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What on earth have we done?? :)
Just like McDonald's Happy Meal toys, we've
collected the whole Abyssinian set! Yeah I know... we must be out of
our minds. Meet the newest member of the family, D'Argo :)
The Abyssinian breed comes in 4 "official" colors (the
colors that are recognized by the CFA): ruddy, red, blue and fawn.
We already had ruddy, blue and fawn... Belle, Angel and Crichton,
respectively, so the only one missing was red :) I told myself a
long time ago I'd get the fourth color someday, but always figured I
would get a girl. The thought of two male Abys together scared
me a little... the girls are crazy enough as it is... I couldn't
imagine a house with two Crichtons in it! :) But, as luck would
have it... it was when we finally set the date that Evelyn was to move
here to Texas that we decided it was time to get number 4... so I
started looking around for red, and wasn't having any luck...
except, of course, with the same breeder that I got the other three
cats from
:) I emailed her, and it just so happened she had this amazing
little boy... the only red she had, who was 9 weeks old at the time.
I was reluctant at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I
found myself saying "Well, it's really fascinating to see how the
two girls interact, and how they interact with the boy... it sure
would be neat to add the experience of how two boys interact!"
So... I talked it over with Ev, went to meet the kitty, and put a
deposit down on him that day :) We brought him home on May
19th, and I'll tell ya what... the house will never be the same again
:)
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D'Argo's Day 1 -
A Strange Cat Indeed |
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Okay...this was very strange. The other cats, when first brought
home, were practically going mad in the cat carrier.. trying to rip it
apart to get the heck outta there! Especially Crichton. Wow he wanted out of that
thing bad! And now, here's D'Argo... we get him home... and he
won't come out! He just sat there in the doorway of the cat
carrier... looking at us. The above pic is Evelyn trying to bait
him out with a toy... which almost worked :)
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And here we find a couple VERY curious kitties outside
the door to the spare bedroom (where we had D'Argo)...
wondering what's going on in that room! Except Belle, of
course... she was off hiding somewhere :) |
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Finally, we did get him out of the carrier. So what does he do?
Tries to hide. He was really scared. Anywhere he could possibly find
to hide, he went for it. And of
course, he did this in the cutest way possible... as long as his head
was buried into something, he felt like he was hidden... even though
the rest of his body was sticking out :) Above, we see him
finding a great spot to hide... under the edge of the pillow. It
didn't work very well, as you can see above in the middle pic, because Crichton sure
found him easy, and came in for a sniff :) Poor D'Argo was really
scared, but I think it made him feel better to see other cats... even
if he didn't know them. Finally, all the turmoil of his new
surroundings was just too much for him to handle. So what does
he do? Falls asleep :) In a position that most definitely
resembles something Crichton would do. Gotta love that paw
curled under like that :) That can't be comfortable! :)
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D'Argo's Day 2 -
Opening Up |
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It didn't take long... by the end of the first night
in fact... that he really started to relax and embrace his new home.
He quickly turned super playful, unbelievably adorable, and couldn't
wait to get outta the spare bedroom and explore the rest of the house.
When we got Crichton, we kept him separated from the rest of the house
for a good couple days, and he was very reluctant to explore at first.
D'Argo was the exact opposite :) |
Awwwwww :) |
Check out the size of that front paw grabbing the toy! |
Reeeeeach for it... |
 
On the left above, here's D'Argo saying "Wow... what a HUGE world
lies beyond this doorway!" On the right, above... It would
appear that D'Argo has gotten himself an audience.
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 Initially,
Crichton was actually afraid of the new kitten :) It was
hilarious... D'Argo would actually chase Crichton all around the
house, at a pace that resembled a jog more than a run. It was
truly
strange to see :) D'Argo wanted like mad to meet this other boy
kitty, and Crichton wanted nothing to do with him. That didn't
last long though... Crichton stopped being such a big baby and
started checking out the new kitten a little closer. The
picture above was one of the first "male bonding" moments with the
two... as they share in a good scratch of one of the playhouse posts.
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D'Argo's Day 3 -
The Boys "Bond" |
  By day three, Crichton was really starting to warm
up to his new housemate, and it showed in their activities together.
