I got a new kitten to keep my Maine Coon, Boudicca, company since she has been bored and lonely recently, especially when I am away from home (even though my wonderful neighbour comes in several times a day to play with her). I decided to get another female Maine Coon because they are such a friendly breed, and I got one at 8 weeks old to increase the chance of acceptance (the older the new cat is the more difficult it becomes to introduce them to the existing cat). There was some initial protestation from Boudicca, she refused to eat anything for 24 hours and she kept running under the bed and growling, but it came across as defensive rather than aggressive, so the kitten wasn't much bothered by it just rather confused. After a few days of encouraging them to play together with their toys and the laser light, they seem to have bonded pretty well and are playing fighting, chasing each other around, eating next to each other (something I never managed to get Kafka, her previous companion, to do) and Boudicca has been grooming the kitten.
So, I am optimistic that they will get along together when the kitten is fully grown (she will likely grow bigger than boudicca who is very small for a Maine Coon) - right now she is still adorably tiny - as you can see from this photo:
Inevitably, I have been taking an absurd number of photos of the kitten and Boudicca bonding with her, and then shit-posting kitten spam all over my social media accounts. Which some people seem to be taking delight in, but I am sure it's very irritating to many others. Nonetheless, I thought I would make a blog post with the slightly more "artistic photos" - which I will feature in my newsletter announcing the kitten's arrival. I decided to call her Guinevere, to keep with the regal naming theme, or "Gwinnie" for short.
The "Artistic Photos"
Guinevere staring at her reflection in my Gingko leaf candle holder...
"Gwinnie" and "Bou Bou" resting in front of my abstract painting, 'Synchronised Chaos'.
Guinevere's critical appraisal of my landscape sketches from my EU27 tour...
Guinevere, almost camouflaging into my clay sculpture which I made during our last MA teaching session last year....
It was a pretty dangerous place for her to lie (under the wheels of an office chair which someone was sitting in) but I liked the light, shadows and reflection of this shot I took - before dragging her out to safety...
Boudicca munching on a yellow rose, I love the glint of green in her eyes which reflects the colour of the leaves and how the grain of the wood reflects her fur markings...
Guinevere's mis-matching paws on a contrasting purple velvet background...
Guinevere, squeezed into the keyboard shelf of my desk...
Halloween Photos
I wanted to make a cute photo post for Halloween. So, I set up a little "still life" with a Winter Squash and "Munchkins", next to my bouquet of dried flowers and my friend's "mud larking" artwork - using my spotlight to create a vignette effect.
However, I realised that posiitoning the light to cast shadows from the bouquet of dried flowers across the wall -created a much more charming and spooky effect with the kittens face half in darkness.
I also assembled a Halloween set with the addition of pumpkin sweets and chocolate skeletons, I think this photo looked more creepy and demonic with heavy colour editing.
One of the photos came out very blurred because the kitten jumped suddenly but I love the abstract effect it created ...
I tried the set up on a colourful background (my patchwork armchair) as well, which I think is cuter but less spooky - so, I'm not sure which I will post. Probably all of them, knowing me!
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