Meow. That’s right, we have ourselves a god-damn kitten. It was one of the things we were most excited about when moving here – getting our very first farm pet (though an unexpected duck changed that plan). Meet Mica (my-ka), our tortoiseshell kitty:

When looking into online kitten listings we found they were being snatched up like hot cakes, so we decided to take a trip to Hamilton to visit the pet shop and the SPCA. The SPCA had a few kittens, and they were as cute as any other, but it wasn’t until we saw playful little Mica at the pet shop that we fell in love. She happened to also be an SPCA rescue, but we were happy to pay the pet shop premium for this bundle of joy.

Mica’s personality is all you could hope for in a cat – just the right balance of affection and mischievousness. She thoroughly enjoys pouncing on the evasive finger-worms that insist on surfacing from the cushion underworld. She’s very loving and trusting, and her antics provide us with hours of entertainment. We’ll even overlook the fact that she’s pissed on our bed three times already. D’aww, who could stay mad at that face for more than a split second? In any case she’s learning fast with the aid of a spray gun. A look of bitter scorn crosses her face whenever we bring it to bear.

Pet toys can be pricey, so I decided I’d fashion her a hand-crafted scratching post. I had in mind some materials I could use, and it came together all right, albeit a little grubby-looking.

We took to climbing it right away. Then it was off to investigate the curtain again.

Mica is named after the schist which her mottled coat resembles, but we’re still looking for names in case a better one pops up – it’s not set in stone yet (mind the pun). Other potential names were “Marble”, “Gillie” (like a sniper’s camo suit), “Freyja” (Norse goddess who rides a chariot drawn by CATS), and boring old “Pepper”. Do any of our readers feel inspired enough to suggest some more potential names?

This weekend we’ll be taking her to the vets to get her final vaccinations and the sutures out from her de-sexing. And maybe while we’re at it, if she’s lucky, we’ll pick up some more of that delicious jelly meat that came free from the pet shop. Nom nom purr.

After her first week getting to know her new home we’ll let her outside into the wide open world of our farm, which she’s been super curious to explore. She stares longingly out the window at all the flitting swifts and fantails that can’t wait to be mauled.

In the meantime Christmas tree baubles will have to do.