Salut Sebastian!

Kimara Silvana Sebastian had some eager new owners on his hands this morning. Our alarms went off at 4.30am and we stumbled into the shower, made a cup of tea for the road, and headed out to the airport to collect him from his overnight flight. It's just that somehow there was a mixup with the flight times. We arrived to pick him up on what we thought was a 5.30am flight, but it turns out his flight did not arrive until 6.30am, so we had a nervous hour and a bit to fill in the darkness of dawn in Tullamarine - not an easy thing to do!

I was so ridiculously excited to meet him, and suddenly there he was - the tiniest kitten you've ever seen in a big airline travelling cage. He was snuggling into his bedding and emitting little high-pitched meows. He seemed alert and inquisitive and I was immediately smitten! He was shy and unsteady for about the first five minutes of the car ride and after that he relaxed and started rubbing up against my hand through the cage. I cannot explain to you how little his face is, and how big his paws! He is going to be a fair-sized cat one day if those are anything to go by!

It was a quick trip home and we bundled him through the door without Pepper even noticing what was in the cage. Once we got him into his room, though, he gave another meow and Peppy stopped dead in his tracks as if he'd seen a ghost! That was all we got out of him though. It's been a strange day with Peppy. He seemed crabby with us but was not overtly distressed or upset. He hid under the couch for most of the morning giving us dirty looks but by the afternoon he was out and about and snuggling up beside us again in the lounge room.

We have kitty set up in the spare room for a few days so he can get used to things slowly. Every time we leave the room he starts crying, so Peppy can hear him, except he hasn't bothered going to the door to sniff or scratch and seems to just be ignoring it, which is very strange for him! I've given him kitty's blanket to sniff and have spent all day going to and fro between them, trying to get them used to each other's scent.

Kitty has taken to us, and his new home, as if he's known us for decades. He is certainly not a shy little boy, but so friendly and loving. I actually fear that he will love us to death. He's the kind of cat that just can't get close enough to you. He's licked our eyelids and our noses, climbed onto our shoulders and heads, chewed on my ponytail, and is so playful! He was like a kid in a toyshop when he first came out of his cage - he did not know which toy to play with first and was going back and forth between all the play things about every 10 seconds. His favourite toy so far seems to be a little toy mouse, which also happens to be a favourite of Peppy's.

He's very agile, but a bit clumsy too. It's so cute. He can't quite judge the distance to jump up on the bed, so he's missed and slid down a few times. He also thinks that there is another kitten in the room when he sees his reflection in the glass doors of my bookcase. He tried to jump up and touch the kitten and ended up banging his head on the glass - it was so funny!

He hasn't been that keen to eat or drink since he arrived. We gave him some cooked chicken, as his breeders suggested, but he threw it up. I think he might just be feeling a little over-excited and out of sorts. He's exhausted, that's for sure. He and I ended up having a long nap together this afternoon - him curled up against my neck and wrapped around my hand, purring like a machine. He is the sweetest thing ever and his arrival has made me truly happy today for the first time in so long. He feels like he belongs here, and it seems he feels that way too!

I'm not sure how much sleep we're going to get tonight as he doesn't like being left by himself. I spoke to his breeder earlier today and she said he's a really touchy cat, he always needs to have a paw on you or a part of his body up against yours. We want to keep him in his room overnight and separate from Peppy for at least another 24 hours. Our vet recommended a few strategies for successfully introducing the two of them and separation for 48 hours is one of them.

So far I have just fallen in love with him, and I really hope that Peppy learns to love him too. We have given Peppy lots of love and extra fresh meat today (bribery!) so that he does not feel left out or slighted  by what's going on the other room. Leslie is also totally in love with our little skinny kitty. He cannot get enough of him and it is so gorgeous to see them together - a big man and a tiny squeaky little kitten!

Here is a photo of kitty sleeping off his big trip:

And here is a video of kitty playing - the first of what I'm sure will be many updates to come!

PS. I'm referring to him as 'kitty' as we still have not decided on a name for him! All of the names we've come up with seem too big for him somehow!