Even before moving to France in 2019, the kids were already talking about having a cat, but it was never the right opportunity. The kids kept asking for a cat when we arrived at the farm, but we had to explain to them that the priority was to get the dogs from South Africa.
Flash news: We got the dogs...
After few trial and errors, few disappointments as we were supposed to get a cat in June, but it didn't happen; we finally found the perfect cat in an ad at the vet when bringing the dogs for a check-up:
On the ad was written: "2 females Tortoiseshell kittens available"
My first reaction was "What is a Tortoiseshell cat?" It actually describes the pattern of their fur colours, and most of them are females, actually 99% of Tortoiseshell cats are female, and it's a genetic rarity. an accident if you may say. If you have the chance to find a male, he will have 3 chromosomes with a combination XXY (I am just regurgitating some google facts freshly learnt).
They're supposedly strong minded, and even a bad temper, but I think it's just a bad rep they're getting for no reason.
Have you ever felt sure about something; it could be a job opportunity, someone or something you are meant to be with, as if you are drawn to one another? It was the case for this particular kitty.
I left a voicemail to the number on the ad, and waited for an answer, forgetting about it for a minute.
A day later, I get a call back, and we agree to meet next to Marciac, an hour drive from where I live. Marciac is great by the way, an awesome jazz festival there. This picture isn't Marciac at all, it's something else ending in "ac", most probably.
The owners of the cat welcomed me in their homes, the little kitty was chilling with her mum, under the sun next to a bush. Apparently, her mum is bringing her mice to eat, and she is already trained to hunt. We are being told stories about her grand mother hunting hares, and even snakes!
The drive home is quite challenging, it's a hot day and I try to make it as bearable as possible for her.
The first day, she was a little bit sad to have left her mummy, but our 3 kids kept her busy for the rest of the day and the evening. I could tell that nobody slept until 4am 😁
Her second day, she felt already at home, chilling in our office with my wife. I could already feel how much she changed the energy of the room, and the people around her.
We then proceeded to introduce her to Jacky our Husky, and of course, it went as excepted, the little Kitty was very scared of our wolf.
The third day, we introduced her to Charlie, our sheep dog, and they were both very calm. We will take it day by day, and keep on introducing them to each other progressively!
Oh, and I forgot to tell you her name: Naledi (it means star in Sotho)
So we went from having 5 people living on a farm, we added 4 chicken, then our 2 dogs, then 3 more chicken, and finally a kitten. It's 15 living souls!!!
We might want to add a donkey to the crew, or a sheep, but it won't be anytime soon! I don't know about you, but I really love living with animals, I am in general much more equipped to deal with them than humans ^^
Cheers!