Welcome our new kitten!

Ragamuffin Kitten Columbus, Ohio

Our New Ragamuffin Kitten Toffee

We have a new little fuzzy kitten running around the house!  She does not have a name yet… but we are working on it! I am sure by the end of the week she will have a name.  We have three names picked out so far and are just narrowing it down.   We keep going back and forth on the names to see what fits her.  It has been so long since we named a little kitten that I forgot how long it takes to come up with a good one for her.

Our previous cat Charlie passed away earlier in the winter.  He loved being outside and so he spent most of his time outdoors.  He was really good with Bentley and with Wyatt.   All of our cats were indoor cats until Wyatt came.  2 weeks of Wyatt being a newborn and the cats wanted nothing to do with being inside at all!  They were just not used to a newborn, and it was a transition that they did not handle well.   Charlie was the best at dealing with the increased noise that came with a newborn.  Charlie was pretty much unlike any cat I have ever had.  His personality was almost dog-like in some nature because he would follow you around everywhere, run after balls being tossed, hang out with Bentley and be best buds with him.  Charlie had the fluffiest fur and tail.  I would always call him my little feather duster because he was so fluffy.  After he passed away, I started looking into breeds to see what he might have been.  His personality and his features fit a Ragamuffin breed.

 

I know there can be a lot of controversy over getting animals from breeders versus shelters.  I looked into shelters, craigslist, etc. and wasn’t finding anything that was a ragamuffin or resembled one that might have similar personality traits.  We really want Wyatt to grow up with a Cat and a Dog – and I didn’t want another cat to just run out of the house when we decide to add a new little human to the bunch.  I looked into breeders and found a couple that breed Ragamuffins.  We have always just had barn kittens.  Charlie was from another lady in town that decided she just couldn’t keep him at 10 weeks, so I took him in.  I am pretty sure he was a mixed ragamuffin if not close to full breed.  Although I love to pick kittens from shelters, friends, etc., this felt like an okay time to get a cat from a breeder, and that is what we did.

Our Border Collie Bentley

Our dog, Bentley, is also a full-blooded Border Collie from a breeder.  I was particular with him as well.  The reasons why I went full-blooded on him was because 1. it was my first dog ever and I wanted to have an idea of the personality. 2.  Border Collies, in general, can be a little hard to manage. A dog who is older and poorly managed can have issues nipping, biting and destructive behaviors.  I got Bentley when he was 8 weeks old, and he is excellent.  If we didn’t have any kids and wanted to get another dog, I would 100% go to a border collie rescue group because there are several. Border Collies often end up back in shelters because people don’t know how to handle their high energy.  If they are left without a job or purpose, then their high energy gets put into anxiety and will just destroy.   Having owned a border collie and knowing their personalities,  I would be able to handle an older dog from a border collie rescue.  I don’t know if I would do that with kids because they can be unpredictable with kids, as all dogs can be.  We didn’t know how Bentley would react to a newborn when we brought Wyatt home.    Bentley has technically been around kids his whole life on and off since he has been around the nephews… but he has never had kids 100% of the time.  The first month he looked at Wyatt like he was a piece of bacon.. luckily, he doesn’t do that anymore ( he has moved onto looking at the kitten like she is bacon) but he still gets anxious when Wyatt is laughing a lot or crying.

 

I kind of got a little off track there! I just wanted to touch base on breeder versus shelter.  I think it is perfectly fine to go with whatever way you want and whatever way works best for your family.  Having a cat from a breeder works best for our family right now.  We will love her the same as we love our kitties that came from barns, friends and even inside cars!  Did I ever share the story of how we ended up with our little cat named Luckie?  Cliffnote version – several years ago, my car was having issues, so I borrowed my inlaws other car while mine was getting fixed.  I went out one morning to leave, and I kept hearing meowing coming from the vehicle… sure enough – popped the hood, and there was a 6-week old kitten huddled up by the engine.  Got her some food and moved her indoors. She is now named Luckie and the sweetest cat ever.  She is still pretty skittish and probably always will be.  She would only come to me for the longest time, and she still won’t let Scott pick her up or hold her.

 

Now onto some fun pictures of our new little kitten!

 

Meet Toffee

 

 

View some of our other personal blog posts!

Our Maui Honeymoon Day 1 and 2

May and June 2018 Recap for Columbus Ohio Wedding Photography

North Myrtle Beach South Carolina Family Vacation