Sophie

I pretty much landed in London, unpacked, and hopped on a train to Essex to pick up a very important package. The newest member of our family, Sophie!

She had fun riding on the train to her new home but was very anxious to check out the scene, and I started to get more than a little nervous about how Casper would react to the new situation. He spends a lot of his time sleeping and eating and not doing much else, so I thought it'd be a good idea to get another cat to keep him company. He just seemed so damn bored all the time, so I thought I would liven things up.

Yup, definitely livened things up! At first, Casper didn't even realise there was anything hiding out in his carrier, but he figured it out pretty quick.

Then he got PISSED OFF. I probably went about it the wrong way, but it became pretty clear that Casper was pretty happy being an only child.

I couldn't help second-guessing my decision to bring Sophie home for the first week or so. We had to keep them separated whenever we weren't there to closely supervise, but Sophie didn't like that one bit since she likes staying close to the humans.

Casper would constantly be on the attack, but nothing fazed Sophie and she just kept on doing her thing even though she was being stalked by a cat that is more than three times her size. The girl has got some moxie!

Things finally started to click between the two of them when Sophie allowed Casper to groom her just a little bit. I think Casper was really frustrated that she wouldn't let him groom her, and he'd try to put her in a kitty headlock to force clean her.

Now that she's clean, they're definitely friends and hang out together!

They've also joined forces to beg for food together. I'm sorry to admit that I fold like paper under their combined cuteness.

Once Casper got comfortable with Sophie, we finally got a chance to see her personality, and she is infinitely more awesome than we could've hoped. First, she's a major cuddlebug and likes to start each morning and end each night with a cuddle while she sucks her thumb. Yup, you read that right. And I wake up most mornings to find her perched on top of my stomach, snoozing away.

She likes playing in dirty laundry and trying on my clothes.

She also gets very anxious about getting to her food fast enough, which means she gets it everywhere!

She's still teeny but growing apace and is really long right now, kind of like a ferret.

She's scrappy, independent, and loves going outside.

Basically, we love her.

Three Years and a Kitten

Somehow, three years have already passed since J and I landed in London for what was supposed to be a sixteen month sojourn. We recently got some great news that means we will be staying in London for the foreseeable future! We got our visas renewed, and we're finally able to make some plans now that we know we'll be here permanently.

First things first, get a kitten! Meet the newest addition to our family, Casper! He's a ragdoll kitten, and we got him from a breeder in Essex.

He's now about 3 1/2 months old, and he's a furball terror that seems more dog than cat. He follows me everywhere and gets into everything - including the candy I keep in a tin. Caught red-handed!

He's a regular angel when he's sleeping, but I get a little scared since he seems to grow while he's sleeping and he's already pretty huge.

By the way, this is what it looks like when you don't have a care in the world.

He's got loads of energy, and he gets pretty upset when I leave the house without him. He actually sits in front of the door to block my way! J and I tried taking him out for walks in the park on the weekends when it's a little less busy, and he took to it like a duck to water!

That leaf is going to get f*ed up!

We do get a few strange looks for walking a cat and he can sometimes draw a crowd. Most people think Casper's adorable and comment on his bright blue eyes.

It's really nice having a cat around again, and I'm looking forward to moving next year to a place that allows dogs!