About a month back, my wife sent me a rather alarming email. My wife and a coworker heard an abandoned kitten crying just outside her office. My wife wrote that no one at her office was able to take the kitten home permanently. I was reluctant because I know my wife - she always wants to adopt another cat, so I have to serve as the voice of reason. Janessa resorted to low blow tactics, however, by sending me the following photo:
Try saying no to that face! Anyway, we ultimately decided to take the kitten in on a provisional basis. We were both concerned that his presence might negatively affect Rewind and Louis, our two cats, and resolved to find the kitten a suitable home should it be necessary.
We isolated our kitten in its own room, both to ease the transition and because it had not yet had its shots (it was too small, only a few weeks old). After lots of eating and pampering, he began to come out of his shell. My wife and I had several discussions about what to name him, with me preferring non-human names and my wife the opposite. In the end, the kitten's name just came to me one day as I stared into his little eyes: Francis. This is what such a small cute thing should be called. Janessa loved the name and it stuck.
I'd never had a kitten before. Rewind was my first cat and she was about 10 months old when I got here. Several people told me it was a bad idea to get a kitten as my first cat and I grudgingly listened to them. It worked out great, of course, because that's the only reason I ended up with Rewind. Well, I finally learned exactly why it had been a bad idea to start with a kitten! They are unstoppable perpetual motion machines lacking boundaries, order and common sense. Of course they are also adorable, which goes a long way.
Like most kittens, Francis is a natural born hunter. It didn't take long at all before he was stalking toys and pouncing on whatever moved - often our feet. Right at the beginning he started doing what we think of as his trademark: popping up on his back legs and raising his arms as a threat of attack. Francis wants to look big, and this move frequently comes in the middle of play sessions. It is incredibly cute and endearing.
Francis never stops. He basically plays, poops and eats, with the latter two making his play even more spirited. It was weeks before I caught him relaxed enough to purr - though when he does it is LOUD, his whole body shakes. We can literally play with Francis for hours. The nice thing is that he is so crazy that we can often do it with minimal effort, sitting on a couch and waving a toy around. Sometimes he is so crazy he doesn't need us at all and simply attacks the toy on his own. Sometimes WE become his target and he goes crazy trying to attack any part of us he can reach. Sometimes I think kittens are sponsored by Band-Aids.
Also, Francis is fearless. We're finally at the point where Francis can be in the same room with the other cats for small periods and hopefully soon, all the time. I was concerned about how he would do with such bigger cats around (and how they would respond to him). In fact it only took a few minutes before Francis started to attack Louis like crazy and chase him throughout the house. Francis somehow instantly sensed that Louis was a pushover and, before we knew it - became a bully to a cat roughly 5 times his size. Louis does stand up for himself sometimes, though, although occasionally we have to give him a break and put Francis away.
As fearless as Francis is though, he is far from the alpha kitty. Rewind is and will always be the dominant cat in our house. She is STONE COLD. Francis will approach her and Rewind will not even flinch. She may swat at him a bit if he gets too close, but mostly just a glance in his direction seems to communicate everything. Whenever Francis gets even within a small area of Rewind, he treads carefully. Rewind is not impressed with Francis and barely pays him any attention at all. Several times we've seen Francis get his audacity up and walk up to her proudly only to slink away at the last moment. It's really quite amazing. We are glad Francis is learning something about boundaries, at least.
One of the best side effects of crazy kitten time has been its effect on both Louis and Rewind who are now more playful than they have each been in years. They constantly hear Francis playing in the adjacent room and his spirit seems to have infected them. Both of them could use more exercise, so we are thrilled with this result. Of course neither can keep up with Francis for long so they are not exactly playmates, but both Rewind and Louis are healthier for it.
Francis has been a wonderful addition to our family and we can't wait to watch him grow into cathood. We are both so glad we decided to save him. Here he is being held by me:
Edit: January 2, 2012:
I'd meant to publish this long ago, but it slipped off my desk. Since I wrote it, lots of things have changed. Francis has become much more integrated with the other cats, and much calmer as a result. We now have him out all day long and only put him away at night so that we can sleep. He's still crazy, but he's a little more under control.
Also, his (excuse the pun) pussyfooting around Rewind ended quickly. He realized pretty fast that Rewind was all threat and no follow-through and started attacking. Most of the time, he wins, because Rewind is too lazy to fight back and gets annoyed and runs away. Photographic evidence of Francis' courage:
