Archie is a pale ginger (he was described as champagne) kitten born in the second week of August 2003.
I had originally wanted a girl cat and saw some kittens advertised in Loot. When I arrived at a lovely house in the countryside, I found a large kitchen with kittens on every surface of just about any colour imaginable. I was particularly taken by a very pale ginger adult cat. "Oh, she's had a litter, too". We finally located a small nest of them at the back of the vegetable rack. With the help of a book I attempted to sex the kittens. It was impossible, so I selected one that I was almost certain was a girl.
On the way home, during which she slept on lap all the way, I christened her Alice. I made an appointment with the vet for that afternoon. The vet pronounced the kitten healthy, with fleas and probably worms (entirely normal for kittens). She also informed me that she was a he. A cat with an identity problem, my wishful thinking or is there some deeper force at work?
I didn't take any particular precautions when introducing him to the household. In fact when I arrived home with him in my handbag, my housemate, Katie, was in the living room. I put my bag on the floor and suggested that she look in it because there was something she'd like inside. She didn't recognise him as a kitten for a few moments, but was immediately enchanted. He spent the first few days sleeping in her room, but at meal times I just fed both cats together. George said a lot of uncharitable things about him at the beginning.
Katie came up with the name Archibald (meaning brave). All kittens are very brave and fearlessly investigate new experiences. The name Archie turned out to be appropriate because of his kittenish way of greeting you by arching his back and dancing sideways toward you.
He's grown an enormous amount and as I write this, he's sitting my lap, purring vigorously. He seems to be turning into a wonderfully companionable and affectionate young cat, although everything has to be thoroughly investigated with needle-sharp teeth and claws. George has come to be quite fond of him, too. I've just observed Archie fast asleep on the sofa on the other side of the room. George came into the room, jumped on the sofa and invited Archie to play.
I'm immensely grateful to his attention to my shoes. It's vitally important that you not leave the house with insufficiently subdued shoes. For the past week he has given my favourite shoes a half-hour killing every morning. I can vouch for how effective this is - they haven't given me a moment of trouble all week.
Here is Archie about a week after he arrived. Still very much a toddler, he
has only two speeds of operation: full ahead and full stop.
Even this early
on, there are moments when George is prepared to tolerate his presence,
just so long as he keeps his teeth away from George's tail!
One minor problem is that George is very overweight and loves milk. This is
how we get milk into Archie without George getting any. He's also lost what I
call the "axe murderer look" that I love in young kittens - their eyes
bulge slightly because their eyes are a little too big for their head.
As he grows, some things never change, including preferred sleeping position
I took this early November 2003 at about 3am, which demonstrates that as long
as no-one's watching they're quite happy to cuddle up
As I further edit this page, George and Archie are chasing each other back and forth, wrestling from time to time. It's very noticeable that this now lacks the hissing and swearing that used to accompany their play in the early days.
Tuesday 25th November. Archie has started to play "ruck in the rug". I've noticed all kittens do this - where they climb under fabrics - a rug on the floor, a cover on the bed - and make a lump that moves around unpredictably, suddenly appearing to attack your toes. He's also teaching Blossom all kinds of bad habits, such as scratching the wall paper. I'll have to go around with the oil of rosemary spray again, even though it gives Katie a headache.
He finds Katie's bottom the most rewarding thing to suckle he can find - I'm
sure he's got no sense of taste.
Page last edited: 15 December 2003