two year old RJ, and three month old Olwyn, to make them comfortable with each other. And then, I’m sure, the Play will begin.
She already shows charm far beyond her tender years. She sends out signals for food and play directly and with confidence that her humans will respond. The shelter folks somehow got her socialized through a rocky beginning, because her favorite spot to sleep is in a human’s lap. This also means she is very much a baby, and needs the warmth of contact. As she grows, she should become more assertive, and more able to handle the independence that is a cat’s birthright.
While I chose her for her personality, she is also showing signs of growing into a lovely “dilute tortoiseshell,” the particular color pattern that is usually only seen in females, because of sex-linked color characteristics.
Not only are tortoiseshells usually female, they usually have “tortitude.” Bright and winning ways are considered tortoiseshell attributes, and she certainly has that in abundance. A strong will is another tortie trait, and one that requires mutual respect.
Raising her with love and understanding will bring out all her beautiful qualities, and temper her desire to have her own way… with recognition that others want to have their own way, too.
I think she is a princess already. Like all princesses, she should learn that with great power… comes great responsibility.
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