Ladies and Gentlemen, please say "Hi" to Andrew. No pictures yet, the flash might scare him.

The new kitten is SOOOO cute. He was immediately named Andrew because he looks like one… though hubby doesn’t think so. We tried Yoda but that didn’t work either so I’m sticking with Andrew.

He spent the first five minutes hiding in his cage, then the curiosity overcame him and he ventured out to explore his new world – in a drunken kind of way. As soon as Slaughterpuss saw him she hissed and ran to hide behind the kitchen wall. Thinking this was a game, Andrew wobbled through the kitchen on his new legs (the ones he’s still working-in) and crept up on her. This completely freaked her out and she ran up the stairs screetching. She is now behaving like a teenager that’s just got a new baby sister in the house and fights viciously every time you bring her near the new kitty. Ever heard a cat snort? It’s SCARY. She spent most of the evening and night hiding in our bedroom, only once daring to snuggle with my feet then adopting a haughty air of indifference until she went out at 6am.

After investigating every possible hiding place in the new house (and there are plenty as pictures are still leaning against the wall), Andrew came to investigate us because by now we were eating dinner and relatively safe, sitting down on the sofa. Hiding under grandad’s old coffee table, he was totally amused by my toes which wiggled in his general direction. They were especially interesting when he found sharp claws that made my toes jump. Then there was this damn tail that follows him everywhere. A skinny, fluffy little thing that reminds me of a piece of climbing tat that’s been in place for too many years, too many rainstorms and too many sunny days. It gains sudden life and whips around and surprises him when he least expects it.

We left him in his cage overnight with a cushion, bowls of food and water and a litter tray. He meowed for a while, then played with his toys noisily, then was silent.

This morning though, he was gone! The cage was still locked, but there was no kitty inside. I called him whilst the coffee was brewing, again and again. Then, just as I was starting to think Slaughterpuss had eaten him in the night, I heard the faintest little mew. He decided I was no threat and it was safe to call back… but I couldn’t find him. By now the coffee was coming on well and even Hubby got up to help me look for Andrew.

We found him under the TV unit. A space I didn’t really even think big enough for his tiny skull to fit in, never mind the rest of his body and that damn whippy tail. With some effort and care, we extracted him and placed him back in his cage whilst we had our coffee. I only managed three steps with the coffee when I found his mode of escape. Using his water bottle as a lift off point, he scaled the metal bars of the cage then forced himself through the gap between the door and the cage and he was free again. This is a gap I could probably only make 2 inches wide, using my own hands to pull the door off its hinges! This time I put him securely in the spare room with a litter tray and other trimmings, from where he proceeded to cry like a baby – a very annoyed baby.

Finally, I relented. I let him out again and drank my coffee downstairs whilst he pattered about, still exploring, happy just to have someone around, not necessarily for entertainment, just for comfort. Someone to share the space with.

So, I don’t want to be here today, at work. I want to go home and watch the kitty play and try and fix the territorial rift in the house. A big fat sumo cat that grew podgy whilst we were on vacation who is terrified of a tiny, wobbly kitten ½ the size of most of the birds she kills. At least its Friday. Roll on the end of the day.