A modest introduction

Hi there fellow cat lovers,

This blog is probably not the best idea that I had so far. Nonetheless, here it is!! This blog is about my cat which will attract your immediate interests of course. The reason for this blog is 1) because besides studying I like to do something creative and 2) because I have started training Aimée to help her get over her fears. So far, it's actually going pretty well. Let me first introduce to you all the misses of this household.

Aimée, born March 19th, 2008, Heeze, is seal mitted  female ragdoll cat. A lot of words for one cat, hence a small explanation:

• Ragdoll --> breed
• Mitted --> the spots where her markings are. In her case, the paws, but not the feet, her tail, her ears and her head.
• Seal --> indicates her colour: dark to black. There are a few other colors possible, such as grey (called blue) or brown.

I chose this breed very conscious so me bringing home a ragdoll was nog coincidence. I still remember the first time I saw a ragdoll very clearly. I was wandering throuh Amsterdam when I saw a men sitting in his house with two beautiful cats on his lap. He saw me looking and started showing and telling about his cats. I decided then and there that my first cat would be a ragdoll.

I will not bother you telling about all the characteristics of ragdolls, that would be quite boring. Might you be interested, just use google, that will serve you well. Maybe in a later stadium, when I decided to dump half of my readers (just like the Dutch show Utopia did in the third weak of broadcasting) I'll put myself up to it but for this moment you're saved.

The cats name is Aimée. I noticed that there are many opinion about the suitability of this name for a cat. Other names that may result in getting her attentions are ME'er (it's a Dutch thing), Aimizzle, Mee and, most common, poes.

Since Aimée is not a dog and she knows this, the easiest way to get her attention is to open the china cabinet and jingle a little bit with that specific bowl where her meat is served in (which she very rarely gets) and as fast as lightening, the misses will stand in front of you, including begging bamby eyes.

One of the worst things that happend to Aimée was me getting a boyfriend that frequented my (her!!) home quite often. The situation got worse when he actually moved in. Shoe sized 45 (equals 10,5) and the subtlety to be expected from a man Aimée decided to go live under the bed. Quite fun, having a cat like that. Especially the legs of my boyfriend in the early morning after getting up where a cherished target. If you'd come to close, she could spoil you with some blows and when keeping your distance, an attack was not ruled out. If we had guests, she would hide under the bed, and if we played music, she would snarl. Other cats are enemies and leaving the apartment equals dying a cruel death.

One of the best things that happened to Aimée was that my boyfriend was offered a position abroad and left the household. So now it's just me and her again and I started trying to get her out from under the bed and onto my lap and get her more attached to people and less afraid. I will elaborate on my therapeutical steps in this blog and welcome, of course, and tips and adivice.

-- Love from Lisa and 'kattenpootjes' from Aimée --