Kirby – Ragdoll of the Week

Kirby wasn’t supposed to be here. With us, I mean. Not yet. I wasn’t ready to let Dante go, but on Jan 2 2018, my beautiful Dante, my rescue cat, passed quietly in my arms. Cancer took him, and it left such a hole in my heart knowing he was gone. And I knew my 7-month old daughter would never know him, so my husband and I decided it was her time to bond with an animal, just like I did with Dante.

After a bit of research, I decided a Ragdoll would be the kind and gentle soul fit to the task of tea parties and dress ups that my little girl would ultimately catch him up in. My husband’s request was a large breed and a male, so I reached out to the breeder I was excited about and she said the little 4 month old with the patch over one eye was indeed a boy and he was available to view. There was something about this one. He stood out among the others, and I was excited to meet him.

After a lengthy chat, meet and greet, and introduction, I placed a deposit on him. I was very excited to bring him home, but we had to wait. He would be neutered, chipped and get his final check up, then come to us in a week’s time. He was held in my husband’s arms the entire time. He was so relaxed and happy.

My husband chose the name Kirby. We name our cats after video game characters, and Kirby was a non-threatening, easy to pronounce name that our daughter would be able to speak and hear clearly. The breeder liked it, and said she would start calling him by name immediately.

Then a few days later I got an email about how Kirby’s vet check up went fine. He was fixed and recovering, but there was a little complication. Reading this made my heart sink, but it turns out Kirby was misunderstood from birth, and our little marshmallow boy was actually a girl. The breeder apologized profusely, offered other boys from the same litter, anything to help make all of this right! But I said no, Kirby can stay Kirby, and she is coming home with us.

Kirby arrived on the 3rd of February 2018. She took 2 days to explore the apartment, and after a week her and my daughter were fast friends.

Kirby is a sweet, affectionate, and a clown. She lets my daughter pet her and kiss her without complaint. Kirby’s nickname is coffee-bean, because sometimes she runs around the house like she ate coffee beans for breakfast. We affectionately call her “Nerd” and my daughter calls her “Bay-Bay”. Kirby loves water. She’ll sit at the edge of the tub for bath time. While some people shake a treat bag to coax a kitty out from a hiding place, I turn on the shower.

I hope my daughter forms a special bond, like I did with my dear Dante. It’s a special feeling I would love for her to experience.

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