Happy 2nd Gotcha Day Mr Darcy!

It was January 2009 and our 1st wedding anniversary was fast approaching. We decided it was time to take the next step to commemorate the occassion... a pet of our very own! I had my heart set on a dog for a long time and had no experience of cats whatsoever as I'd always shown signs of allergies around them. But then one day as I was watching an advert on tv I saw THE

most beautiful cat - I had never seen that breed before and didn't even know what it was called! I rushed to my laptop and began searching google. It must have been fate that I saw the advert because I soon came across the Ragdoll breed of cats... often described as the 'cat that thinks it's a dog'!

"If a dog is "man's best friend," then it must also be said that Ragdoll cats are "man's best companion."

My husband was not so sure at first... he had found the breed of Bengals and was intrigued by them. I argued that they probably weren't a good match for us and that we should check out the ragdoll breed first. I got my way!!

 

After a search, we found an advert for a breeder looking to rehome a 5 month old. We went to visit the next night. I expected some kind of pen or cordoned off area, but instead she said "you can go straight through, he's dozing on the couch!". And that was when we first met Mr D. He was a bright white bundle of fluff with dark brown on his nose, eyes, ears, paws and tail and as we walked in he lazilly opened one dazzling blue eye to peek at us. 

It was love at first sight for all 3 of us! 

The breeder let us brush him and he just lay there and gazed up at me (little did I know then that this was the one and only time he would tolerate being groomed without a fuss!) then she picked him up and plopped him in my arms like a baby - I wasn't even sure that this was acceptable behaviour for a cat and human, but he seemed perfectly content, so that was that!

We couldn't work out what to call him. All the names we'd thought of beforehand didn't seem right somehow. He was so beautiful, so debonair, he looked 'classy'. The breeder mused that she liked the name Darcy, but that was a girl's name so wouldn't work. "That's it!" I said. "He's MR Darcy from one of my favourite books Pride and Prejudice!" 

(Of course now half the time we do just call him Darcy anyway!).

Mr Darcy has now been with us for 2 whole years. With a swish of his tail and a blink of those big blue eyes he was in our hearts and I don't think he'll ever leave. It's fair to say that our entire outlook on life and priorities have changed. I used to get bored sat at home... now I rush home at the end of the day! I used to shop for nice shoes and handbags, now I'm most excited when I see a cool toy that I KNOW the cats would like! I sometimes catch my hubby talking gooey to the cats (and them talking back) when he doesn't know I'm there, which never fails to make me smile.

Life is good. 

Thanks Mr D, we love you lots xoxo