OK - so I know show and tell should maybe be inanimate treasures, but I am off for the weekend to a scrapping retreat and when I go away I miss everyone terribly, but I miss this little guy specially, so mys how and tell today is one of my most important treasures of all, my little boy Fiki.
Fiki - or to give him his proper name, Mustafah Rafiki (which means Chosen One and Friend .... and boy did we spend forever making that name choice) is one of our two bengal babies. We also have his sister Kira (maybe the subject of another show and tell)
We first met Fiki when he was just 4 weeks old. The breeder had both of his parents, Otis and Mojo, and so we were lucky to see exactly where he had come from. They were both American cats with incredible pedigrees but we just wanted pets not show cats. We knew we wanted a boy and a girl and although we visited several bredderes, he tugged our heart. he was the cat you should never buy. the runt of the litter, smaller than his siblings, quite sickly and a little bit feeble. That was one of the thinsg that attracted us.
That and his colour. He has the very prized rufus gene and is a gorgeous rich mahogany colour with loads of glitter. (Bengal cats have glitter which means they look like they are dusted with gold dust)
We worried that he might not make it to 12 weeks when we could collect him so the breeder got him checked out and he was fine.
When we went back to visit him 2 weeks later he was the only kitten still with his mom as he had a gastric bug and wasn't weaned and needed extra TLC. Oh dear - had we made a mistake?
When we picked Fiki and Kira up when they were 12 weeks old he weighed exactly half of his sister and was tiny. They were also both in the fuzzies (wild cats do this too as a defence against predators) so their coats were dreadful and they looked awful.
Who could have guessed that he would grow into the stunning huge cat we have today. He is massive - though not an ounce of fat on him. he is tall and long and so so solid with muscle.
His pale blue eyes went from blue to amber to a stunning green (and they look like they are edged in kohl pencil) and his coat became fuller, richer, redder and more glittered.
He looks like an angel.
Shame really - as he had far more devil in him than he will ever have angel.
He is the naughtiest wickedest cat you could ever imagine. It is a good job he is handsome - he wouldn't have made it to 6 if he wasn't. He will be 6 in 2 weeks time.
He can open every door and drawer in the house (and does on a daily basis, helping himself to whatever he fancies from inside and strewing it round the house) He carried everything round in his mouth. he turns lights on and off. He can climb anything .... and does. Every ornament int he house is glued down, nothing is sacred and wherever you are he is right there .... helping!
He is a bundle of energy and yet he is also the softest dopiest lap cat int he world. You can do anything with him, he never gets cross or angry or scratches. He lies full length on your knee, head tilted backwards, looking up into your eyes and every so often reaches up to give you a kiss or a nose rub.
he is hard work, there are days when he has made me cry as he has been so naughty, but he is one of my greatest joys and I am going to miss him so much this weekend.
Thank you for indulging me with a special Fiki show and tell.
If you would like to know more about Show and tell go visit Kelli over at her blog. You'll be amazed.