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March 27/01
The Alfie Report:
What a doll! Incredibly
affectionate! Purrs like an outboard motor. If he's in the
room when I fall asleep, I wake up with a face full of
cat. I suppose this will get tiresome when he weighs 10
pounds, but right now it's very sweet, and I know that he
is used to laying on warm bodies.
Ernie will have nothing to
do with him. For the moment, he growls and leaves the room
if he sees the kitten. We did a brief introduction with
the dog, who stared at the kitten for a moment, and then
walked away very quickly (?!?). Looks like when we finally
give Alfie the run of the house, he will be king of the
hill.
I have two questions. This
kitten eats like a wolf - almost two full cans of kitten
food with yoghurt per day, plus a little dry food. Should
I be restricting his intake somewhat? Second question -
there is nothing physically wrong with him that I can tell
- no constipation, no runs, nose and eyes are normal.
However, for no apparent reason, sometimes he howls. Is he
just talking or should I be worried?
Deb
March 30/01
Now that we've had him for
a week, I regret not calling him "Ari"
("Lion" in Hebrew). That is exactly what he is,
down to the coat color.
It was very interesting to
see how quickly he adjusted from the one small, quiet room
he knew in your house to a large, noisy house with kids
running in and out, two other animals, and TV and stereo.
That first day, any sound made him jump (since it was all
unfamiliar to him), and he spent most of the day under the
medicine cabinet. Within three days, all normal sounds in
our house, including music, running water, toilets
flushing, barking downstairs, kids yelling, airplanes
overhead, etc., were old hat. None of these make him
flinch anymore.
That first couple of days,
if anyone walked near him, he dashed under the nearest bed
or dresser. Now, we have to watch every step, since he
walks underfoot wherever we are. If we don't sit quickly,
he meows to let us know he wants a lap, NOW!
We got him a five-foot
"tree", to save wear and tear on my back and
head. He likes it very much, especially the high perch.
He has a very strong but
sweet personality. As playful as he is, if me or one of
the kids takes him in our arms, he turns into kitten-mush
- not at all my previous experience with cats. Also,
surprisingly, he never extends his claws near our skin,
except by accident. It's as if he knows that it will hurt
us. He'll play with our fingers, but not with his claws.
I've never been with such a people-oriented cat. I guess
this is the result of years of careful breeding - I wonder
if all highly-bred cats are as amenable to being picked up
and handled?
Ernie and he will now be in
the same room for short periods. Alfie wants to get to
know Ernie, but Ernie is still very wary. I do not,
however, fear for Alfie's safety with Ernie.
Alfie now has free run of
the house if he wants it, but he basically restricts
himself to two rooms and the bathroom where his food and
box are. I took him downstairs to the laundry room today
so he can see where the other litter box and food is. We
were met at the foot of the stairs by Teddy, who wanted to
play. He started to bark at Alfie, and then ran to get his
bone so he and the kitten could get a good bone game
going. Of course, the kitten was terrified by the dog's
barking, and got a really good grip on my neck and hands,
spitting and hissing. I don't know how to resolve this. I
can't stop Teddy from barking when he's excited, but I am
95% sure that he really only wants to play - he ran to get
his bone, for Pete's sake. Anyway, Alfie is free to go
downstairs, but I don't think he'll choose to any time
soon.
The kids are madly in love
with Alfie. My rule is only one set of hands on him at a
time, and if there's any fighting, the kids go to their
rooms. Since they both want to be where the kitten is,
they've been remarkably calm with each other for the past
week.
He eats like a horse and
poops like one too.
He has stopped howling for
non-apparent reasons. Now, when he howls, it is for
obvious reasons. I guess I'm picking up some Burmese. If
these reports bore you, let me know.
Take care,
Debbie
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