The New Addition to the Snyman Family

A little over two weeks ago, we had a new addition to the Snyman family. She's cute,  curious,  and cuddly, and she's very attached to her mum (me). She's also a furry, four-legged feline (and for anyone who is thinking about getting smart, I've seen felines with no hair, and also felines with less than four legs :-P). Yep, that's right, we got a kitten! She's about 7 weeks old now, and her name is Merlo.

We went out for a braai a couple weeks ago at a friend's farm (well, technically her parent's farm), and came back with a kitten. It was an absolutely wonderful evening, and the farm was very impressive. They have 480 hectares, and they farm granadillas, guavas, grapes (both for wine and table grapes), lucern (a type of hay), cows, sheep, pigs, and horses. They also have their own wine cellar, where we were privileged to get a wine-tasting tour. (I preferred the Merlot, which is how Merlo got her name.)

It just so happened that there was a litter of 5-week-old kittens in their garage when we were there. Raoul commented when he saw them that the last time he saw a litter of kittens he took one home, and so our friend Cara's mom latched onto that and urged us to take one. After discussing it for a while, we did decide to take one. I picked Merlo out of the 5 kittens, and Raoul said that she would be mine to raise, since he'd already had his turn raising a kitten.

Merlo has been a pleasure for me to have around. I was expecting more mess and more hassle, but it turns out kittens are much easier to care for than puppies. Shes never seen a litter box before, but all I had to do was show it to her and she immediately started using it, not a single accident. Also, when we first got her, she was still mostly on her mother's milk, but it was quite easy to get her eating kitten food and drinking water. She still prefers soft food to normal kibbles, but she's eating well.

Unfortunately, Keena didn't take well to the new arrival. There's been a lot of hissing, growling, and spitting from her since we brought Merlo home, but she's finally getting used to her. They've been playing with each other a bit the past few days, and I think it won't be much longer before they're friends. Shame, poor Keena has had a rough time the past few weeks, first with moving and then with a new cat in the house. I don't know how many of you have cats or know much about them, but cats don't handle change well, and Keena's had a lot of adjusting to do.

Well, eventually we'll get some pictures of Merlo up on the site, but it may be awhile since we don't have a real internet connection right now. For now, just think of the cutest kitten you've ever seen, and make it cuter, and that's my Merlo!