Even though he was still a little skittish (the big baby Crichton I
mean, not D'Argo), he just couldn't seem to keep himself away...
wanting to seriously check out this new "living play toy" we seemed
to have brought him :) The pictures above are a riot... we
were sitting there playing around with the cats, trying to get
everyone acquainted, when I decided to turn the kitty bed upside
down :) They actually like it better upside down than they do
right side up! :)
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  And then it happened... suddenly, the boys were best
friends :) It was D'Argo that was prompting it all. He
kept just "being around" Crichton, and slowly but surely Crichton
realized that maybe this wasn't so bad after all. The
picture on the left above has got to be one of the big pics I've
ever taken... the two boys just kinda hangin' out. And the pic on the
right... you KNOW they must be getting along if they can sit there
and eat together without bloodshed :)
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Apparently the crack between the couch back and the pillow is a little more
than D'Argo can handle. |
Damn... look at those kangaroo back legs he has! It's amazing
how high he can jump. He's going to be a big kitty when he grows
up! |
A truly great silhouette shot of D'Argo. This one's worth framing
I think. |
Memorial Day
Weekend |
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By Memorial Day Weekend, D'Argo had truly become a
"member of the family". An INSANE member of the family, but a
member nonetheless :) He's really a maniac... a blast to watch
and play with. Dare I say it, but he's actually crazier and
more mischievous than Crichton was at this age :) This weekend, he got his first introduction to
"strangers" in the house... my parents came down to spend a long
weekend with us. It was a joy having them here for a few days,
and they quickly bonded with D'Argo just as easily as Evelyn and I
did.
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Action pose... Belle under attack! Or is it D'Argo under attack? Hard to tell sometimes :) |
The little gremlin sticks his head out of the cave... |
Crichton has turned into such a great cat. He's a handful to
deal with sometimes, but he sure does have his cute moments :) |
  
The "bonding" continued between the two boys... which often times led
them to running around the house chasing each other, jumping and attacking
each other, and generally just getting into any kind of trouble they
could get into together. The above pictures capture a hilarious
"attack in progress". |
Mom and Dad quickly fell in love with D'Argo, and here they are
playing... with Angel joining in the fun :) |
A great pic of Mom with D'Argo. Awwwww :) |
And the kitties simultaneously say "No suitcase shall remain
unturned!" |
D'Argo and Crichton :) |
Here's D'Argo's newest friend, Pikachu. Or is that "newest
enemy"? :) |
A cute closeup of D'Argo with his favorite stuffed toy. |
  A few more adorable pics of the new boy captured
Memorial Day weekend. What a great cat he is. Looking
back now, I am so glad I gave in and got a male instead of a female.
And even though four Abys in one house is enough to make one go
nuts, I couldn't be happier we got the fourth one :) Oh, in
the pic on the right, above... that's a little purple mouse that
D'Argo is hugging there :)
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But Wait!
There's More! |
The greatest picture EVER :) |
Angel's not sure what to make of the new porcelain kitty I got.
Here, she's either saying hi, or trying to attack it :) |
The SECOND greatest picture EVER! :) |
A great silhouette shot of ummm... someone... not sure who :) |
Two-headed kitty? |
Is it just me, or does Angel have the most beautiful face ever put on
a cat? :) |
Crichton and Belle saying... "What...?" |
A super great picture Evelyn got of Crichton and Belle making
themselves at home on the new twill cubes we got. |
And it gets even better, when we see that Angel and D'Argo are
sleeping in the bed right in front :) |
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D'Argo and Angel... awwwwwww :) Notice D'Argo's back paw in
Angel's face :) |
"The Lover's Embrace"... what a truly great picture of Belle and
Crichton. |
Belle whispering sweet nothings into Crichton's ear? Or perhaps
she's egging him on to get into more trouble. Hmmm... :) |
Angel and Crichton share a tube... one that's barely big enough to
hold both of them :) |
Angel sure does sleep around! Literally! :) Here she is in
a truly adorable picture with Crichton. |
Sleep like an Egyptian? |
Okay... that can't be comfortable. |
D'Argo's new favorite nap spot... the very top tube of the playhouse. |
Uhhh... |
Here's a really cute picture of Crichton looking down on him inside
the playhouse tower. |
Another pic of Crichton... assuming a nap position :) |
And Crichton again... awwwwwww :) |
I couldn't be happier with some of the great
pictures we've gotten recently... they have truly been wonderful,
though I'm starting to really get "not very fond" of my camera :)
It's taken a LOT of pictures, and it may be time to retire it soon I
think. I also couldn't be happier with the newest addition to
the family :) What an amazing cat he's turning out to be.
He's going to be super fun to have around... I can tell already.
And I can't wait to see him grow up! I'll bet he's going to be
a beautiful cat when he gets older.
It's funny... many of the above pictures would make
you think that Crichton was the one who finally made D'Argo feel
like "one of the family"... but that's not really true. I
didn't get too many good pics of it, but it was actually Angel who
was the first one to "accept" the new boy. In fact, she was in
that bedroom with him from the first night... she just wouldn't stay
away, but wasn't being all mean to him either. While Crichton
was running away and Belle was already hidden, she wanted to check
out this new kitty... just be with him, get to know him, spend some
time with him, and accepted him right from the start. With
Angel being the oldest, I was really surprised to see this. It
was great though, and I think it really helped D'Argo to relax in
the beginning and not be so afraid of this giant new home :)
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