Happy Birthday

As is usual at the end of March each year, David asks me what I want for my birthday. As is usual despite the fact I could quite happily spend thousands of pounds each day I usually have no idea! But, this year I decided to ask for a Bengal Cat. I really wanted a cat for the house, as much as the Bogeyes were company. It did mean you had to leave the back door open all night! Not ideal really.  So proceeded to bombard him with pictures of Bengals.  David quite firmly told me NO!  So I asked for a Hermes scarf instead and a trip to Badminton.  My birthday also happens to coincide with one of David's good friends, so birthday eve we spent a fabulous night with them at his party in the Cinnamon Club and stayed the night in my favourite hotel in Clerkenwell, The Rookery.  As, I woke up he next morning (feeling the champagne pain) planning brekko and such like, reading my birthday messages on Facebook. An email pinged in from my husband (little bizarre as he was sitting next to me)

Hello Mummy!

I am a 3 week old little Girl but I haven’t got a name yet!

What will you call me??

Happy Birthday!!

I actually think I named her Slinky Malinky there and then!

Well he still has a few surprises in him yet the old bugger! Overjoyed and within minutes was shopping for cat stuff! Which pretty much kept me entertained for the next 3 months.

When they were about 6 weeks old I went to see Slinky at BlueZapto Bengals who I cannot recommend highly enough.  Whilst it is a business, they do love their cats and it certainly isn't a factory! They only breed their queens for a year or two and they then sell them to good homes. The mum only had 3 Kittens.  Slinky who is a brown Marble, another girl who was a brown spot (looked like a cheetah was beautiful) and a blue spot boy . 

Not sure quite how the conversation came about, but she told me the boy hadnt been sold due to him having a dip inbetween the shoulder blades. (Bengals are predisposed to a ribcage not growing thing) but she said he looked fine and was growing with the others... before I knew it I said I would take him (David glaring at this point) if he seemed OK.  She said she would let me know what the vet said.

Another 5 weeks passed and by this time I had talked myself out of taking him.  How much heartache and dysfunctional animals do I need?   Zulu wasn't getting any better with steroids and it was now all now a matter of how quickly he would deteriorate. Conor hobbled and the bogeyes weren't exactly a picture of prime specimens.  My mental state about Zulu wasnt brilliant, did I really need this?

About a week before we were due to get Slinky.  David said BlueZapto had sent an email saying we could pick up Slinky next Friday and did we want the boy as well?  He said they were always together and the vet had confirmed there was nothing wrong with him, he was growing fine and the dip was dissapearing. David had already said yes before he had told me :-)   (Yet more evidence if this love thing) So, we were taking delivery of not 1 Bengal but 2.  No. 2 Grizzly McBlue.
  

 

Picture of Slinky and Grizzly a few minutes after being in their new home. 

The cats have been nothing but utter joy from the moment they arrived.  They certainly saw me through one of my darker periods this year. There will be lots more posts about he Cheeky Tyksters.

p.s. I didnt get the Hermes Scarf, but did go to Badminton :-)